58 quotes found
"I don't involve myself in politics, my daily life is devoted to charity and social work. Apart from that I help my loved ones to live better, that's true. I never wanted to harm anyone. I deplore the fact that people have forgotten that for 23 years their lives improved greatly … and Tunisia became a modern country. I hope that my compatriots will render me justice by remembering the journey we undertook together. I hope that in the twilight of my life I will retain my honour."
"We were certainly aware that our country was going through a difficult time."
"Dogs howled, sensing the drama. Without Seriati(General), the president would never have left the country, it was a coup d’état … helped by secret outside influences."
"Corruption in Tunisia is getting worse. Whether it's cash, services, land, property, or yes, even your yacht, President Ben Ali's family is rumored to covet it and reportedly gets what it wants."
"The Moroccan state needs to have skin in the game to de-risk their investments in Morocco and the region."
"We need to make sure that we inject more investment into the grid, so that while we are pushing one major project, we are simultaneously pushing and strengthening the rest of the network."
"The world has been living through multiple energy transitions and in the 21stcentury these transitions are shorter in time."
"We want to ensure that this value-added proposition of being the only corridor between West Africa, the Atlantic Basin, Asia and the European market is strengthened."
"Pouring more money in a broken system does only fund more inefficiencies, because often, we don’t think and act in results and learning outcomes are results."
"Leadership is about the decisions you make and the conversations you have. It is also about the time you give."
"At the end, if you think about Africa and the Middle East, there is a huge lack of leadership. It has to be integrated with ethics. Maybe the human side of leadership is the most important piece."
"Around 330 million children are in school, but not learning. There are bodies in classrooms, but not educated minds."
"Education has been a neglected child globally; it has been seen as a national problem and has not really attracted much attention. Outside of the education bubble, I do not think that people are really aware of the true scale of the problem."
"We need more financial resources directed at education because we have more children, and also because 21st-century skills are more complex than anything that has been taught before. On the other side, the way that we are currently spending money as a society on education is not bringing the results we want to achieve."
"Institutions…could support the development of the whole ecosystem through knowledge building or creating a taskforce with other fiduciary investors and the ecosystem of dedicated impact bond managers. They have big capacities to bring systematic change, in advocacy and conversation with governments"
"Find your identity, your true self and live your mission … Your power is your radical self. Find it."
"We have our own voices. We just need you to listen."
"As young people, you do not need permission to participate. You must occupy your space because there is no governance without citizen engagement and youth-led accountability."
"We cannot shrink the future of Africa in accepting its reality."
"We clearly live in an era where we have the most unequal societies of all time. The rich are becoming richer, the poor are becoming poorer."
"When injustice is perceived, young people look upon violent groups as legitimate fighters, not perpetrators of violence."
"Africa has the wealth to invest and the clearest path to reducing inequality is investing in African youth, our most important asset."
"It is my duty to make sure that young people hold governments accountable for the implementation of the frameworks they signed up for."
"I will always push for progressive, more inclusive and more empowered positions for young people across Africa."
"Maybe you're this or maybe you’re that. I lead with, “You’re African first."
"I don't claim to stand above you in judgment. Like you, I've remained silent, even when every warning light flashed red."
"I tell myself I chose to do this. Let’s say, I chose to inspire people. I chose to be the person that I am. I want to share my experience one day and really get more and more generations here."
"I’m always happy because I feel very blessed and I love my life. Between my family and work, I have lots to smile about!"
"The day was so memorable, with so many talented artists coming together for such a great cause. I just remember looking around thinking: “I can’t believe I’m recording with all these guys.” I loved singing with Lisa Stansfield, she’s a legend!"
"My daughter, Gracie, is seven and she’s a lovely singer and dancer. She loves to play the piano. She’s a whole bundle of fun. Nothing’s certain in show business, so you have to be determined and dedicated. But as long as she’s happy, that’s all I can wish for her."
"A lot of my aunties sang. Our singing voices come from my dear grandma, who was a powerful music hall singer. I was about six when I fell in love with singing, and eight when I won a singing competition for up to 16-year-olds. I just knew that singing was for me and some of my favourite singers are Elaine Paige, Barbra Streisand, Barbara Dickson and Whitney Houston."
"One of the best memories: meeting a choir in the United States for a tour. It was moving, the Keystone State Boychoir. They sang texts from my repertoire in Arabic for the first time to accompany me in concerts."
"It's definitely not a burden because I love traveling. It's a discovery of others, a pleasure, and above all, communication and sharing of my music and singing with different people."
"We wake up every day to challenge the unwritten rule that money equals opportunity. Instead, we believe that hard work and passion should be the only two things you need to fulfill your dreams."
"I decided to focus on education first not only because I couldn’t get a college degree but also because the US’s higher-education system is so prohibitively expensive that it prevents students from reaching their full potential."
"My experience in building an NGO taught me that I thrive when I use my time and brainpower to help others. I started to think about the number of obstacles that prevent young people from accessing opportunities and realized that the root of many of these obstacles comes down to a lack of education, especially higher education."
"I work super hard. For me, what's hard is not the time, money, or sacrifice, but how mentally draining it all can be. Starting a company, your brain is constantly obsessed with something and you feel like you’re constantly failing—every single day—but somehow, you find the drive to keep moving forward."
"It is addicting. You have to think of yourself as a constant builder. As soon as you solve one problem, you can’t help but move on to the next, regardless of the obstacles in your way. You just can’t stop. It’s a compulsion, and the harder it is to move forward, the more consuming it all becomes. Weird, right? But giving up is never part of the equation. Otherwise, you may as well be working at Facebook."
"Our community of students got hit hard by COVID-19. Many of our students are now back home, some are homeless, and a lot have parents who lost their jobs. So, we decided to shift the roadmap and have been working incredibly hard to support our students during this difficult period."
"Take off this idea that liberty and security can’t work together, and think that liberty and security are essential to each other."
"I try to understand why someone can be against something as beautiful as freedom of expression or gender equality."
"I’ve always taken an interest in theatre. Taking part in school plays was a passion that continued to grow in me and made me realise how strongly I felt about acting. Growing up, my mother used to take me to see plays all the time and I remember telling myself that I was going to do this one day. In fact, I actually started my acting career in theatre."
"At first it was very difficult to gain their support. My parents were very concerned about me entering this industry, especially my father, and they were quite skeptical about me succeeding. This was one of the main motivating factors in pursuing this career path, because it became a challenge for me to prove to them that I was capable of doing it. They were eventually extremely supportive and were truly my biggest fans"
"Law was my father’s dream. I never really saw myself practicing it because I knew what I wanted to do. He was a lawyer himself so I felt like I could at least give it a try."
"I believe very short films represent the future of cinema. Digital platforms have propelled this genre forward, matching the fast-paced nature of today’s world. While they won’t replace feature-length films, they offer a refreshing addition that brings diversity and a new dimension to the industry."
"The Palestinian cause is one of the most urgent humanitarian issues globally. With my background in political science, I feel a deep connection to the plight of Palestinian refugees. It was important for me to create a film that represents their struggles in an honest and compassionate light."
"The role was challenging because it required me to portray a character undergoing significant internal conflict. It’s about a person torn between societal expectations and personal desires, caught in a whirlwind of love, friendship, and sacrifice. This character’s inner turmoil mirrors the external challenges they face, and I hope this depth resonates with the audience."
"After that, I came here to Egypt, but told them I’d just try and get one role, not that I was planning to stay here. Then I did my first movie and I told them that I had another proposal for another one."
"If you never take risks, you will never have an interesting life. To have a successful career, you should take risks – but, yes, it wasn’t an easy decision."
"It was a difficult decision to make, but I was young and I had big dreams, so I followed them. I did well in Tunis, but my acting wasn’t really being seen in other countries."
"Egypt is where I needed to be as an Arabic actress."
"I never refuse any invitation to perform in Tunisia, and sometimes I cancel everything to answer the call of my country."
"I have only one nationality, Tunisian, and I am proud of it."
"Everyone knows that my comments are directed against those who attack residents, who enter homes, who rape girls, who prevented me from accessing my home. I was talking about those who brought them into Tunisia and those who are trying to establish them in Tunisia. There is a plan to establish these migrants, who are now victims. Tunisia will not be a transit point for illegal migrants. Those who are legal are welcome. I am talking about a situation that affects all Tunisians"
"Nothing they could do would be worse than what already happens here to women, the way women are forced to live every day. Ever since we are small they tell us to be calm, to behave well, to dress a certain way, everything to find a husband. We must also study to be able to marry, because young guys today want a woman who works."
"Have reached the height of self-determination: we no longer obey any authority, neither family nor religious. We know what we want and we make our own decisions."
"I’m afraid for my life and the lives of my family."
"My body belongs to me, and is not the source of anyone’s honor."