Last year, important international conferences were held to tackle such pressing global challenges as climate change and nuclear disarmament. While these conferences saw the emergence of constructive new consensus, it is not enough simply to sound the alarm: The time has come for action and solidarity.
Where there is an absence of international political leadership, civil society should step in to fill the gap, providing the energy and vision needed to move the world in a new and better direction.
I believe that we need a paradigm shift, a recognition that the essence of leadership is found in ordinary individuals — whoever and wherever they may be — standing up and fulfilling the role that is theirs alone to play.