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Timely Utterances

As Labour Day marks another day of meetings on sustainable development for the UN’s Rio+20, I had the good fortune to encounter a quote that is relevant to all multilateral negotiations and probably most human communications:

“Not everything we know can be disclosed.

Not everything that can be disclosed can be considered a timely utterance.

Not every timely utterance can be considered suitable to the capacity of the listener.”

Baha’i writing

In the coming nine months, the negotiations will grapple with ambitious goals, financial realities, and national priorities. Selecting the topics where progress can be made is the art every contributor must learn – on a timely basis.

Robynne Anderson

Robynne has extensive experience in the agriculture and food sector, working throughout the value chain – from basic inputs to farmers in the field to the grocery store shelf. She works internationally in the sector, including speaking at the United Nations on agriculture and food issues, and representing the International Agri-Food Network at the UN.Throughout her career she has worked with farm organisations like the Prairie Oat Growers Association, the National Smallholder Farmers Association of Malawi and the Himalayan Farmers Association, as well as global groups, to further the voice of agriculture in the food debate. She has also worked with Fortune 500 companies growing worldwide businesses to assist them with issues management and strategy decisions.

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