From Oslo to New York: 11 Years of Calling for Global Compassion

Eleven years ago today, the Nobel Peace Committee not only recognized my journey, but honoured millions of children around the world who are denied their fundamental rights, freedom and dignity. On December 10, 2014, as I stood on the podium in Oslo, I called on the world to globalise compassion.

That call matters more than ever today.

We are living through a deepening crisis of morality. Injustice, inequality and violence are rising. But I still believe Compassion is the answer – not as a sentiment, but as a force. A force powerful enough to reshape our systems, bridge divides, and fight for rights and justice.

Last month in New York, we hosted a roundtable alongside the 80th Session of the UN General Assembly, in partnership with the Permanent Mission of Monaco. Leaders, Nobel Laureates, youth and changemakers came together to reaffirm one belief: compassion is not a soft virtue. It is a bold, strategic force for justice, equality, peace and sustainability

We didn’t speak of pity or sympathy. Or even empathy. We spoke of action. Of how Compassion drives change, unites problem solvers with those who suffer most, and reshapes leadership. We imagined a new model of power – one that replaces fear with shared humanity, and puts people and the planet first.

Back in 2014, many questioned me. How can a child rights activist champion Compassion? Isn’t it too soft? But I’ve never seen Compassion as weakness. For me, and for countless others fighting for justice over decades, compassion has always been disruptive, transformative, and powerful.

In New York, that conviction was echoed by world leaders and human rights defenders like H.E. José Ramos-Horta, President of Timor-Leste; H.E. Vahagn Khachaturyan, President of Armenia, Nobel Peace Laureate Tawakkol Karman, H.E. Laura Chinchilla, former President of Costa Rica, Princess Sonam Dechen Wangchuck of Bhutan, Kerry Kennedy of the Robert F. Kennedy Centre for Human Rights and many more. All of them asserting our collective belief in the power of Compassion.

A definition should not be rigid; it should evolve. We have redefined, reinvigorated and relaunched Compassion in a new form, based on my experience, and the experience of many who brought about a transformation in society.

So what is Compassion?

Compassion is recognising another’s suffering as our own – and acting, with mindfulness and courage, to end it. It is innate. It lives within each of us. But it only becomes real when it turns into action.

Our work is far from done. In truth, it has only just begun.

Let Compassion guide our policies, our institutions and our daily lives. Let it become the fuel that powers this century –  toward a world that is truly just, equitable, peaceful and sustainable.

Let us globalise compassion.