Fourth Industrial Revolution

Stephen Hawking: ‘We are all time-travellers’

Theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking addresses a public meeting in Cape Town.

Image: REUTERS/Mike Hutchings

Stephen W. Hawking
Professor, University of Cambridge

We are here together, and we need to live together with tolerance and respect. We must become global citizens. Our only boundaries are the way we see ourselves. The only borders, the way we see each other…

Let us fight for every woman and every man to have the opportunity to live healthy, secure lives, full of opportunity and love. We are all time-travellers, journeying together into the future. But let us work together to make that future a place we want to visit. Be brave, be determined, overcome the odds. It can be done.

On the eve of the Sustainable Development Summit, we share with you a message by theoretical physicist and cosmologist Stephen Hawking, delivered at the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting.

Author: Stephen Hawking, theoretical physicist, cosmologist, author and Director of Research at the Centre for Theoretical Cosmology within the University of Cambridge.

Image: Theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking addresses a public meeting in Cape Town. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings

Don't miss any update on this topic

Create a free account and access your personalized content collection with our latest publications and analyses.

Sign up for free

License and Republishing

World Economic Forum articles may be republished in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Public License, and in accordance with our Terms of Use.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.

Stay up to date:

Fourth Industrial Revolution

Related topics:
Fourth Industrial RevolutionSustainable Development
Share:
The Big Picture
Explore and monitor how Fourth Industrial Revolution is affecting economies, industries and global issues
World Economic Forum logo

Forum Stories newsletter

Bringing you weekly curated insights and analysis on the global issues that matter.

Subscribe today

3:46

This VR platform lets neurodiverse learners practise life situations

Space tech: Experts name 12 transformative technologies reshaping our cosmic future

About us

Engage with us

  • Sign in
  • Partner with us
  • Become a member
  • Sign up for our press releases
  • Subscribe to our newsletters
  • Contact us

Quick links

Language editions

Privacy Policy & Terms of Service

Sitemap

© 2025 World Economic Forum