DailyGood

For the last 27 years, DailyGood newsletters have offered a daily email that inspires you to respond to life with creativity and kindness. To join a community of 152,266 subscribers, subscribe here.

Jul 20, 2007

"The years teach much which the days never knew." --Ralph Waldo Emerson

The Elders: Veteran Diplomats Unite

Melding serious statesmanship and a dose of audacity, Nelson Mandela, the former South African president, and a clutch of international figures are announcing an alliance to diplomatically tackle the world's most intractable problems. The alliance, unveiled during the events marking Mr Mandela's 89th birthday, is to be called the Elders. It includes the retired Anglican archbishop Desmond Tutu, the former US president Jimmy Carter, the former United Nations secretary-general Kofi Annan, and the human rights activist and former Irish president Mary Robinson. “It’s worth having people with experience see what they can do,” says former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, “So much of diplomacy is having an outsider lay out what the issues are — having a wider outside view.”