XN000022-1992-11-07 — Page 4

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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 1992

BUT IF I MAY SAY SO, I WAS DELIGHTED TO HAVE A CHANCE LAST NIGHT AT DINNER, TO SEE A FEW OF YOU ANYWAY, AND AGAIN, I AM PARTICULARLY GRATEFUL THAT YOU HAVE ALL TAKEN THE TROUBLE TO COME BACK AGAIN TODAY. AND I THINK ROBERT HAS FORCED YOU INTO LITTLE GROUPS ΤΟ GO ROUND DIFFERENT PARTS OF HONG KONG LOOKING AT VARIOUS EXAMPLES OF BEST PRACTICE AND ALSO TALKING ABOUT DIFFERENT ELEMENTS OF THIS PARTICULAR SUBJECT. AND I DO THINK ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS OR I FEEL ANYWAY IS TO ENCOURAGE PEOPLE AT LEAST TO GO AND LOOK AND TO LEARN FOR THEMSELVES, AND MY PARTICULAR EXPERIENCE IN BRITAIN, OF TRYING TO DRAG BUSINESS LEADERS FROM BEHIND THEIR DESKS IN LONDON, TO COME WITH ME TO LOOK AT WHAT IS HAPPENING IN MANCHESTER, LIVERPOOL, LEEDS, GLASGOW OR WHEREVER, TO SEE THE PROBLEMS AT FIRSTHAND, AND ΤΟ FIND OUT ABOUT THEM, HAS MADE AN ENORMOUS DIFFERENCE IN TERMS OF PEOPLE BELIEVING THROUGH SEEING.

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I'VE ALSO LEARNT THAT IT DOESN'T MATTER HOW MANY LETTERS YOU WRITE TO PEOPLE OR HOW MANY VIDEOS YOU SEND THEM, THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR ACTUALLY SEEING FOR YOURSELF, AND THAT, I HOPE, HAS BEEN AT LEAST PART OF THE EQUATION IN THE LAST DAY-AND-A-HALF. SO IF NOTHING ELSE, THE GREAT THING IS THAT MAYBE YOU WILL HAVE SEEN SOMETHING THAT WILL GIVE YOU NEW IDEAS, FOOD FOR THOUGHT, AND SO ON.

AND ABOVE ALL ELSE, I HOPE THAT THIS WILL HAVE GIVEN AN OPPORTUNITY, IN A SMALL WAY, FOR ALL SORTS OF PEOPLE TO SIT DOWN TOGETHER WITH EACH OTHER, PEOPLE FROM DIFFERENT WALKS OF LIFE AND DIFFERENT SECTORS OF SOCIETY, DIFFERENT GROUPS AND SO

ON, BECAUSE AGAIN IT SEEMS TO ME THAT THE MOST EFFECTIVE WAY OF OPERATING IS TO BRING PEOPLE TOGETHER AND SIT THEM DOWN TOGETHER, PEOPLE WHO DON'T NORMALLY DO SO. AND AGAIN, A THING THAT I FIND QUITE REMARKABLE, MY EXPERIENCE, IS THE NUMBER OF TIMES THAT I'VE HAD GATHERINGS PEOPLE FROM DIFFERENT SECTORS, TO FIND THAT THEY'D NEVER ACTUALLY DOWN WITH EACH OTHER BEFORE AND TALKED ABOUT THESE SORTS OF VARIOUS ISSUES. AND THAT IN ITSELF, HAS BEEN ENORMOUSLY VALUABLE то THOSE PEOPLE ONCE THEY'VE MET TOGETHER.

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AND THAT'S ONE OF THE REASONS WHY I'VE, AGAIN, BEEN PARTICULARLY KEEN, WITHIN MY BUSINESS LEADERS FORUM ORGANISATION, ΤΟ BRING IN NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANISATIONS, VOLUNTARY GROUPS, ALL SORTS OF PEOPLE LIKE THAT, WHO BRING AN EXTRA DIMENSION то THE WHOLE DISCUSSION. AND VERY OFTEN IT HELPS PEOPLE TO OVERCOME THEIR NATURAL SUSPICION OR PREJUDICES ABOUT EACH OTHER; AND THOSE PREJUDICES ARE VERY REAL INDEED, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,

AND NOW, AS A RESULT OF SITTING DOWN WITH A WELL-KNOWN AGITATOR LIKE JONATHAN PORRITT, WHO IS ALSO HERE TODAY, YOU'LL DISCOVER WHAT A REMARKABLE SORT OF PERSON HE IS, ALONG WITH ALL SORTS OF OTHERS WHO'VE COME FROM OTHER COUNTRIES WHO'VE BEEN INVOLVED FOR MANY YEARS IN DOING SOME REMARKABLE THINGS AGAINST ALL SORTS OF HAZARDS AND DIFFICULTIES. SO I MUCH LOOK FORWARD TO THE REMAINING DISCUSSIONS AND то HEARING SOME OF THE REPORTS BACK EXPERIENCES SO FAR. BUT AGAIN, I'M MOST GRATEFUL TO YOU THE TROUBLE TO BE HERE.

OF YOUR FOR TAKING

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