2022 Graduation SOAS University of London

Greetings and good morning to you all.

I feel truly honoured and grateful to SOAS for this recognition. Of course, I would not be here today without the loving support of my family and friends. To those present here and those joining virtually from Kenya and around the world, I send you all my love and thanks. You have been my greatest cheerleaders. 

Now, let me be vulnerable and reveal to you a childhood memory and a question that remains with me to date. I must have been around nine years old in primary school in Nairobi, Kenya where I come from, when I first asked myself why it was that some people had more than others – or even why people had some and others had none.

But that question, in a variety of increasingly nuanced ways, has framed my life experience, professionally and personally. The question, “why is our world built like this?” has been a constant voice in my mind. It has influenced and guided me through all my big life decisions.   

The first of these decisions was the direction that my education has taken thus far. From being a student of economics to a student of international development to a student of public policy, I, along with many, and I am sure many in this ceremony have always sought to inquire, in an increasingly complex way, about how productive resources are generated, and how decisions on the application of these resources are taken. I, along with others, have sought to inquire about policies. Can a policy be neutral or neutral yet inclusive? Many have committed research and practice on how to sustain and redistribute productive resources.

Thousands of hours of academic inquiry have been spent in inquiry as to whether productive resources should trickle down, up or across and whether access to productive resources truly means access to a better quality of life. I, along with very many others, have sought to inquire how long these productive resources could be sustained, regenerated, multiplied and under what circumstances.                                                                                        

The underlying questions have always been, why is the world built like this? Why do inequalities still exist?

Education provided me with a path to grow, inquire and reflect as a person. And I am grateful that I had the opportunity to advance this path of inquiry through my work in the non-profit sector, the private sector and now at the United Nations. The opportunity of inquiry and the opportunity to contribute towards making a difference continue to shape and ground me.  

So, as I stand here today, reflecting on this great honour from this auspicious institution, I am conscious of another opportunity that it bestows upon me and upon all of us who indulge in inquiry. It is the opportunity as this most crucial time for humanity to deepen our individual and collective endeavours in the areas that matter most to communities, economies and the world. To pursue that elusive question of inequality and to encourage more people to challenge themselves by addressing the social, economic and political disruption that inequalities create. 

I am deeply reflective that a question that occurred to me as a young girl has been so hard to answer. But then again, look around us: the world has never been so wealthy, so full of productive resources.  It was estimated that the global GDP in 2022 is over 100 trillion dollars… and yet:

We live in times when the global public good is most challenged. 

When global inequality is at its most evident. 

And when global solidarity is at a low ebb.

There are some staggering statistics to reflect on. 

There are over 160 million children in child labour.

It will take over 132 years to change the Global Gender Gap.

The Covid Pandemic has pushed over 93 million more people into extreme poverty.

There is no simple answer to why the world is like this, but there are many solutions to changing it. 

It’s why I firmly believe that we must come together, that we must mobilize all and continue to challenge our thinking, our modelling, our partnerships, and our systems from the private sector through to Government, civil society and through to multilateral organizations. If we can do that – not just at the global level but at the grassroots, empowering local solution-solving – we may just be on the way to creating a fairer, more resilient and sustainable world. 

Is this a pipe dream? I trust there are no cynics here today – SOAS is no place for cynicism but filled with inquiry and the quest for great solutions! 

But as for the questions of my youth – or indeed the question that has stayed with me all my life, “Why is the world built like this?”, is a question that I now know can either build or break. It can build or break families. It can build or break communities. It can build or break economies.

Before I go, one last thing. 

Let me reflect and recommend a remedy that is as old as the rolling hills of the savanna and one which could solve, I believe perhaps at least 90 percent of our global ailments. 

It’s called solidarity. I’ve learnt on my road through life that solidarity really can solve problems – it might even be the answer to the question that took hold of me as a child. 

Thank you.

Sanda Ojiambo, Assistant Secretary-General; Executive Director & CEO of the UN Global Compact