Rt Hon Jacinda Ardern
Former Prime Minister, New Zealand
A Timeless Story of a Timeless Message
'In 2017, she became the world’s youngest female leader. Ardern’s inspiring story makes us yearn for an era of courage and hope.'
‘The Right Honourable Dame Jacinda Ardern was elected the 40th Prime Minister of New Zealand at the age of thirty-seven, becoming the country’s youngest Prime Minister in more than 150 years. Since leaving office, Ardern has established the Field Fellowship on empathetic leadership. She is a Senior Fellow at Harvard University, continues to work on climate action, and is the Patron of the Christchurch Call to Action to eliminate terrorist and violent extremist content online. Ardern also works on a number of projects that support women and girls, but considers her greatest roles to be those she will hold for life, including that of mum and proud New Zealander.’
Empathy is a kind of strength’: Jacinda Ardern on kind leadership, public rage and life in Trump’s America
Jacinda Ardern in Conversation with the Guardian’s editor-in-chief,Katharine Viner. More on this later.
Time is Now to Make the World Great Again!
At a time when more and more leaders around the world are embracing selfishness,cruelty, narcissism, arrogance and foolishness, affecting the moral and spiritual fabric of communities and societies everywhere, we need empathy, compassion and kindness to build a better world. Carpe diem!
‘The fundamental weakness of Western civilization is empathy.’ - Elon Musk
‘The death of human empathy is one of the earliest and most telling signs of a culture about to fall into barbarism.’-Hannah Arendt
“Empathy is not only a personal feeling; it can be a potent force for political and social change. And thus the suppression or denial of empathy is a deliberate part of a cynical political calculus. Dividing people and stoking animosity can pave a path to power (and in this most recent election, it has).”- Dan Rather (see below for more)
This is why every country needs a Jacinda Ardern to discover What it Means to be Human and Great
This is Why in a World Engulfed in Crisis of Selfishness and Narcissism, needs Kindness, Compassion and Empathy
‘If instead of fierce nationalism or self-interest, we seek to form our tribes based on concepts that can and should be universal. What if we no longer see ourselves based on what we look like, what religion we practice, or where we live. But by what we value. Humanity. Kindness. An innate sense of our connection to each other. And a belief that we are guardians, not just of our home and our planet, but of each other. We are borderless, but we can be connected. We are inherently different, but we have more that we share. We may feel afraid, but as leaders we have the keys to create a sense of security, and a sense of hope. We just need to choose.Tatou tatou. No reira, tena koutou, tena koutou, tena koutou katoa.’- 'Political leaders can be both empathetic and strong'
“Political leaders in those moments of deep economic insecurity have two options. One is to acknowledge the environment that they’re in. We’re in a globalised world. We’re in an interconnected world. And we’re in a world of technological disruption. We need a policy prescription that acknowledges all of that. And those are often hard solutions. Hard, difficult to communicate, difficult to implement. But that’s what you’ve got to do. Or …
“You choose blame. Blame the other, blame the migrants, blame other countries, blame multilateral institutions, blame. But it does not fundamentally solve it. In fact, all that happens at the end is you have an othered group, and people who feel dissatisfied and angry and more entrenched…”
‘Simply being human is more than enough for a leader’
Photo credit: International Politics and Society (IPS)
‘Empathy is a kind of strength’: Jacinda Ardern on kind leadership, public rage and life in Trump’s America
Jacinda Ardern in Conversation with the Guardian’s editor-in-chief,Katharine Viner
‘For about a decade, Ardern worked diligently as an MP, learning the ropes in politics. In the book she tells an anecdote about the time she asked a fellow MP, known as a bruiser, how to toughen up. He begs her not to. “You feel things because you have empathy, because you care,” he told her. “The moment you change is the moment you’ll stop being good at your job.”
‘In 2022, a few months before she quit as prime minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern was standing at the sink in the toilets in Auckland airport, washing her hands, when a woman came up to her and leaned in. She was so close that Ardern could feel the heat from her skin. “I just wanted to say thank you,” the woman said. “Thanks for ruining the country.” She turned and left, leaving Ardern “standing there as if I were a high-schooler who’d just been razed”.
The incident was deeply shocking. Ardern had been re-elected in a historic landslide two years before. She enjoyed conversation and debate; she liked being the kind of leader who wasn’t sealed off from the rest of the population. But this, says Ardern, “felt like something new. It was the tenor of the woman’s voice, the way she’d stood so close, the way her seething, nonspecific rage felt not only unpredictable but incongruous to the situation … What was happening?”
The incident came at a pivotal moment: Ardern sensed that the tide was turning against her and she was grappling with whether to go. “Something had been loosened worldwide,” she says, with rage everywhere, public servants being followed and attacked, as if they were “somehow distinct from being human”. We all recognise this rage, but Ardern was at the centre of it, representing progressive politics, tough Covid measures, empathy, emotion, anti-racism, femaleness; a symbol of a different time, more rational, kinder, when rules still meant something. When there were many female leaders – Angela Merkel, Theresa May, Sanna Marin, Mia Mottley, Mette Frederiksen, Tsai Ing-wen.
For all these reasons, Ardern is now missed by progressives, at home and abroad. At her height she had blazed a global trail, modelling a different way of doing politics – wearing a headscarf and embracing weeping bereaved families after the Christchurch mosque massacre, then reforming gun laws in 10 days; taking decisive action on Covid that meant New Zealanders were able to party again while the rest of the world could barely go out; leaving celebrities from Elton John to Stephen Colbert starry-eyed with her poise and wit and humanity. It was Jacinda-mania, and everybody wanted a prime minister like her: young (elected at just 37) and a woman, she offered a different vision of national identity for New Zealand – straightforward, compassionate, diverse, globally desirable – and a different way to lead a country – youthful, human, decent. She had a hunky feminist boyfriend and was pregnant when she became PM; and she was going “to bring kindness back”.
And then, out of the blue, after six years in office, in January 2023, she dramatically announced her resignation. How could she have done this to us, her fans wailed, at a time when the world is falling apart before our eyes? …
Jacinda Ardern hugs a young mother on the footpath outside the Kilbirnie Islamic Centre and mosque in Wellington. Photo: Lynn Grieveson ( When Trump asked what America could do, Ardern replied: ‘You can show sympathy and love for all Muslim communities.’)
‘No wonder she was tired: Ardern’s time in power may have been short, but it was particularly tumultuous, punctuated by earthquakes, a terror attack and, of course, a global pandemic. Neve was born in June 2018. Nine months later, a far-right Australian man killed 51 worshippers at a mosque in Christchurch, livestreaming the attack on Facebook. Ardern’s response was instinctive and moving, most notably in the simple statement about the Muslim victims: “They are us.” In a speech that reverberated around the world, she said: “Many of those who will have been directly affected by this shooting may be migrants to New Zealand, they may even be refugees here. They have chosen to make New Zealand their home, and it is their home.” She held the families of the dead and cried with them…’ - Continue to read
A Selection of Must-read Books by Jacinda Arden
I Know This to Be True: Jacinda Ardern: On Kindness, Empathy, and Strength
‘Politician, feminist, champion for social equality, and the 40th Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern epitomizes the modern leader. With confidence and grace, she talks about her legacy as a politician, a feminist, and a mother. Her humanitarian work and tireless efforts on behalf of her country during uncertain and difficult times make Jacinda Ardern a role model, an inspiration, and a beacon for anyone seeking true leadership.
Inspired by Nelson Mandela’s legacy and created in collaboration with the Nelson Mandela Foundation, I Know This to Be True is a global series of books created to inspire a new generation of leaders. Extraordinary figures from diverse backgrounds answer the same questions, sharing their compelling stories, guiding ideals, and insightful wisdom. The result is a landmark collection of books brimming with messages of leadership, courage, compassion, and hope. Delivered in lovely, giftable jacketed hardcovers with vivid photographic portraits throughout, these books offer encouragement and guidance to graduates, future leaders, and anyone hoping to make a positive impact on the world.
Royalties from sales of this book will support the free distribution of material from the series in countries with developing economies or economies in transition.’
Buy the book HERE
A Different Kind of Power: The deeply personal and inspiring memoir
‘A deeply personal memoir from the former prime minister of New Zealand, then the world’s youngest female head of government and just the second to give birth in office.
‘A rare glimpse into the foundations of Jacinda’s unique and unprecedented leadership style, one that values humanity above all else. An essential, inspiring read’ – Natalie Portman
‘Jacinda Ardern grew up the daughter of a police officer in small-town New Zealand, but as the 40th Prime Minister of her country, she became a global icon for her empathetic leadership that put people first. She guided her country through unprecedented challenges, from the 2019 Christchurch mosque attacks to a global pandemic. She advanced visionary policies to address climate change and child poverty. And all while juggling first-time motherhood in the public eye.
This is the inspiring story of how a Mormon girl plagued by self-doubt changed our assumptions of what a leader can be.
A Different Kind of Power is more than a political memoir. Powerfully evocative and refreshingly open, it is for anyone who has ever questioned themselves, or has wanted to make a difference. A profound insight into how it feels to lead, it asks: what if you, too, are capable of more than you ever imagined?-’Photo credit: RebelNews
Buy the book HERE
Read a review: Nicola Sturgeon: Jacinda Ardern ‘offered a different template for politics’
Dan Rather. Speaking truth to power.
“But truth does matter’. Dan Rather reflects on more than 60 years in journalism at Boston University on 19 November 2019.
Dan Rather On Why America Needs More Empathy
Dan Rather (far left) in the third grade at Love Elementary School. Courtesy Dan Rather
Dan Rather On Why America Needs More Empathy: Empathy builds Community
‘The culture of empathy I remember growing up during the Great Depression taught us that those who were suffering weren’t lazy or lacking the desire to do better — fate had the potential to slap any of us.
I am not sure if the word empathy was in either of my parents’ vocabularies. It wasn’t the kind of word one heard growing up in my neighborhood in Houston. But my parents taught me about the importance of empathy through their words and deeds. And they made it clear that it was part of the glue that held together our family, our neighborhood, our community, and the United States itself.
“These acts of kindness were also not unusual among neighbors. Necessity was a great motivator for innovation and empathy.”
“It is perhaps not surprising that Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan looked at a nation so traumatized and felt they could defeat us. Of course history turned out differently. The same generation that had been driven to such depths in the 1930s rose up to push back the forces of totalitarianism in a two-ocean global war in the 1940s. Perhaps those authoritarians, who felt no empathy for their own people or those they conquered, underestimated the strength of our empathy.
Empathy builds community. Communities strengthen a country and its resolve and will to fight back. We were never as unified in national purpose as we were in those days. What had weakened us had also made us stronger.”
“Empathy makes for wise foreign and domestic policy.”
“I worry that our nation today suffers from a deficit of empathy, and this is especially true of many in positions of national leadership. “
“Empathy is not only a personal feeling; it can be a potent force for political and social change. And thus the suppression or denial of empathy is a deliberate part of a cynical political calculus. Dividing people and stoking animosity can pave a path to power (and in this most recent election, it has).”
Dan Rather
June 22, 2017
See and read the original article HERE
All said and done
“In a world where you can be anything, be kind.”
The Values of the GCGI which we hold very dearly
We value caring and kindness
We value passion and positive energy
We value service and volunteerism
We value simplicity and humility
We value trust, openness, and transparency
We value values-led education
We value harmony with nature
We value non-violent conflict resolution
We value interfaith, inter-civilisational and inter-generational dialogue
We value teamwork and collaboration
We value challenge and excellence
We value fun and play
We value curiosity and innovation
We value health and wellbeing
We value a sense of adventure
We value people, communities and cultures
We value friendship, cooperation and responsibility