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For years, I have been[br]working on a simple idea:

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for humanity to take its next leap ahead,

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we need to work together across borders[br]to solve global issues.

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In the modern world,

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no wall or border[br]can protect us from crisis.

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We have no other choice but to unite,

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and we need to do it fast.

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In 2016, I was devastated[br]by the UK's decision

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to leave the European Union.

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I'm French, and for me, the EU is a symbol[br]of a more open and global society.

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But suddenly, my beliefs were shattered.

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And I wasn't alone in feeling this way.

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My partner, Andrea, who's Italian,

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and Damian, a German friend,

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also felt the shock of seeing[br]the world turning inward.

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We realized that despite being[br]from three different countries,

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we witnessed the same challenges:

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migration flows being dealt with[br]in an inhuman manner,

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climate change

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or high youth unemployment.

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And we also had the same hopes and dreams[br]in our everyday lives.

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We also realized[br]that to solve European issues,

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the outdated model of always[br]putting national interests first

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had to go.

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So we decided to act.

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For a few months, we worked on[br]the idea of launching Volt,

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the first pan-European political movement.

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And then, naturally, we told[br]our Facebook friends,

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and a lot of them responded[br]saying they were up for the challenge

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and wanted to help.

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People started holding small[br]community meetings in parks,

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universities and pubs

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to discuss their common future

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and share their solutions[br]to the continent's biggest problems.

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We mobilized tens of thousands of people[br]across 28 European countries

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Two years in,

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Damian was elected[br]to the European parliament

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on the campaign run[br]by volunteers across borders

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on the idea that we are stronger together.

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We showed that by[br]collaborating across borders,

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by uniting and acting as one,

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we could start changing how people think.

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We were the first ones to attempt[br]something of this scale

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and to succeed.

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Despite this,

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after the European elections in May 2019,

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Andrea and I looked into each other's eyes

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and asked that frank question[br]that you never want to ask

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once you have worked for two years[br]towards something

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that actually worked out:

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"Is this enough?"

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No, it wasn't.

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We knew that today's urgent challenges[br]are not just European

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but global.

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We also knew that we couldn't even[br]attempt to solve them

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by only focusing on Europe,

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a continent that represents less than[br]10 percent of the world population.

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The underlying issue[br]is that the way we see the world

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and the way the world works

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are fundamentally wrong.

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In the span of two generations,

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the world has changed more[br]than in the previous 20,000 years.

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We can land on the moon,

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we can wake up in Shanghai[br]and go to bed in New York.

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We have access to a huge amount[br]of information all the time, everywhere.

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But we still see the world[br]as our immediate vicinity.

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But issues like COVID-19,[br]climate change, migration,

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fiscal justice or human rights

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mean that we need to think[br]and unite beyond national borders.

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A global approach is needed to solve them.

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Countries need to collaborate,

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share resources, information[br]and solutions.

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It's not just the right thing to do

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but it's also the smart one.

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So in the weeks following[br]Damian's election,

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Andrea and I decided[br]that we would create a global movement

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to unite people beyond borders

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and solve those issues[br]that concern us all.

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We called it NOW![br]because we're not very creative,

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and because it needs to happen now.

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So I know that going beyond national[br]borders is not the easiest thing to do,

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so here's the framework[br]that has been guiding our work.

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I call it "think, unite and leap forward."

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First, we need to change the way[br]we think about the world.

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Whether we like it or not,

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we already live in a globalized world.

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We need to stop thinking[br]within national frameworks

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and start thinking globally.

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Take, for example,[br]how we think about taxation.

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Multinational companies[br]like Facebook or Amazon

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already operate across borders,

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but they pay very little taxes[br]in very few countries

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because we think of them[br]within national frameworks.

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And as a result,

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we lack a global tax system.

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Due to this,

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countries are deprived of at least[br]500 billion dollars annually.

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Five hundred billion dollars.

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To put it in perspective:

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with half of that amount of money,

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we could put an end[br]to global hunger for one year.

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But we don't,

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because of the way[br]we think about the world.

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At NOW! we want to change this.

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We connect people[br]from all across the world

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who discuss, work together and understand

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that global is the new normal

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and that they have more in common[br]than what separates them.

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We host weekly events

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in which we discuss topics[br]such as LGBT rights,

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pandemics,

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fiscal justice

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or mental health.

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We break down those global challenges

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to see how they impact people[br]in various parts of the world.

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And our members have[br]already shown a global thinking,

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actively rallying their governments[br]to solve those issues,

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like ensuring a fair distribution[br]of vaccines across the world.

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Second, after changing the way we think,

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we need to unite beyond borders.

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This way, we can make governments[br]act on global issues.

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Take the example of the erosion[br]of democracy in Hong Kong.

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China has systematically cracked down[br]on rights, democracy and freedoms,

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but countries have barely responded[br]to protect Hong Kongers.

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And I don't mean weak[br]statements of condemnation

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that won't lead to any actual change,

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but proper responses such as sanctions.

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That's why at NOW!,[br]a couple of weeks back,

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we launched a campaign[br]to demand that democracies rally

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to be able to stand up[br]meaningfully to China.

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And to get their attention,

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we started hosting weekly protests[br]in front of Chinese embassies.

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Within a couple of weeks,

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we engaged more than[br]a million people online.

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Our hope is that by uniting[br]and mobilizing people across borders,

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we will be able[br]to successfully lobby nations

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into imposing coordinated[br]sanctions on China.

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Finally, we must have[br]the courage to leap forward

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to create the world of tomorrow.

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We need a system of governance[br]that works for us all across the world.

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And while some supernational institutions[br]like the United Nations exist,

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their enforcement mechanisms[br]are extremely limited.

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Citizens cannot participate,

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and national interests often prevail.

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And on the national level,

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political parties are bound[br]by electoral timetables and borders,

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which means that they cannot operate[br]in a coordinated global manner.

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Policy making, governance and politics[br]need to stretch further.

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Take the example of the response[br]to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Countries have shown an incredibly[br]shortsighted approach to the pandemic.

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They haven't collaborated[br]when it comes to protective equipment,

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vaccines or medicines.

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At NOW! we launched a campaign

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demanding that the World Health[br]Organization ensures

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that health workers across the world,[br]regardless of their nationalities,

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get priority access[br]to future COVID-19 vaccines.

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We leveraged a network of doctors[br]on social media to raise awareness

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and started a petition[br]targeted at the WHO.

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For two weeks,

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our members spread the word[br]digitally and on the streets,

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and then we got a response[br]from the Director-General of the WHO

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welcoming our campaign,

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reemphasizing that the power to do so[br]lies within member states,

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but committing to working[br]with them in that direction.

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And look -- this was a very nice letter,[br]but it was completely pointless.

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The WHO cannot act[br]meaningfully on this issue.

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But the point is,

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a United Nations agency should[br]be able to act meaningfully,

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should be able to create binding policies[br]and implement them

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when faced with a global threat.

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Right now, the most we can hope for

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is for some world leaders[br]to hear our scream

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and decide to do the right thing.

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This cannot continue.

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In the globalized world,

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we need a true democratic and accountable[br]global system of governance.

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And that's also what[br]we're working towards,

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but I know that global governance[br]will not happen overnight.

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For this, we need people[br]to push their governments

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to act in a global manner,

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to show that collaboration[br]leads to better results.

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We need to prove the case

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before we can change[br]the way the world works.

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So this is my framework:

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think beyond national borders,

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unite across the world

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and leap forward to make sure[br]that the world actually works as one.

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And I know it is easier said than done,

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but it is doable.

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Take our case as an example.

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NOW! was only launched[br]on the first of January 2020

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but already counts thousands of members[br]in more than 100 countries.

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We are beginning to see that it[br]is possible to unite beyond borders,

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that it is within our reach.

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And we're not special,[br]nor am I in any way.

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I don't have any cool skills,

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and the thought of giving[br]this talk terrified me.

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But I am testing different ways[br]to effect change on a global scale

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because I know that national mindsets[br]and national frameworks

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have to leave room for something bigger,

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for something better.

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My hope is that within my lifetime,

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I will see what living[br]as one world actually means,

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that by uniting,

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we will be able to safeguard democracy,

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to protect the environment,

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to save lives by sharing vaccines,

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to create safer routes for migration,

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among many other achievements.

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I don't know whether[br]I have the one solution --

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no one does.

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I don't know whether[br]NOW! will be successful

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in achieving these goals.

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But this is not the point.

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The point is that you should take action[br]to effect change on the global scale.

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My hope is that many of you will[br]start to work together across borders,

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that you will create and innovate[br]new ways for the world to be truly one.

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Because yes, we are stronger together.

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So what are we waiting for?

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Thank you.