 Hi everyone. It's so great to be here with you today. My name is Lauren Burrito and I'm head of partnerships at the Sustainable Development Solutions Network. It's my great honor and pleasure on behalf of the Kingdom of Bahrain, the Sustainable Development Solutions Network, and UNESCO to welcome everyone to the celebration of the inaugural International Day of Conscience. The Kingdom of Bahrain had originally planned to convene us in person at UN headquarters, but fortunately the COVID-19 situation has changed this plan and plunged the world into its deepest crisis since World War II. That aside, we're very grateful for the opportunity to come together virtually with you and to share in this goodwill and message of this day. We hope everyone tuning in online is staying safe and we're glad that you could join us. What more important time could there be for a message of peace? I also want to thank all of our wonderful participants joining online and our incredible speakers. We have a great lineup today. I'd like to briefly remind everyone of some logistics. Keep yourselves muted when not speaking and we're using the chat feature if you have any questions for our speakers so feel free to chat them over. We'll have some time for that at the end of the broadcast. We've also got several resources uploaded as handouts so the agenda is there as well as some instructions on how to use the go-to meeting software and a PDF to troubleshoot any audio issues, particularly if anyone finds that they're not getting sound and they can't hear anything. You can also use the chat if you have any issues with that. And so now that we've been aware of logistics without any further ado, it's my pleasure to turn the microphone and the floor over to SDSN director and United Nations SDG advocate, Professor Jeffrey Sacks. Jeff. Good morning. Good afternoon and good evening to people all over the world. Thank you so much for joining this virtual celebration of the first International Day of Conscience. Obviously, we are gathering together virtually today at an unprecedented moment, certainly one of the most dire crises of modern history. All of humanity is in peril. The COVID-19 virus has already claimed more than 70,000 lives and has infected well over 1.3 million people around the world. Every country is affected. More than half of the planet is now on a lockdown or a shutdown economically to try to stop the spread of the infection. People everywhere are at risk everywhere. But we must remember today the special vulnerability of the poor. They lack income. They are losing jobs by the tens of millions. They are unable, unlike others, to stay fully sheltered. They are, therefore, highly vulnerable to the contagion. And they lack, by definition of poverty, assurance to health care, adequate food, safe water, and other basic needs. Rich countries are voting trillions and trillions of dollars of the emergency response as they should. But what can the poorest countries do? We urgently need global solidarity to ensure that the poor, as well as the rich, can battle and surmount this scourge. We will need emergency international funding, emergency supplies, and very deep debt relief for indebted developing countries in need. For all of this, we are grateful to have an International Day of Conscience to support the best in the human spirit, to build a culture of peace, and to honor the United Nations Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the UN System in its 75th year this year. The International Day of Conscience was adopted by the UN General Assembly on the 25th of July 2019 and the 73rd session of the UN General Assembly. According to the resolution that created the International Day of Conscience, and I quote, the International Day of Conscience constitutes a means of regularly mobilizing the efforts of the international community to promote peace, tolerance, inclusion, understanding and solidarity in order to build a sustainable world of peace, solidarity, and harmony. The resolution explicitly recognizes two great institutions, the UN Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization UNESCO, which gave rise to the concept of the culture of peace more than 30 years ago, and the UN Alliance of Civilizations, which promotes intercultural dialogue. We are very lucky to have outstanding leaders of these two world-leading organizations with us today. Let me thank the Kingdom of Bahrain for its championing of peace and understanding and for being such a vital custodian of this important day. The Kingdom of Bahrain has brought us together virtually, they were going to bring us together at UN Headquarters. We are most grateful to the Kingdom. Let me also thank UNESCO and the Alliance of Civilizations and great humanitarian leadership organizations, including the One Campaign. Now it is very deep honor to welcome our first guest, the Honorable Maria Fernanda Espinosa, a world-leading diplomat, environmentalist and humanitarian, who was president of the UN General Assembly in the 73rd session from September 2018 to September 2019 and who led the way to the UN General Assembly's adoption of the International Day of Conscience. Maria Fernanda Espinosa has brilliantly served her country Ecuador as foreign minister and defense minister and it is a great honor and pleasure to introduce a friend and someone that you're so much. I turn the microphone over to you now. Oh great, great. I'm sorry Maria. Let's see. Thank you. Thank you very much. I don't know if you can hear me properly. We hear you well. Okay, well, very well. Good morning everybody and thank you the organizers for bringing us together to commemorate the first ever International Day of Conscience and I think this is very, very timely. I would like to also acknowledge the leadership of Bahrain, the Prime Minister, the United Nations, the Sustainable Development Solutions Network and its director Jeff Sacks. I'll convey my gratitude to all the panelists today. I think at this commemoration as Jeff very well put it, it's very timely. I think that we need precisely now to foster a greater understanding, greater solidarity, greater mindfulness. Now it is the time to truly build a culture of peace to face this COVID-19 pandemic which has put under stress and fear the entire humanity. I believe that today, today, more than ever, we are aware of our sense of belonging to the human family and that we have realized how vulnerable and frail we all are and this tries to be about understanding that our lives depend on the conscience of oneself and of others and that we should acknowledge that we are radically interdependent. I think that as we all know, our COVID-19 is having unprecedented impacts in the way we live, the way we communicate, the way we interact and also in the way we could consume, but perhaps more importantly in the way we all look at the future. I think that we have to use these catastrophic scenarios as a way to call to our country. We have the opportunity to build a new common sense. We cannot do the same. We cannot act the same. We cannot pretend that everything is going to be okay. We need to craft collectively radical change and perhaps I would like to contribute to this conversation, to talk about very briefly what have been the lessons learned in the past weeks and months and to see, to grow from that, to think about our collective future. First of all, the very fact that inequality and poverty are determining factors for vulnerability and access to healthcare and public services in general. The second lesson learned is that we do need strong health systems and that universal health software has to be considered a common public good at human rights and that this pandemic has shown that the impact is stronger in vulnerable communities such as refugees, persons with disabilities and women and perhaps just to note on women because they are and have been at the forefront of this crisis as caretakers, as health workers and women represent 70% of the global healthcare workers and they are of course key to the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. But at the same time, women and girls are experiencing higher level of domestic violence in the wake of the pandemic. So this is, of course, requires a global response. Several alternatives are on the table, hundreds of analyses, ideas have emerged in different areas. Secretary General Antonio Lucero has called for an immediate global ceasefire to help people in zones of war to receive life-saving aid to fight the pandemic. High commission on human rights has urged governments to release a person without sufficient legal basis, including political prisoners, to prevent catastrophic rates of infection. General Asseni has just passed a resolution last week on the economic front. We have heard several calls through which think our economy, our financial architecture, there are countless analysis and options from that release to a new Bretton Woods. Aung Shaz has called for a 2.5 trillion coronavirus crisis packets for developing countries to turn solidarity into meaningful global action. And very importantly, SouthCentre has called for a waiver on intellectual property to write on equipment and prevention of COVID-19. So we have had a plethora of well-intentioned, well-articulated analysis and proposal. And I believe that we need an exercise of redefining, of rewriting the narrative. We need to redefine two concepts such as wealth, for example. Just a few days ago, the owner of a two-pointing thing died because he couldn't reach the hospital sooner. And I think that the new currency has to be measured by the number of masks and ventilators that a country is able to produce or buy. Well-being should be defined by our very ability to breathe. And affection perhaps has to be defined by the number of smiles, all the emojis or phone calls that we can make. And of course, the very concept of sustainability has to be more than ever grounded on preparedness and resilience. So what it is clear is that we need a new social contract based on solidarity, on generosity, and for these proposals to translate into action, we need the obvious. And the obvious is a strong multilateral response, global leadership, shared responsibilities, collective action. In this first commemoration of the International Day of Conscious, this should remind us that each one of us has a role to play, that we all matter, and that this crisis is an opportunity to fight indifference, selfishness, and greed. It is a golden opportunity to build a new common sense, a new social contract that will work for all, leaving no one to hand. So I thank you very, very much for these opportunities. Thank you so much, Ambassador Espinosa. I really liked your point calling for a greater mindful and challenging times, and also to create radical change, particularly to address COVID-19, but also for our many challenges. Next, we have the great honor to explain to the President of the Prime Minister's Court of Bahrain, Shikusam Ben-Essa Al-Palliba. So I ask those who are here to give me the camera and for the President of the Prime Minister's Court to connect. Professor Jeffrey, ladies and gentlemen, good morning, good afternoon, evening. My thanks and appreciation to Professor Jeffrey for denying such a distinguished guest. I pray to Allah for you all to stay healthy and prosperity. Before I start this Royal Highness, ask me, first, to convey personally, this special thanks and gratification to many people who have helped turn this idea into reality. I'm honored for you to be here. On this International Day of Consciousness, we should inspire to recognize the importance of value of world consciousness, to combat the threats to the world, future, and the achievement of our joint objective for a world of peace and harmony. The value that allows the world to the necessity of shouldering our collective responsibility while recognizing that of our collaborative effort to be of value, they must reinforce a global unity and fulfill the inspiration of all people. Peace, growth, and stability are achievable, but only with a clear concept of many threats humanity face. And in the determination of unifying a global response, is our sincere belief that the initiative and poem for the observance of International Day of Consciousness reflect upon God theist to humanity as it's told through the words of His Prophet Muhammad peace upon him. Consciousness is the ray of life and hope that directs us in everything that reinforces the value of love and peace. The world is facing a global challenge. The pandemic brought about by the great spirit of the coronavirus and the pain of heavily loses its impact and will bring back humanity beyond belief. If a proof is needed that humanity is up, is about run, we look no further than the manner of spirit of this virus, it's a threat global, making no distinguish as to race, color, or greed. It is one of the certain we do not recognize nationality or social standing. The consequences of tragic is a situation where none of us can claim a clear conscience. Having a globalization to develop through control and start message, a strategy has no place in today's world. We need to encourage a step toward the policy of humanitarian globalization and use this state of consciousness as the starting point in defining world consciousness that has universal humanitarian value. One that stands for and equates peace and compassion while representing everything that promotes justice in and equality. Only an assertive and truthful conscious can inspire humanity in dealing with the pandemic or death matter other crisis such as those brought about by property. If we are to lead, or near and contribute with purpose to the fulfillment of a human inspiration, we must do so under the umbrella of the United Nations. On this day of consciousness we have an opportunity to maximize our contribution to the potential for change and the incentive of the drive development. It is an occasion to listen to our consciousness, the strong and loudest inner voice of love on beats that guide us toward taking a pioneering role and promoting policy that partners the philosophy of world consciousness to serve humanitarian objectives. To see a future in which achievement of civilization are available for a future generation, then it is for us all to handle world consciousness with its natural volatility and effort and collect generically with all effort that seek a sustainable future that can bring unity and harmony. For the sake of a global collaboration justice, equality and respect for the human dignity. In conclusion, we would like once again to thank the United Nations for its pioneering role in advancing understanding and the culture of peace by hosting this webinar in the most difficult circumstances. Finally, we call upon that the national community to do us as strategy to enhance the concept of global health security. Thank you. Thank you so much, Excellency, and I couldn't agree more that today is just the starting point and we look forward to celebrating many observations of the International Day of Conference in the years to come. Next, we have a message from the UN Deputy Secretary General Amina Mohammed. Unfortunately, she could not be with us today. She sent us regrets, but Professor Sacks is going to read the message. Thank you very much. Nobody is working harder than UN Secretary General Antonio Gutierrez and UN Deputy Secretary General Amina Mohammed to try as urgently as possible to bring this horrific epidemic under control. They've put the UN institutions at the very center of the battle against COVID-19 and they're leading global efforts to bring all of our multilateral institutions to bear in this crisis and also to keep us on track in this moment at our fundamental objectives of human rights and sustainable development. I'm pleased to be able to read a statement by UN Deputy Secretary General Amina Mohammed. She says, we commemorate the International Day of Conscience in a moment when the world faces a human crisis unlike any we have seen in the 75-year history of the United Nations. The UN General Assembly declared on the 5th of April the International Day of Conscience as a means of regularly mobilizing the efforts of the international community to promote peace, tolerance, inclusion, understanding, and solidarity in order to build a sustainable world of peace, solidarity, and harmony. Today we have an opportunity to come together to respond to the multiple dimensions and the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. This pandemic reinforces how interconnected the world is, reminding us that we are all one human family. Its magnitude demonstrates that only through a collective effort will we overcome. Government's businesses, academia, civil society, and individuals need to come together in mounting the most robust and cooperative response the world has ever seen. As the United Nations Secretary General has said and I quote, this human crisis demands coordinated, decisive, inclusive, and innovative policy action from the world's leading economies and maximum financial and technical support for the poorest and most vulnerable people and countries. These are extraordinary times that require extraordinary measures. We cannot lose our shared conscience. We cannot forget that we are part of a human family connected and bound by something far more powerful and significant than what divides us. More than ever we understand the importance of the implementation of the sustainable development goals. We have the opportunity to learn and to build back better. In the face of this crisis we can strengthen the world's resilience. That is the main purpose of the International Day of Conscience, to build a culture of peace with love and conscience based on cooperation, solidarity, and respect to human rights. Our attitudes and behaviors during this time will reflect the path we want to pursue in the construction of a sustainable world of justice, inclusion, and compassion. End of statement. Thank you so much Jeff, what was great. So also keeping with the theme of the COVID-19 at this dire moment in the global pandemic, we're also fortunate to be able to share some video remarks from World Health Organization's Director General, Dr. Tedros Adhanam-Gabrisis. Your Excellency, Your Excellency, Sheikh Hassan, Excellencies, Distinguished Guests, and Friends, Assalamu Alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuhu. I would like to thank his Highness Prince Khalifa, the Prime Minister of Bahrain for his vision and leadership in initiating this day. The COVID-19 pandemic is reminding us that although we have different languages, traditions, and beliefs, we're one human race. We share the same DNA, but we also share the same hope for a life of peace, harmony, and health. The International Day is a powerful reminder that we're united in our struggle against a common threat. The only way to defeat the pandemic and save lives is by working together as one in a spirit of solidarity. A new coronavirus is taking so much from us, but it's also giving us something special, the opportunity to work together as one. COVID-19 will leave a deep scar for many individuals, families, communities, and nations. But my hope is that its legacy will also be a world that's more connected, more united, and more harmonious. Shukran jazeelan, your Highness, for this incredible achievement, and shukran jazeelan, Bahrain. I thank you. Hello, I don't hear anything. I'm sorry, I think you were missing the video audio. Apologies, Mr. Moratinos. We're going to continue with the agenda. Okay, I'm still here, but now I don't hear anything. I mean, you're here, so I hear you. Apologies for that. So again, we're very grateful to have such an important message from Dr. Ted Rose, and I'm going to turn it over to Jeff to introduce our next speaker. Okay. Please, for all speakers, please be on mute when you're not speaking, because we have 800 people right now in the chat room, so everybody has to be silent while others are speaking. And we are indeed lucky to have, I mean, very fortunate to have the people who are leading this struggle, together sharing this International Day of Conscience from WHO, from the leadership of the UN itself. And now I'm absolutely delighted to introduce our very distinguished next speaker. The Day of Conscience is about peace, solidarity, and respect for cultural diversity, the very mission of UNESCO, the wonderful organization committed to a shared world of science, education, and culture. We're very, very fortunate to have with us the Assistant Director General for Education, who leads the world's efforts for education for all, for SDG4, and especially for SDG4.7, which calls for an education for sustainable development, for global citizenship, for tolerance, and for peace. Dr. Stefania Giannini is a very great leader of global education. She was Minister of Education of Italy before taking on the huge global responsibilities for UNESCO. She is a distinguished academic and a wonderful linguist who inspires us and leads us. So, Stefania, thank you so much for joining us, and thank you for UNESCO's leadership. This is a day also to celebrate UNESCO's role in the world. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Hope you can hear me well. And ladies and gentlemen, dear Professor Saps, dear Jeff, let me start thanking very much for this initiative and the honor of this invitation. And let me also start with a personal note. I feel that we marked really this first international day of conscience quite timely in this global crisis, which is affecting all of humanity and hitting very much hard some countries more. I'm thinking of my country, Italy, as you said, which is one of the very first in Europe, but now we can say it's really a global, global, you know, new tragedy we have facing. We see our extreme vulnerability and the role of conscience. Conscience, as a word, comes from all Latin and means knowing within oneself, knowing and being aware of what is wrong and what is right. And I really commend the Kingdom of Bahrain for the initiatives of this resolution, which is quite close to the heart of UNESCO mandate, building peace in minds of women and men through education, culture and science and strengthen more than ever today, international and moral solidarity. So today we can say that since 75 years from the establishment of the UN system, the same sentiment of global solidarity is the only cure we have to this unprecedented situation we are facing. And solidarity is rooted in this consciousness, awareness of a common humanity and a shared planet and with also that of a sense of universal responsibility towards both. And this awareness starts with education. So let me let me assume at first this angle and moving on to the issue of cultural diversity, which is the other pillar together with science of our mandate at UNESCO and how we can try to contribute to this global crisis today. So education, we can say I'm sure everybody around this table today agree with me that has been one of the most revolutionary human rights advances of the past 70 years and also still powerful tool to address inequalities. But today, today we face a nearly unprecedented situation, unexpected situation close to 90% of the worst students. That means 1.5 billion children and youth in 188 countries are affected by school and university closures. So almost overnight from these observatory of UNESCO global observatories, you know, we have seen the worst most abandoned countries and now more recently now some of the tourists running to put their contents online and to move from the traditional classroom to a new learning platform. And we can define this as one of the most global rapid social experiment within education and outside the system and the speed at which governments have reacted to ensure that learning doesn't stop, learning must continue is really impressive. But we know, we don't forget, the SDG4 big family should say like this, that for millions of disadvantaged and most vulnerable learners, distance learning opportunities are not at their disposal immediately. So countering this was the first impetus for UNESCO to launch the COVID-19 global coalition on to address the education response on March 25th and more than 80 now, public and from private sector and civil society partners joined the coalition. The coalition aims to unlock distance learning solutions that are free, universal and accessible and to defend the right in all circumstances. I think that the challenge now, let me say, goes beyond technology and connectivity. And it's really very much about the resilience of the human fabric, if I say like this, emotional well-being and care for the most vulnerable and fragile. And this is something that brings me to the new roadmap we'll have after the crisis within the SDG4. I understand this crisis, this pandemic as a wake-up call for education system to prepare learners for a word of complexity, precarity and uncertainty, but it's also a call for developing a sense of caring, taking care for self, taking care for others and the planet and everything in a spirit of respect and solidarity. So in other words, this is very much what we know is the ambition of target 4.7 within the roadmap of education, quality education for all SDG4 and must remain this 4.7, I should say, must remain our roadmap for shifting paradigms and leaving no one behind after the crisis. Our programs on education for sustainable development and global citizenship are very much at the core of the renewed global conscience that we need and we need more and more within the crisis and beyond the crisis. And that's what we're doing at UNESCO. I mentioned the global coalition, I can mention this important, impressive call for action to the scientists community with the Ministry of Conference and my colleagues organized last week what we are doing about valorizing the importance of culture today. Sharing culture is one of the main message that UNESCO is disseminating and reaching every single person at home. We say stay at home, sharing knowledge, culture and science. So I think the resolution for this international day, it's a very powerful message, it's our own message and this how we are appealing to everyone's conscience to protect education now through and beyond the crisis to protect the role of science. Politicians must listen to science more and more, definitely we understood and to build a new, maybe better world within this crisis and after. So thank you very much Jeff, thank you all of you and looking forward to what you get about that. Thank you so much, Ms. D'Andini, your points about ensuring access to distance learning for the world's most important role or finding alternative solutions to them in this critical time is a vital point to make today. I'd like to remind people that we will have some Q&A at the end of the broadcast and so we've been getting a few questions via the chat but if anybody else has questions they want to put to our panelists just a reminder to keep sending those in, we're keeping track of them. So we're moving on to some more wonderful speakers and special guests. It's my great honor and pleasure to now introduce two-time Academy Award-winning actor and producer, Mr. Michael Douglas, who also is a great humanitarian and serves as a UN messenger of peace. Mr. Douglas, we're having a little bit of trouble hearing you. I think we might need to connect your audio. There's an icon that might be orange and should be green just above the video one. Great, thank you so much. All right, good morning again Professor Sacks and my fellow partners. As a United Nations messenger of peace, I often reflect on how the UN is a unique home address for the entire human family, a place where we means everyone as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights says without distinction of any kind. It is a place founded on a moral vision of a world of equality free from fear, want, and war. And I remind us that we share this home all together. This year through the collectivism of the world's nations, the UN General Assembly guided by the leadership of Bahrain, adopted Resolution 73329 promoting the culture of peace with love and conscience. It establishes the International Day of Conscience. Now it is surprising in a time of so much cynicism, dysfunctional adversity, and discord for a political instrument to so strongly articulate our highest values, peace, love, and conscience. And these precious human capacities are so needed to address so many threats to our family's well-being, such as climate change, environmental degradation, gross poverty, and nuclear weapons. The UN Charter calls us to quote, to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war. And today humanity is engaged in a war, but it is a real, it is not between any nations or peoples. It is a war against all nations and all peoples. It is a war which cannot be won by all the world's armies despite the nearly $2 trillion spent on their weapons last year, nor by the over 14,000 nuclear bombs through which nine states pursue security daily in a persistent, irrational, hazardous threat of use. It's a war waged by COVID-19, a microscopic virus too small for the eye to see, but powerful enough to compel us to think about and knew about ourselves. And we may be socially distant, but you're all feeling a common sense of vulnerability. Anyone tuned to the voice of conscience can recognize that what binds us together far exceeds any issues that should lead us to violence. Conscience reminds us that no woman, nor man, nor nation is an island. We must now call upon government leaders to bring global conscious into action to address the present threat to human security. The world's most powerful nations must put aside their differences and convene and utilize the power of the UN Security Council to bring reality to the recent General Assembly resolution calling for quote, intensified international cooperation to contain, mitigate, and defeat the COVID-19 disease. The resolution creating the special day makes specific reference to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Article one states, quote, all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights and they are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in the spirit of brotherhood. The resolution calls us to go beyond the spirit of brotherhood into the act of expression of love. The declaration calls us to advance it through teaching and education and I suggest supporting the civil society initiative being championed by the Global Security Institute to obtain a General Assembly resolution encouraging every ministry of education to ensure to the best of their ability that every secondary school child be given either physically or electronically a copy of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and when possible classroom enforcement of its contents. I also wish to bring a specific matter of conscience before us. On October 18th, 2018, the UN Humanitarian Rights Commission affirmed that the threat of use of nuclear weapons is incompatible with respect for the rights of life and they amount to a crime against humanity end of quote and further that states must also pursue in good faith negotiations in order to achieve that aim of nuclear disarmament under strict and effective international controls. Taking away the adversity inherent in the human rights violating threat of nuclear annihilation educating the next generation of the importance of the rights and dignity of every precious life would be a step to advancing a culture peace and an expression of love. Thank you. Thank you so much Mr. Douglas for your wise and incredibly moving words as well as your perspective on the issue of peace. We have a slight schedule change because one of our speakers has a difficult time string we're kind of trying to accommodate so we're actually going to jump to SDG advocate high level commissioner on health employment and economic growth and medical doctor Dr. Alamurabit. This is the exact combination of expertise we need so much in our role today and so we are delighted to hear from you today. Thank you guys so much for having me. I think it's incredible to be having this conversation particularly in this moment. I know everyone here is not immune to the reality of what's happening and you know I think it's so important for us to be bringing a few things to light and that's we're all kind of urgently talking about what's happening in the now which is important. We need to be addressing the current crisis. We need to be creating opportunities and solutions for people but I do think that if anything the International Day of Conscious can remind us that it's so incredibly important to be asking how is this going to impact us in the future and what needs to change to make this system more accessible and more tangible and more supportive for all people not only a select few. I know many of us have been watching the news probably more than we should for the past few weeks and I think something that has really stuck in my mind is we're looking at these conversations around essential workers and we're looking around this idea of these are the people that have to be at work for everything from doctors and nurses on the front lines and hospitals to grocery store workers to you know mail delivery to teachers who are who are still trying to do the best that they can from their homes but these are the people that we are saying are absolutely essential and the vast majority of those occupations are completely underestimated and resourced in our communities. As a doctor and as a high level commissioner on health and economic growth I'm going to specifically focus on health for a second. You know when we when we talk about the importance of responding in a crisis I think what we've seen you know around the world has been that this virus does not discriminate as most don't and yet yet the the percentage of African Americans for example in the United States or of the more marginalized and the more disenfranchised that are passing away around the world is significant it's something that we actually need to register and so it becomes a question the virus clearly isn't what's discriminating but the underlying foundation for those communities has always been imbalanced it's always there has always been a lack of resources in health care there's always been undermined infrastructure and that actually ends up becoming incredibly important when you have a pandemic like this so we have to begin to ask ourselves how do our current economic priorities align to our values and morals because if we're still at the point where we are saying you know what we are countries that are for dignity we are people that believe in in the human rights and in peace building and in respect and in you know if we're saying we fundamentally believe in that then we have to actually show that based on where we prioritize our resources and the fact that you know many politicians for the past few weeks have been saying this is a war um and yet healthcare is not resourced like wars are at all um you know we have we have nurses around the world who are going into work if that um if they're if they're able to going into work wearing garbage bags and so I think we really need to really bring to like such an important conversation which is if we say that we are about fundamental human rights and and if we are today talking about really you know bringing to like the difficult conversations that we need to be having what does our current healthcare system and what does our current economic model say about the value of human life thank you so much dr muribet we appreciate you taking the time today and I especially enjoyed your focus on inequality and the need to build more just and equal societies as we try to address this current challenge thank you for having me it was wonderful to be here and I apologize that I had that 10 o'clock hard stop not a problem happy to work around your schedule jeff would you like to jump in again to introduce our next speaker please it would indeed thank you a lot and thank you michael douglas for your leadership and your very very powerful words really resonated your idea of putting the universal declaration of human rights into the hands of every high school student in the world is something I will really act on it's such an important basic idea that needs to be done so that new generation of young leaders understands well and has the tools well to keep the world at peace one of the institutions that is recognized as a fundamental leader in the culture of peace is the united nations alliance of civilizations and it's my great honor and pleasure to introduce the leader the high representative for the alliance of civilizations miguel angelo moratinos who is a great friend a great champion of sustainable development who is one of the world's most experienced and savvy diplomats who knows the world he was spain's foreign minister for six years he's been engaged in solving tough problems in all parts of the world he's a great friend of the un sustainable development solutions network miguel let's say thank you so much for being with us and thank you for the leadership of the alliance for civilizations it's a we're all very excited to hear your thoughts well thank you yes i don't know if you hear me i know that you don't see me that is the technological challenge still okay thank you so let's start but of course by greeting all of you here in europe and different parts of the world and to commemorate this international day of conscience i think you refer to that jeffrey the u.s. general assembly resolution 8.73 was the one who promotes culture of peace with love and conscience and everybody will have a refer to that and of course we have to command the leadership of the king of bad rain in hamlet and of course also you know the his highness prince halifa bin salman and the government bad rain for this this resolution the un united nation allowed civilization was the among the first to support the resolution we also received last year a delegation of the parliament of bad rain in order to see how we could implement this resolution because it's not enough just to make a call to decide to have a dual international day is how this principle of conscience how we are going to implement on the ground and of course i have to commend my dear friend the president of the 73 session of new and general assembly my dear friend maria fernanda thank you from maria fernanda for your leadership and your continued engagement in this issue uh uh well jeffrey i think you are a sustained developer solution network and your initiative of uh uh ethic for action you were always very much close to how to get together the easy with also you know this principle of solidarity fraternity and of course of conscience so today when we are commemorating this important day i think is there for the first time after the world war two that entire humanity is facing the same threat at the same time it's also the first time that everybody recognize how interconnected our faith are despite the closed border and travel restriction these things are kind of paradox we close border but we are more integrated than ever so really that is something like us to think about so this sense of unity solidarity compassion and international cooperation are of absolute essential to address the pandemic i think we have to really defeat it through this kind of common cooperation and common responsibility in order to succeed that's one of the reasons that we with my dear colleague adam ajan we really sense we call for a joint appeal in order to really create this sense of humanity solidarity and compassion so that is the way that the secretary general so uh mandate us adam ajan and myself to produce and to continue to develop this call but before to leave this uh important gathering of today i was thinking last night how we can really understand what the word conscience means and i think uh i think we have to really go to a very important let's say philosophical political discussion i mean science conscience and conscience that that is a trilogy that we have to refer of course uh the science has produced a tremendous evolution and the scientific revolution and we can practically today welcome all the advance and discoveries neuro data neuro data you know this brand computer interface we are at the end of you know this long road of science have discovered to all of us but what is the paradox the paradox towards this uh pandemic with this crisis uh what is the the solution the solution they're giving to us doctor and medical the sector is that the washing our hands with salt for 30 seconds so that is a bit erotica after what are the advancement of a scientific revolution we have to go to the old traditional habit for a healthy a healthy environment so science will never be only without conscience and that is the important element of conscience what is conscience if you google the word conscience the word as common use in its moral sense means the inherent sense of every healthy human being to perceive that what is right is what is wrong in pilling was towards the right direction and definitive is the sum of moral and ethical principle that control guides or inhibits the thought of action executed by each individual if an individual is guided by their conscience and what is entail of social and moral responsibility then once concerned will lead him or her to the right direction and that is do the general good namely solidarity fraternity compassion and to love your neighbors nonetheless science plus conscience are not enough we need the third angle so that our triangle is complete here come consciousness you may ask what is the difference between conscience and consciousness and again if you find the definition they say consciousness is the function and the state of awareness of the human mind that receive and process its information to store it or reject it is proven that the more information one is able to gather and process the more aware and the more conscious one become regarding one's internal and external world awareness and withfulness represent the two main components of conscience so my dear friend this triangle will help us in the implementation of international debt of conscience science will continue to explore innovative solution conscience will lead us to right direction and consciousness will trigger our awareness and what is morally right and what we have a social and moral responsibility to work our friends and neighbors in the broader sense that transcend neighborhood to cities countries and continents so that solidarity compassion fraternity prepare for the good of all humanity so that is my small contribution in this day of international UN day of conscience thank you very much thank you so much mr. Mauritinos for your leadership on global understanding and peace and also for leading the alliance of civilizations which is so vital for the world today we are now very lucky to have a video message from mr. Dominique de Villepin the former prime minister of science and with apologies again mr. Mauritinos unfortunately technology i'm not sure you'll be able to hear the video so for you it might be a couple moments thank you thank you very much thank you thank you on this day of conscience thanks to the initiative of the kingdom of Bahrain let's we all remember the importance of peace for the world community in such times of growing fear rising tensions and nationalism more than ever facing the tragic challenges of the covid-19 epidemic we see the necessity of a stronger solidarity cooperation and multilateralism we all have today an obligation to react collectively in a burst of courage to alleviate the suffering of our nations around the world great so we had that wonderful video message from the former prime minister but i cannot hear it no but we are now moving to some video remarks we have from Tanzania and parliamentarian she's also a professor we have a video from anna kajumolo tiba juka at the founding conference of the united nations and therefore in the chart of the united nations the whole question of conscience was brought to the table because as human beings we must run our life on principles on values and conscience is a gift from god everybody has a conscience everybody knows what is right and what is wrong you don't actually need the preacher you don't need the you know that this is wrong it is wrong to kill it is wrong to not to love people it is wrong to be lazy all the things that human beings value they are actually universal because they are based in our conscience so but it has taken 75 years this year when we celebrate 75 years of the united nations the word has finally come together to define common principles along which we can govern ourselves internally because self-government governance by each one of us through our conscience is a key i would i would like to take this opportunity to congratulate as i said the people who have spearheaded this campaign it has it has been such a difficult campaign it has taken so long but finally the way the word has come together actually i am sending this message at a time when there is a global pandemic of the coronavirus and you can see that humanity across the continent as we confront the corona the coronavirus pandemic you can see it has breached our conscience you can almost say that it is not just a coincidence it is actually almost like divine intervention that what else could bring the word together could force us to examine our conscience our way of life the way we treat each other the way we share success all failures or challenges so you find that it takes a disease by a virus a creature which is so small you cannot even be seen but look at its power so the whole when we talk about conscience we mean values we mean love we mean sharing we mean solidarity we mean peace we mean prosperity for everybody so we are talking about responsible uh reading responsible life making sure that we have sustainable development the the the the the the 17 uh sustainable development goals they are all breaking our conscience whether you're looking at food hunger challenge of hunger whether you're looking at the question of the women question gender equality whether you're looking at the well-being of children whatever you touch it will finally break your conscience so the message i would like to send is that this is a wake-up call for all of us it is a common rallying point that how can we make our way a better place must must it take a pandemic like coronavirus to bring everybody on the table to show the futility of nuclear weapons for example what is the use of nuclear weapons in the face of a pandemic like the one we are facing so i'd like to zero in my message on this principle that united we are strong divided none of us is safe so we must promote our common interest and this common interest is is innate in all of us we are born with it we have to love all we have to serve all we have to promote peace prosperity because together we shall be successful but divided we shall fall this is the message i'm sending and once again i'd like to congratulate the sponsors of this event the kingdom of Bahrain is real highness prince harifa ben sarman harifa sheikh usam who has also been really spearheading this and mr hong in the forpa and all the participants the people who have been working on this project no very pre-sural rates and all other who have been working very hard to make sure that we come where we are now so from tanzania i should say asante sana caribou thank you so much professor tiba juka as you've said it shouldn't take a global crisis to bring us all together and i think your message is a critical one this time our next speaker is a great scientist conservationist and humanitarian dame jane goodall dr goodall is the founder of the jane goodall institute as well as the global organization roots and roots and shoots she's also a un messenger of peace and an inspiration to people around the world we're so grateful to have you with us dr goodall if you could just unmute your microphone and turn on your camera okay it looks like we might be having a little bit of a connection challenge with dr goodall the item after this is the q and a and i have one question that i'm going to direct at each of our speakers so maybe i will take that very first question this one is for professor sacks jeff if you want to turn on your camera and your microphone uh the first question we're going to do today is what is the impact on human conscience after the pandemic situation of COVID-19 and how do you think it will affect achieving the sdgs does it strengthen existing advocacy efforts um or do you think it poses a challenge well i think i definitely we don't know because major crises can be a a wake-up call as anna tibiyuka just called for or they can actually lead to even deeper problems so don't take anything for granted don't just make predictions we have to actively work to learn from this right now the signs are very dangerous not only the virus itself but the closing borders the nationalism of course we're seeing countries blaming each other very very dangerous right now and so there's nothing that assures us that we come out of this stronger if we take the message that we shouldn't have had to wait for the pandemic itself to know to be prepared in the face of all the challenges we have to face the opportunities and adopt solutions before crises hit of the new technologies to ensure universal access of people to basic health systems and so forth to have preparedness against disasters those are the real lessons from this pandemic we could have been ready and indeed i think it's important to say many countries were ready many countries especially in east asia have kept the pandemic under control korea taiwan hong kong singapore japan have used public health systems that were already on alert since sarah's 2003 to control the pandemic china after this huge initial outbreak in wuhan battled the virus under control so preparedness can work and we need to be prepared we need to use the sustainable development goals as a roadmap which it is it's not just something we do because it's a homework assignment it's something that we do because it will build a better future let's stop listening to reactionary voices that say oh that doesn't matter this doesn't count here you have the richest country in the world the united states that is being overwhelmed by this pandemic right now because the precautionary measures the attention to our systems the honesty was not being cared for properly so we can choose to build better we can choose to use sustainable development as our roadmap going forward those are the real lessons of not having been prepared for this pandemic and we're going to have to learn and we're going to either learn the horrendously hard way or the positive way that cooperation is the only way forward thank you so much jack um i hope that we might have dr good all back with us again if we can try connecting her yeah there we are oh fabulous i know can you hear me yes we can hear you webcam thing isn't opening my entire computer crashed oh no at a very inopportune time how unfortunate everything else right up to the last just before jeffrey again i'm pressing my webcam webcam which has been working as you know all day and it's not working now isn't that frustrating that's exceedingly frustrating um and i can verify for everyone line that we did test it in the summer times and it was working earlier in the day i don't want to just go ahead and read your speech or if you want to give it one more minute to try to get it connected well i'm pressing webcam again yes can you see me unfortunately we can't yet now you can yes now we can perfect thank you so much dr honestly what a nightmare so should i start now absolutely it's wonderful to see and hear you okay well first of all greetings to everybody and i want to bring in to represent all the billions of beings who haven't been mentioned at all today with regard to human consciousness and here's the voice to represent the others simply means me jane in chimpanzee well as we all know we're going through very dark times as this COVID-19 pandemic sweeps around the world so much suffering as people fall sick including doctors and nurses on the front line working selflessly to help others the tragedy is that we've not learned from past pandemics of this sort even though we know how they originate even though the one we're experiencing now has been long predicted as we destroy the natural world we bring animals into closer and closer contact and enable viruses to spread from one species to another the meat markets where wild animals are sold for food create conditions that enable viruses to jump from an animal to a human and create a new mutation such as this COVID-19 and epidemics have been created also by close contact between people and domestic animals in confined conditions during my 85 years on planet earth i've witnessed the horrific palm that we've inflicted on the environment and the terrible cruelty that we've inflicted on each other i've seen how wealthy countries have raped poorer countries for their natural resources often leading to corrupt leaders becoming wealthy while vast numbers of the population fall ever deeper into poverty and desperation so that many including children are forced to work long hours in the fields or making garments or working in dangerous conditions in the mines they make just enough to keep them alive so that we can buy cheap goods and the rich can get richer today we should think about the growing gap between the haves and the have nots the crippling poverty not just in the poorer countries but in the wealthiest homeless people in London and New York sleep on streets where the wealthy walk past without a thought to ride the elevator to luxury apartments and champagne dinners so many of us take things for granted we buy food in the supermarket and waste a lot there's always water in the tap or to flush the toilet yet there are millions of people living close to death from lack of food getting sick from contaminated water and now fleeing from parts of the world that have become uninhabitable because of the climate crisis and the climate crisis is having the most devastating effect on the poor it's not only from war and persecution that refugees flee today millions seek refuge from an environment that has become increasingly hostile and they meet hostility of a crueler kind in the places where they finally arrive and on this first into that international day of consciousness let us realize we're not the only sentient beings on the planet in 1961 I was told at Cambridge University that there was a difference between us and other animals of kind not degree of kind even between us and our closest biological and behavioral relative the chimpanzee only we I was told had personalities minds and emotions fortunately I'd been taught as a child that that simply wasn't true my teacher was my dog Rusty maybe you see him behind my shoulder here today science acknowledges that humans are not the only sentient beings that animals too can feel pain fear joy and grief and we continually learn more and more about the amazing intelligence shown by animals from yes it looks like we've lost Dr. Goodall it looks like maybe her computer crashed again if it crashed before when she was trying to join I'm going to hope that she can reconnect to finish her statement and while we're waiting for her I'm going to go to another one of our questions I think we still learn I think we're going to have to wrap up because we're way past schedule people are having to leave so I think we should move to the wrap up okay that's you Jeff closing remarks and our final video message yeah thank you I apologize and what a wonderful statement of Dr. Goodall we want to hear the rest we will post the rest certainly I what wisdom and we're so grateful for that we've come to the end of our time I want to thank all of the listeners and and participants of today's gathering this has been a very special event at a very special time I want to thank all of you for your commitment to the culture of peace which is the the theme of the international day of conscience special thanks to the kingdom of Bahrain which has been the champion of the international day of conscience and our convener for today thank you for the leadership of the kingdom on the culture of peace thank you to this remarkable group of participants we're just honored and thrilled that you have all been with us I want to say to people all over the world please stay safe and secure keep your loved ones and family members safe work as you can remotely insecurity to promote the end of the pandemic and the rapid return to the lives we want to live out of this fear and isolation let's come together from this great challenge and build on it through using this international day of conscience to foster an even greater commitment to social justice to human rights and to sustainable development it's been a great honor and joy to be with the people from all over the world on this first ever celebration of the international day of conscience we're going to close with a special video from the kingdom of Bahrain I see Jane has just been able to reconnect Jane if you could give us the closing words that would be wonderful your words are so fantastic if you close and then we will turn immediately to the video of the kingdom of Bahrain can you hear me we do hear you now and we hope the connection holds up for the end of your statement yes it will it's been I don't know what happened to it today honestly here we go I just reached the end too so we were talking about animal sentience and that they had personality minds and feelings each one has his or her personality and emotions and can feel pain fear despair let me end with my reasons for hope we will get through this pandemic as we have got through others many of us will have realized as we are confined to our houses as we face shortages supplies especially toilet paper that we should no longer take our freedom and our health for granted and that we should have more respect for the natural world we shall then be better people more understanding more compassionate more respectful of each other and of the other animals we share the planet with this is the first international day of consciousness let it be a wake up call so that every day of every year we try to find ways to address inequality and make ethical choices in what we buy and eat and wear we must allow that still small voice of consciousness to sound louder and louder until when head and heart work in harmony we shall finally attain our true our true human potential and the little tiny bit I missed out in the middle that I said knowing animals are sentient let us pause to think of the billions of animals hunted in the wild perfect to be sold for food for entertainment to be tortured in medical and pharmaceutical research laboratories and with the billions of animals treated as walking food in factory farms let us realize that each of these animals is a sentient being each one has his or her personality and emotions each one can feel pain fear and despair thank you thank you thank you so much dr. goodall and now the video from the kingdom the visionary role played by his royal highness prince califa the prime minister of Bahrain in promoting peace and strengthening relationships among the people of the world should not be underestimated it has been the leadership of his royal highness that assured that the efforts of Bahrain's government were directed to realizing the highest development goals for its people and focusing their attention in promoting the principles for establishing a movement celebrating a world culture of peace and understanding an effort irrespective of race color or creed where all people would come together across the globe and work to preserve the right of all to a healthier environment and a secure and peaceful lifestyle his highness prince califa had directed Bahrain's representatives to engage with partners and seek out people of a similar mind to initiate this movement based on world conscience the initiating message to the united nation's general assembly his royal highness had stated that there is an urgent need for an occasion on which all people can unite to intensify efforts that preserve the right of all to live in peace and harmony within secure and stable environments environments that sustain development and promote human well-being yet preserve the ability of the planet to support both human and natural life it was the direct result of these far-sighted efforts that initiated the adoption unanimously by the united nations of resolution 73 slash 329 in july 2019 the president of the general assembly miss maria fernand espinoza we welcome the declaration of fifth april as the international day of conscience the pj welcomes this initiative of the prime minister of Bahrain his royal highness prince califa being salmon al-halifa supported by member states after the official announcement at the united nations his royal highness received many congratulatory messages from all the ambassadors to Bahrain and one from his excellency mr antonia gutteris the secretary general of the united nations who welcomed the efforts of his highness in promoting peace and prosperity through the day of conscience his highness also briefed all the ambassadors on his expectations for the inaugural celebrations and that would reflect and focus world attention and influence the strong will of the people of the world to make world conscience a cornerstone of collective action towards a safer more peaceful and stable world most peoples of the world believe everyone has a conscience a personal space within us a place where god's values are written on our soul i think that the day of conscience is a wonderful initiative and something that the world can finally enjoy and look forward to i think it's wonderful that there are still leaders in the world who care about love and peace and that we should all shout about it on the day on the day of conscience do i have to like my sister bahrain has always felt like a safe haven to us it's a wonderful island it's beautiful and the people over here are kind and generous humanity's thinking and the actions should reflect the fact that we are one human family on the day of conscience we should all join together and demonstrate that with consciousness comes ethics motivation and principles so on the day of consciousness i hope that we see many more people adopt these principles as well a virus is infecting the entire world and this virus knows no national boundaries so why the countries insist on acting selfishly the day of conscience is a chance to change that for all the countries to unify their efforts and act as one the day of conscience provides an occasion for all those seeking an opportunity to join his royal highness Bahrain and the people of the world in making world conscience the cornerstone of collective action specifically in the advancement of building a world culture of peace with love and conscience i think that's the end of our video uh unless professor sacks has any final thoughts or closing remarks i will thank our speakers and sign off go ahead Jack just to say thank you again to everybody and uh it was great to to be with you and uh to the kingdom of Bahrain thank you so much uh for this wonderful message and for the leadership i see stiffania uh maybe you also waving goodbye from UNESCO uh in paris uh and uh also we want to congratulate you for all of your leadership thanks to all we've come to the end of the session and uh we will celebrate next year's international day of conscience together uh past this epidemic we trust and on our way to the kind of future that we want to build together thank you so much to all