A letter to our daughterMark Zuckerberg.docx

A letter to our daughterMark Zuckerberg.docx

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AlettertoourdaughterMarkZuckerberg

Alettertoourdaughter-MarkZuckerberg

DearMax,

YourmotherandIdon'tyethavethewordstodescribethehopeyougiveusforthefuture.Yournewlifeisfullofpromise,andwehopeyouwillbehappyandhealthysoyoucanexploreitfully.You'vealreadygivenusareasontoreflectontheworldwehopeyoulivein.

Likeallparents,wewantyoutogrowupinaworldbetterthanourstoday.

Whileheadlinesoftenfocusonwhat'swrong,inmanywaystheworldisgettingbetter.Healthisimproving.Povertyisshrinking.Knowledgeisgrowing.Peopleareconnecting.Technologicalprogressineveryfieldmeansyourlifeshouldbedramaticallybetterthanourstoday.

Wewilldoourparttomakethishappen,notonlybecauseweloveyou,butalsobecausewehaveamoralresponsibilitytoallchildreninthenextgeneration.

Webelieveallliveshaveequalvalue,andthatincludesthemanymorepeoplewhowillliveinfuturegenerationsthanlivetoday.Oursocietyhasanobligationtoinvestnowtoimprovethelivesofallthosecomingintothisworld,notjustthosealreadyhere.

Butrightnow,wedon'talwayscollectivelydirectourresourcesatthebiggestopportunitiesandproblemsyourgenerationwillface.

Considerdisease.Todaywespendabout50timesmoreasasocietytreatingpeoplewhoaresickthanweinvestinresearchsoyouwon'tgetsickinthefirstplace.

Medicinehasonlybeenarealscienceforlessthan100years,andwe'vealreadyseencompletecuresforsomediseasesandgoodprogressforothers.Astechnologyaccelerates,wehavearealshotatpreventing,curingormanagingallormostoftherestinthenext100years.

Today,mostpeoplediefromfivethings--heartdisease,cancer,stroke,neurodegenerativeandinfectiousdiseases--andwecanmakefasterprogressontheseandotherproblems.

Oncewerecognizethatyourgenerationandyourchildren'sgenerationmaynothavetosufferfromdisease,wecollectivelyhavearesponsibilitytotiltourinvestmentsabitmoretowardsthefuturetomakethisreality.YourmotherandIwanttodoourpart.

Curingdiseasewilltaketime.Overshortperiodsoffiveortenyears,itmaynotseemlikewe'remakingmuchofadifference.Butoverthelongterm,seedsplantednowwillgrow,andoneday,youoryourchildrenwillseewhatwecanonlyimagine:

aworldwithoutsufferingfromdisease.

Therearesomanyopportunitiesjustlikethis.Ifsocietyfocusesmoreofitsenergyonthesegreatchallenges,wewillleaveyourgenerationamuchbetterworld.

Ourhopesforyourgenerationfocusontwoideas:

advancinghumanpotentialandpromotingequality.

Advancinghumanpotentialisaboutpushingtheboundariesonhowgreatahumanlifecanbe.

Canyoulearnandexperience100timesmorethanwedotoday?

Canourgenerationcurediseasesoyoulivemuchlongerandhealthierlives?

Canweconnecttheworldsoyouhaveaccesstoeveryidea,personandopportunity?

Canweharnessmorecleanenergysoyoucaninventthingswecan'tconceiveoftodaywhileprotectingtheenvironment?

Canwecultivateentrepreneurshipsoyoucanbuildanybusinessandsolveanychallengetogrowpeaceandprosperity?

Promotingequalityisaboutmakingsureeveryonehasaccesstotheseopportunities--regardlessofthenation,familiesorcircumstancestheyareborninto.

Oursocietymustdothisnotonlyforjusticeorcharity,butforthegreatnessofhumanprogress.

Todaywearerobbedofthepotentialsomanyhavetooffer.Theonlywaytoachieveourfullpotentialistochannelthetalents,ideasandcontributionsofeverypersonintheworld.

Canourgenerationeliminatepovertyandhunger?

Canweprovideeveryonewithbasichealthcare?

Canwebuildinclusiveandwelcomingcommunities?

Canwenurturepeacefulandunderstandingrelationshipsbetweenpeopleofallnations?

Canwetrulyempowereveryone--women,children,underrepresentedminorities,immigrantsandtheunconnected?

Ifourgenerationmakestherightinvestments,theanswertoeachofthesequestionscanbeyes--andhopefullywithinyourlifetime.

Thismission--advancinghumanpotentialandpromotingequality--willrequireanewapproachforallworkingtowardsthesegoals.

Wemustmakelongterminvestmentsover25,50oreven100years.Thegreatestchallengesrequireverylongtimehorizonsandcannotbesolvedbyshorttermthinking.

Wemustengagedirectlywiththepeopleweserve.Wecan'tempowerpeopleifwedon'tunderstandtheneedsanddesiresoftheircommunities.

Wemustbuildtechnologytomakechange.Manyinstitutionsinvestmoneyinthesechallenges,butmostprogresscomesfromproductivitygainsthroughinnovation.

Wemustparticipateinpolicyandadvocacytoshapedebates.Manyinstitutionsareunwillingtodothis,butprogressmustbesupportedbymovementstobesustainable.

Wemustbackthestrongestandmostindependentleadersineachfield.Partneringwithexpertsismoreeffectiveforthemissionthantryingtoleadeffortsourselves.

Wemusttakeriskstodaytolearnlessonsfortomorrow.We'reearlyinourlearningandmanythingswetrywon'twork,butwe'lllistenandlearnandkeepimproving.

Ourexperiencewithpersonalizedlearning,internetaccess,andcommunityeducationandhealthhasshapedourphilosophy.

Ourgenerationgrewupinclassroomswherewealllearnedthesamethingsatthesamepaceregardlessofourinterestsorneeds.

Yourgenerationwillsetgoalsforwhatyouwanttobecome--likeanengineer,healthworker,writerorcommunityleader.You'llhavetechnologythatunderstandshowyoulearnbestandwhereyouneedtofocus.You'lladvancequicklyinsubjectsthatinterestyoumost,andgetasmuchhelpasyouneedinyourmostchallengingareas.You'llexploretopicsthataren'tevenofferedinschoolstoday.Yourteacherswillalsohavebettertoolsanddatatohelpyouachieveyourgoals.

Evenbetter,studentsaroundtheworldwillbeabletousepersonalizedlearningtoolsovertheinternet,eveniftheydon'tliveneargoodschools.Ofcourseitwilltakemorethantechnologytogiveeveryoneafairstartinlife,butpersonalizedlearningcanbeonescalablewaytogiveallchildrenabettereducationandmoreequalopportunity.

We'restartingtobuildthistechnologynow,andtheresultsarealreadypromising.Notonlydostudentsperformbetterontests,buttheygaintheskillsandconfidencetolearnanythingtheywant.Andthisjourneyisjustbeginning.Thetechnologyandteachingwillrapidlyimproveeveryyearyou'reinschool.

YourmotherandIhavebothtaughtstudentsandwe'veseenwhatittakestomakethiswork.Itwilltakeworkingwiththestrongestleadersineducationtohelpschoolsaroundtheworldadoptpersonalizedlearning.Itwilltakeengagingwithcommunities,whichiswhywe'restartinginourSanFranciscoBayAreacommunity.Itwilltakebuildingnewtechnologyandtryingnewideas.Anditwilltakemakingmistakesandlearningmanylessonsbeforeachievingthesegoals.

Butonceweunderstandtheworldwecancreateforyourgeneration,wehavearesponsibilityasasocietytofocusourinvestmentsonthefuturetomakethisreality.

Together,wecandothis.Andwhenwedo,personalizedlearningwillnotonlyhelpstudentsingoodschools,itwillhelpprovidemoreequalopportunitytoanyonewithaninternetconnection.

Manyofthegreatestopportunitiesforyourgenerationwillcomefromgivingeveryoneaccesstotheinternet.

Peopleoftenthinkoftheinternetasjustforentertainmentorcommunication.Butforthemajorityofpeopleintheworld,theinternetcanbealifeline.

Itprovideseducationifyoudon'tlivenearagoodschool.Itprovideshealthinformationonhowtoavoiddiseasesorraisehealthychildrenifyoudon'tlivenearadoctor.Itprovidesfinancialservicesifyoudon'tlivenearabank.Itprovidesaccesstojobsandopportunitiesifyoudon'tliveinagoodeconomy.

Theinternetissoimportantthatforevery10peoplewhogaininternetaccess,aboutonepersonisliftedoutofpovertyandaboutonenewjobiscreated.

Yetstillmorethanhalfoftheworld'spopulation--morethan4billionpeople--don'thaveaccesstotheinternet.

Ifourgenerationconnectsthem,wecanlifthundredsofmillionsofpeopleoutofpoverty.Wecanalsohelphundredsofmillionsofchildrengetaneducationandsavemillionsoflivesbyhelpingpeopleavoiddisease.

Thisisanotherlongtermeffortthatcanbeadvancedbytechnologyandpartnership.Itwilltakeinventingnewtechnologytomaketheinternetmoreaffordableandbringaccesstounconnectedareas.Itwilltakepartneringwithgovernments,non-profitsandcompanies.Itwilltakeengagingwithcommunitiestounderstandwhattheyneed.Goodpeoplewillhavedifferentviewsonthebestpathforward,andwewilltrymanyeffortsbeforewesucceed.

Buttogetherwecansucceedandcreateamoreequalworld.

Technologycan'tsolveproblemsbyitself.Buildingabetterworldstartswithbuildingstrongandhealthycommunities.

Childrenhavethebestopportunitieswhentheycanlearn.Andtheylearnbestwhenthey'rehealthy.

Healthstartsearly--withlovingfamily,goodnutritionandasafe,stableenvironment.

Childrenwhofacetraumaticexperiencesearlyinlifeoftendeveloplesshealthymindsandbodies.Studiesshowphysicalchangesinbraindevelopmentleadingtolowercognitiveability.

Yourmotherisadoctorandeducator,andshehasseenthisfirsthand.

Ifyouhaveanunhealthychildhood,it'sdifficulttoreachyourfullpotential.

Ifyouhavetowonderwhetheryou'llhavefoodorrent,orworryaboutabuseorcrime,thenit'sdifficulttoreachyourfullpotential.

Ifyoufearyou'llgotoprisonratherthancolle