24 quotes
We cannot make the world safe for democracy unless we also make the world safe for diversity.
Pluralism is no longer simply an asset or a prerequisite for progress and development, it is vital to our existence.
Tolerance, openness and understanding towards other peoples' cultures, social structures, values and faiths are now essential to the very survival of an interdependent world.
Pluralist societies are not accidents of history. They are a product of enlightened education and continuous investment by governments and all of civil society in recognizing and celebrating the diversity of the world’s peoples.
If our animosities are born out of fear, then confident generosity is born out of hope.
The right to hope is the most powerful human motivation I know.
It is for us, who are more fortunate, to provide that spark.
A proper home can provide the bridge across that terrible gulf between poverty and a better future.
The spirit of the Knowledge Society is the spirit of Pluralism—a readiness to accept the Other, indeed to learn from him, to see difference as an opportunity rather than a threat.
You start with an idea, and then you let it grow.
A secure pluralistic society requires communities that are educated and confident both in the identity and depth of their own traditions and in those of their neighbours.
Generally you will see as much diversity in the Islam as you do in the Christian world today. But the West does not really understand the pluralism of the Islamic world.
The search for justice and security, the struggle for equality of opportunity, the quest for tolerance and harmony, the pursuit of human dignity – these are moral imperatives which we must work towards and think about on a daily basis.
Such investments are reflected, and endure, in the formation of the kind of social conscience that our world so desperately needs.
Foreword to Excellence in Education (2003)
There are those... who enter the world in such poverty that they are deprived of both the means and the motivation to improve their lot.
Canada is today the most successful pluralist society on the face of our globe, without any doubt in my mind.... That is something unique to Canada. It is an amazing global human asset.
I think you have to be patient, careful, analytical, thoughtful, prudent, and build step-by-step. I don't think it can be done like mixing a glass of Nescafé.
Canada has for many years been a beacon to the rest of the world for its commitment to pluralism and for its support for the multicultural richness and diversity of its peoples
The ability to make judgements that are grounded in solid information, and employ careful analysis, should be one of the most important goals for any educational endeavor.
Foreword to Excellence in Education (2003)
What students know is no longer the most important measure of an education. The true test is the ability of students and graduates to engage with what they do not know, and to work out a solution.
Foreword to Excellence in Education (2003)