"Inclusive democracy means the inclusion of all sections and sectors of the society
in the political, social, economic and developmental affairs on an equitable and proportional basis."
Sharada Sharma
"As a nation, we need to continuously challenge ourselves
in areas of inclusion and acceptance."
Rep. Pam Gulleson, North Dakota Assembly
"Part of the problem is that health care is one of
the few places in our society where we haven't made the commitment to include everybody.
We
don't have a fire system where the fire trucks don't go to certain houses on the block. We have a public education system
where we say we're going to include all children. Yet the United States has never made the commitment to include everybody
in health care."
Anthony Wright, Director of Health Access, Sacramento, California
"Education is clearly at the heart of driving changes
towards a just and inclusive society at local, national and international levels."
Martin Davidson, Director general designate of the British Council
"There is a need for people to be more open and inclusive
towards each other. Only in this way can we better understand and appreciate each other, including each other's language and
culture."
Cai Shangyao, Writer, Guangdong Province, China
"A genuinely inclusive society requires the recognition
and acceptance of disability as a reality and provides the necessary support structures that would enable all people to be
fully integrated into society."
Esther Williams
"A community's vitality is derived from the inclusion
of different views, philosophies and experiences which generates creative thinking, ideas and results."
Bob Jones, President and CEO, Old National Bancorp
"If we don't have inclusiveness in our history, we
can't possibly learn to live together."
Jack Cowan, President, TEXAS CONNECTION TO THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION ASSOCIATION
"Parents who tell their kids not to play with the
weird kid need to change that direction. Replace fear and hesitancy with inclusion and friendship. What if a parent sat down
with a child and said, 'you know honey, make sure you watch for any kids that need a friend, and then ask them to join in
- and keep asking them until they feel included and loved.'"
Kaye Nelson
"The growing use of biofuel will be an inestimable
contribution to the generation of income, social inclusion and reduction of poverty in many poor countries of the world."
President Luiz Lila da Silva, Brazil
"You don't ask everybody to conform to the same system.
You ask the system to include everybody."
Gerard Etienne
“It seems to me it’s up to the leader to set
the goal, but then to include as broad a group of people as possible in the decision making about how do we get from where
we are to achieve that goal, and that kind of an inclusive decision-making process, I think, ensures that change is actually
lasting because those who are left behind after the leader departs have embraced it and it’s their change.”
Robert M. Gates, Secretary of Defense, United States
"You want to use all the talents of the country.
That's why you've got to be inclusive and you've got to be collegiate and you've got to bring people in."
Chancellor Gordon Brown, UK
"Mankind must shun all extremes and all forms of
extremism. We must reject all ideologies of exclusion for nature's way has been to be inclusive. Nature had, of course, willed
the survival of the fittest, but human societies have come to accept the idea of live and let live. Our conception of an inclusive
society is based on this principle."
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, India
“As a city councilman, I don’t want my city
to be considered tolerant. Tolerant is not good enough. We must all strive together to make our city, our state, and our society
inclusive. Living in an inclusive society is essential for everyone to have basic human dignity.”
Councilman Joe McNamara, Toledo, Ohio
"I think that inclusion breeds diversity."
Floyd Keith, Executive Director, Black Coaches Association
"We are not on the earth, observing it; we are inside,
being whirled around constantly. Life and energy flow through us and around us. Animals and plants are not 'inanimate' or
'dumb,' but are part of a living whole filled with wisdom and spirit. We exist only as part of a living, breathing whole that
is much wiser than we are, that is inclusive of all.
By thinking we are separate,
we cut ourselves off from the wisdom and the pulse of the whole. Cut off from the whole, we human beings are fools bent on
our own destruction."
Rev. Nancy Conley, Spiritual Life Center, Hawaii
"It's important for us to remember that when Jesus
calls his followers to love our neighbor as ourselves, the 'neighbor' that he has in mind is inclusive of the entire human
family."
Bob Bushong, Senior Pastor, First United Methodist Church of Winter Park, Florida
"A majoritarian democracy is no democracy at all.
It is only a participatory, representative and inclusive democracy that can take a pluralistic society further and make it
conflict-free."
Justice M N Venkatachaliah
"Full inclusiveness presents opportunities to broaden
the discussion about our next steps in building a democracy in which we, the people, become producers and not just consumers
of governance, and become servants of people and builders of community."
Scott Douglas, Executive Director, Greater Birmingham Ministries, Alabama
"When you have experience being invisible, not heard,
and passed over, you develop a burning passion for being inclusive because you know the costs of missed opportunities."
Gaurdie Banister, Vice President for the Asia- Pacific region of Shell Ep International
"All are equal in the sight of God. And, therefore,
we must work to include everybody in this human experience. God reminds us in the Quran not to be caught up with the skin
tone or language, or nationality. We are reminded that we all have one origin and one end. We come from God and to Him we
shall return."
Iman Faraz Khan, Muslim Chaplain, Rutgers
"Digital inclusion is not only achieved by giving
people access to information - putting computers in schools or providing Internet access - but by empowering people to use
technology and information to shape their own futures."
Dr. Cheik Modibo Diarra, Microsoft Africa
"Interfaith talks are important, there are some issues
that include everyone. There are certain things that worry all people, such as their families education and well being, and
living in a safe environment.”
Amala Wrightson, Buddhist, New Zealand
"The inclusive approach has as its paradigm that
the disabled are part of us, our family, our society, our community and our hearts, plans; budgets are large enough to include
them."
Shantanu Dutta
"No nation can aspire to greatness when large sections
of its population are excluded from the benefits of national achievement and progress."
Cochin Declaration
"Diversity without inclusion is empty and, therefore,
it’s not consequential.”
Pauline Higgins, Partner and Chief Diversity Officer, Thompson & Knight LLP
“Human rights are an essential element of any democratic
and inclusive society.”
Helen Szoke, Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission, Victoria, Australia
“It is important that we include all members of
society in the development process. For development – indeed, for globalization – to be sustainable, economic
growth has to reach everyone. We cannot leave people behind.”
Robert B. Zoellick, World Bank President
"Governments in countries affected by conflict tend
to be weak and lacking in political inclusiveness, in spite of the trappings of democracy. Consequently, they are more concerned
with regime security than national security. The rule of law and efforts to promote investment and economic growth are afterthoughts.
Since security remains precarious, significant investment is often absent and speculation is the main form of profit-seeking."
Alistair Harris, Specialist, Post-conflict Stabilisation Initiatives
"It's one thing to say you're inclusive, but it's
another thing to make certain that the language of our prayer books and the language of our literature that we publish and
that the programs we put together really truly reflect that inclusive philosophy."
Rabbi James Bennett, Shaare Emeth
"You have to include everyone in your group and everyone
has a voice. This is true whether with your kids, marriage, or work. You always have to make room for everyone's contribution.
And in the end, that makes the group better."
Jonathan Winslow
"Maintaining a diverse work force that is clearly
tied to a business strategy presents an opportunity to create an environment of inclusion. An inclusive environment recognizes
the value of all employees. The contributions of each are important to the success of all."
REGINALD F. WELLS, Social Security Administration
"History must be inclusive; it must include the stories
of all cultures. It needs to tell the African American experience, the Latino story, the lessons of the Holocaust, and all
cultures engaged in the struggle of human existence."
Joseph Garrera, Executive Director, Lehigh Valley Heritage Museum and the Lehigh County Historical Society, Allentown, Pennsylvania
"Housing the poor is an urgent and important need
for building socially inclusive cities offering equity of life for all."
Siddharth Agarwal, Executive Director, Urban Health Resource Centre
"As the body fights infection with antibiotics, so
the community must fight the plague of intolerance with inclusion."
Walter Ruehlig
"A philosophy of conscientious inclusion has to be
a natural extension of a multiethnic society like New Jersey. Inclusion acknowledges racial, ethnic and religious diversity,
while respecting the value of contributions from those groups."
Lawrence Aaron, Columnist
"Multilateralism, mutually beneficial cooperation
and the spirit of inclusiveness should be upheld to realize common security, prosperity, and to build a world where all civilizations
coexist harmoniously and accommodate each other."
President Hu Jintao, China
