Nelson Mandela stands as an inspiration to us all

In fact UN is more of a galaxy of organisations and agencies than one machine.

Poverty devastates families, communities and nations. It causes instability and political unrest and fuels conflict.

I urge the Iraqi leadership for sake of its own people... to seize this opportunity and thereby begin to end the isolation and suffering of the Iraqi people.

Literacy is a bridge from misery to hope. It is a tool for daily life in modern society. It is a bulwark against poverty, and a building block of development... For everyone, everywhere, literacy is, along with education in general, a basic human right.... Literacy is, finally, the road to human progress and the means through which every man, woman and child can realize his or her full potential.

If our hopes of building a better and safer world are to become more than wishful thinking, we will need the engagement of volunteers more than ever.

This is an historic step forward in the world's efforts to combat a truly global threat.