Dr. Peter Diamandis is the Chairman and CEO of the X PRIZE Foundation, a group of forward thinkers who seek to lead the world in supporting and encouraging radical breakthroughs for the benefit of humanity. He is also the co-Founder & Chairman of the Singularity University, a Silicon Valley based institution that counsels the world’s top enterprises on how to utilize exponential technologies, and incentivized innovation, to dramatically accelerate their business objectives.
In a recently recorded forum he advocated a rather profound conclusion about the rapid advance of communications in recent times. He stated that a Maasai Warrior today with a cell phone can communicate better than President Ronald Reagan could. (The Reagan Presidency extended from 1981 to 1989). For many people living today this time in history was somewhat like yesterday.
What does this mean for humanitarian work? It means the opportunities to expand aid programs into other parts of the world are expanding. It means good accountability and communication is within reach. It means people have a greater interest and knowledge of other places, and more and more are traveling there. In the first century the disciples of Jesus were commissioned to take His message “to the uttermost parts of the world.” Today, programs designed to help people in distant places have open doors of opportunity and interest that no previous generation has ever experienced. We have no excuse for not going to the uttermost parts of the earth to help a neighbor in need.
The future belongs to our generation. It is now. It is today. It will be even bigger tomorrow. If you don’t think so, ask the next Maasai Warrior you pass.