Global Beacons of Hope

Nature: "A web of life and a global force"

Climbing this peak in 1802, the German explorer Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859) realized that nature is a web of life and a global force. His biographer Andrea Wulf wrote that this new idea "was to change the way people understand the world ... At a time when other scientists were searching for universal laws, Humboldt wrote that nature had to be experienced through feelings." 

"Desire for freedom is rooted in the very quality of being human"

In 1980, this shipyard on the Baltic Sea was the birthplace of the Solidarity movement, a key step in civil resistance leading to the eventual collapse of communism in Central and Eastern Europe and then the Soviet Union. The quotation is from the exiled philosopher Leszek Kołakowski (1927-2009), who was a major inspiration for the movement's leaders. 

"Humanity is called to shift to a new level of consciousness"

This spot in a city park in Nairobi symbolizes the accomplishments of Wangari Maathai (1940-2011), a social, environmental, and political activist who attracted global attention for leading the Green Belt Movement and later organizing demonstrations against political oppression. A Nobel Peace Laureate,  she wrote the words quoted above, and added, "Recognizing that sustainable development, democracy, and peace are indivisible is an idea whose time has come."

Connecting urban people with nature

Urban people need regular contact with nature for physical and mental health. These parks, rich in biodiversity and easily accessible, are one of the best examples anywhere of how this can be achieved. Protected in the early 1970s, they cover a remarkable 40 percent of Hong Kong's small (1,100 sq km, 425 sq mi) territory, which has a population of more than 7 million.

Understand more so that we may fear less

This is where Skłodowska Curie (1867-1934) conducted pioneering work on radioactivity, for which she was twice awarded a Nobel Prize. She wrote, "Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more so that we may fear less."

Confidence in the human spirit

Among the works Mahler (1860-1911) produced here at the edge of a mountain lake is the massive choral Eighth Symphony. He offered it as an expression of confidence in the eternal human spirit. He wrote, "If a composer could say what he had to say in words, he would not bother trying to say it in music."