A society that does not value its older people denies its roots and endangers its future. Let us strive to enhance their capacity to support themselves for as long as possible and, when they cannot do so anymore, to care for them.

It is in the character of growth that we should learn from both pleasant and unpleasant experiences.

I could not imagine that the future I was walking toward could compare in any way to the past that I was leaving behind.

Millions of people in the world's poorest countries remain enslaved by the chains of poverty. It is time to set them free.

Sport has the power to inspire and unite people. In Africa, soccer enjoys great popularity and has a particular place in the hearts of people. That is why it is so important that the FIFA World Cup will, for the first time ever, be hosted on the African continent in 2010. We feel privileged and humbled that South Africa has been given this singular honour of being the African host country.

It is not beyond our power to create a world in which all children have access to a good education.

In the 21st Century, the capacity to communicate will almost certainly be a key human right.