Bill Clinton’s Public Lecture in Bulgaria: “Corporate Social Influence on Future Generations”

I am glad to return to Bulgaria again. This is what the 42nd President of the United States said Bill Clinton at a public lecture to students on the topic “Corporate social influence on future generations” in Hall 6 of the National Palace of Culture (NDK).

He noted that he was in our country except in 1999, in 2005, when he was invited to participate in a conference. I remember my visit in 1999, there was a great rally in front of the memorial temple “Alexander Nevsky“. There were 30-40 thousand people and it was incredible, Clinton said.

There are problems here. But, when I look back, when I became president, there was a brewing conflict in the Bosnia, where more than 200,000 people were killed, there were more than two million refugees. Then there was another problem – in Kosovo, he commented. In his words, throughout Balkan region there was a brewing tension.

Clinton noted that at the time there was also a problem in Northern Irelandwhich had been going on since 1969. He indicated that he had returned from Belfast a week ago when he was there to celebrate the 25th anniversary of their peace agreement. Only 35% of the peace agreements have been around for more than 10 years, he noted.

According to him, we go through a period and at every moment of the human history there are lines that divide us. Things happen because life isn’t perfect, he pointed out.
There is a period of intense economic, social and cultural change against the backdrop of global economy, which has driven more people into poverty than before, but has also encouraged tighter austerity, Clinton pointed out. According to him and Brexit had a global effect.

As reasons for what is happening, Clinton pointed out the economic crisis of 2008, which, according to him, affected the whole world and was extremely severe. It took us a long time to recover, longer than a normal recession, he noted.

Second, I think there really is a huge difference in economic opportunities and access to education, health care, Clinton said. According to him, this has angered many people and made them wonder if their children will have a better future.

Clinton also noted that our information systems are facing the social media revolution. When I started in politics, every town had its own newspaper and radio station, and now they are disappearing, he pointed out.

According to him, there is also a problem with the reliability of the information.

At the end of the lecture, Clinton advised students not to be afraid to sit at the table for the negotiations and engage in politics. In his words, no one is meant to be “successful”, but he has the means, tools and opportunities to achieve it.