Dear Friends,

Our world faces a complex and sometimes bewildering array of interconnected political and social challenges. The activities of The Elders over the past month gives a brief snapshot: we have engaged on health reform in India, climate change in California, and conflicts, human rights protection and global governance at the UN General Assembly in New York.

We also still keenly feel the loss of our late Chair, Kofi Annan, whose remarkable life was honoured with a state funeral in Ghana, and memorial events at the UN in New York and Geneva where several Elders attended. In all our activities in September, and in all we will undertake in the coming months, Kofi remains a constant source of inspiration as we work to support peace, justice and human rights.

Kofi called climate change “the great existential threat of our time”, and the new report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released today shows starkly how much more we all need to do to reach the target of keeping global temperature rises to 1.5 degrees.

I have recently returned from California, a part of the world already feeling the impact of climate change, most recently demonstrated in their most destructive and expensive wildfire season on record.

The Elders react to IPCC report

The Elders demand urgent action to meet 1.5 degrees target and avert climate disaster

Recent highlights

On 24 September, at the high level Nelson Mandela Peace Summit in New York, Graça Machel addressed world leaders and presented a publication of 100 Ideas for a Freer, Fairer World grounded in the work of 100 Sparks of Hope brought together by the #WalkTogether campaign.

Join the #WalkTogether movement online and share a Spark of Hope that inspires you!