Speeches

Marianne Williamson
categories: Campaign Speech, Speeches
Iowa Democratic Steak Fry - Sept. 21, 2019
September 21, 2019
I’ve been listening to a lot of great candidates here today. I don’t think of myself as running against anyone. I think of myself as running with a lot of really great people. And I’ve heard a lot of plans articulated and I agree with the majority of them. I’m on the left wing of the Democratic Party, there’s no question whether we have, the Democrats, the best plans. But, none of those plans are going to be brought to fruition until and unless we have another plan. That’s what […]
Marianne Williamson
categories: Campaign Speech, Speeches
Iowa State Fair Political Soapbox - Aug. 9, 2019
August 9, 2019
This is an extraordinary experience. And I’m very aware, particularly as a woman, that we can’t do this everywhere. I’m very aware particularly as a woman that if I said a fraction of the things that I sometimes say in critique of our government and our governmental policy, that there are countries were I might be taken off to prison, even tortured. So I’m not only very aware of the profound right that we have to say what we think, but at this point in our history I think we […]
Melinda Gates
categories: Commencement Address, Speeches
Commencement Address at Stanford University - June 15, 2014
June 15, 2014
BILL GATES: Congratulations, Class of 2014! Melinda and I are excited to be here. It would be a thrill for anyone to be invited to speak at a Stanford Commencement – but it's especially gratifying for us. Stanford is rapidly becoming the favorite university for members of our family. And it's long been a favorite university for Microsoft and our foundation. Our formula has been to get the smartest, most creative people working on the most important problems. It turns out that a disproportionate number of those people are at […]
Melinda Gates
categories: Commencement Address, Speeches
Duke Commencement Address – May 12, 2013
May 12, 2013
President Brodhead, Trustees, and members of the Duke University Community – it is so fantastic to be back here at my alma mater. I'm really grateful for the honorary degree, and I'm especially grateful to be able to address the graduating class. So let me start by saying to those of you graduating today in 2013 – congratulations. And let me remind you to thank your mothers – today is Mother's Day – and to say that I’m still bitter about the Louisville game. I was a student here in […]
Melinda Gates
Speeches
Remarks at the World Health Assembly - May 20, 2014
May 20, 2014
Mr. President, Director-General Dr. Chan, First Lady Dr. Christine Kaseba-Sata, Excellencies, ladies, and gentlemen. Thank you for having me here today. Global health is my second career. I wasn’t formally trained in the field, but I have spent the last 15 years learning about it from experts, many of you in this room. I have travelled to dozens of countries to see for myself how the right investments can help people tap into potential that has been buried under the burden of poverty and disease. One thing I’ve learned during […]
Melinda Gates
Speeches
Remarks at Goalkeepers '18 – Sept. 26, 2018
September 26, 2018
Before Nelson Mandela marshaled a global movement to end apartheid, he was a student activist at a university. Before Martin Luther King, Jr., was a world-renowned civil rights leader, he was a 26-year-old pastor. He was organizing his first boycott. And before Malala was a 21-year-old advocate for girls' education, she was a 14-year-old one. It's often said that change starts small, but the truth is change also starts young. Before Mandela was Mandela and before Malala was Malala, they were just young people working to make the lives better […]
Greta Thunberg
Speeches
Speech to the British Parliament - April 23, 2019
April 23, 2019
My name is Greta Thunberg. I am 16 years old. I come from Sweden. And I speak on behalf of future generations. I know many of you don’t want to listen to us – you say we are just children. But we’re only repeating the message of the united climate science. Many of you appear concerned that we are wasting valuable lesson time, but I assure you we will go back to school the moment you start listening to the science and give us a future. Is that really too […]
Greta Thunberg
Speeches
Speech at the National Assembly in Paris – July 23, 2019
July 23, 2019
Thank you all for coming here. I have some good news and some bad news regarding the climate emergency. I will start with the good news. The world, as a small number of people have been saying lately, will not end in 11 years. The bad news, however, is that around the year 2030, if we continue with business as usual, we will likely be in a position where we may pass a number of tipping points. And then we might no longer be able to undo the irreversible climate […]
Greta Thunberg
Speeches
Speech at the European Parliament - April 16, 2019
April 16, 2019
My name is Greta Thunberg. I am 16 years old. I come from Sweden. And I want you to panic. I want you to act as if the house was on fire. I have said those words before, and a lot of people have explained why that is a bad idea. A great number of politicians have told me that panic never leads to anything good, and I agree. To panic, unless you have to, is a terrible idea. But when your house is on fire and you want to […]
Greta Thunberg
Speeches
Speech at COP24 - Dec. 12, 2018
December 12, 2018
My name is Greta Thunberg. I am 15 years old. I am from Sweden. I speak on behalf of Climate Justice Now. Many people say that Sweden is just a small country and it doesn’t matter what we do. But I’ve learned you are never too small to make a difference. And if a few children can get headlines all over the world just by not going to school, then imagine what we could all do together if we really wanted to. But to do that, we have to speak […]