Imran Khakoo's Speeches for Voice your Thoughts 2006 (18th November 2006)

Hillary Clinton “What we have to do… is to find a way to celebrate our diversity and debate our differences without fracturing our communities.” Good evening, Ladies and gentlemen. My name is Imran Khakoo. I am up here because I believe. I believe that each and every person here tonight is unique, Is different from everybody else in a way that no one can even imagine. Look around you. How many people do you see who look exactly like you? That’s what I thought. We’re all different, and not just in a physical way. That’s the reality. We cannot avoid it, nor can we do anything to change it. Diversity… is inevitable. So why is it that there is so much violence, animosity and distrust based on this simple fact? Why is there so much bloodshed when people have a different opinion, a different approach, a different outlook? Look at the Rwanda Burundi conflict. Look at the Cold War. Look at all the major conflicts in the world today based on the simple fact that there is a difference in opinion. There seems to be a basic error in our logic. We’re different. We think differently. So should we kill each other over it? If this remains the case, Ladies and Gentlemen, then the Human Race is headed for extinction. My question to you is, are YOU prepared to let that happen? Hillary Clinton once said, “What we have to do… is to find a way to celebrate our diversity and debate our differences without fracturing our communities.” Senator Clinton says celebrate your differences, celebrate them. Talk about them. Debate them. Peacefully. Constructively. Recognize that we all have different opinions and also recognize… that it is natural… to be different. One shining example of a country that’s carried out Senator Clinton’s advice is Canada. Canada’s population is amazingly diverse- but it’s still a wonderful, accepting atmosphere for everybody. How did they achieve that? They achieved it by recognizing that in diversity lies strength, and never weakness. There can still be a future for the Human Race if we celebrate our differences and talk about them. There’s still hope for acceptance, for harmony, for peace. And if we’re all here tonight, shoulder to shoulder, in this hall, If we’re sitting beside people we’ve never seen before, and never thought we’d ever have the honour to meet, If we’re making friends, building bridges amongst ourselves, or just cheering on our teams, That is testament to the fact that we can all be different, and still be one. Malcolm S. Forbes, "Diversity as the Art of Thinking Independently Together. " Good evening, Ladies and gentlemen. My name is Imran Khakoo. I am up here because I believe. I believe that each and every person here tonight is unique, Is different from everybody else in a way that no one can even imagine. Look around you. How many people do you see who look exactly like you? That’s what I thought. We’re all different, and not just in a physical way. That’s the reality. We cannot avoid it, nor can we do anything to change it. Diversity… is inevitable. So why is it that there is so much violence, animosity and distrust based on this simple fact? Why is there so much bloodshed when people have a different opinion, a different approach, a different outlook? Look at the Rwanda Burundi conflict. Look at the Cold War. Look at all the major conflicts in the world today based on the simple fact that there is a difference in opinion. There seems to be a basic error in our logic. We’re different. We think differently. So should we kill each other over it? If this remains the case, Ladies and Gentlemen, then the Human Race is headed for extinction. My question to you is, are YOU prepared to let that happen? Malcolm S. Forbes, the deceased publisher of Forbes Magazine, once defined Diversity as the Art of Thinking Independently Together. Think independently, but together. How? The Late Mr. Forbes wants us to open our eyes. He says Think independently. You know you’re going to form your own opinion if you think for yourself. You know you’re going to be different from everybody around you if you think for yourself. Think independently anyway. But eventually, think together. Put all these different little thoughts and beliefs, together, to form a powerful result. Recognize that this jumble, this storm of individual thoughts and beliefs is a vast resource, a beautiful blessing. A multifaceted solution to a problem, each facet being derived from a different background, a different situation, based on a different set of beliefs. All these tiny facets come together to form a valuable gem of a solution. Recognize that we all have different opinions and respect each other for them. Also recognize… that it is natural… to be different. Think independently, but together. One shining example of a country that’s carried out Mr. Forbes’ advice is Canada. Canada’s population is amazingly diverse- but it’s still a wonderful, accepting atmosphere for everybody. How did they achieve that? They achieved it by recognizing that in diversity lies strength, and never weakness. Ladies and Gentlemen, there can still be a future for the Human Race if we work together on this. There’s still hope for acceptance, for harmony, for peace. And if we’re all here tonight, shoulder to shoulder, in this hall. If we’re sitting beside people we’ve never seen before, and never thought we’d ever have the honour to meet. If we’re making friends, building bridges amongst ourselves, or just cheering on our teams. That is testament to the fact that we can all be different, and still be one.