"You live in a world full of bad news. Don't lose the good news."
Bill Clinton
Former President Bill Clinton spoke to a crowd at the University of Connecticut on Thursday. He was a co-recipient of the the Thomas J. Dodd Prize in International Justice and Human Rights.
Also honored was the African group Tostan, an international human rights organization based in Senegal, which will receive the $100,000 in prize money.
Clinton told those gathered that they lived in a country that has never been perfect, but always seems to be stumbling in the right direction.
"You live in a world full of bad news. Don't lose the good news," Clinton told the audience. "You live in a world where ordinary citizens have more power to do public good as private citizens than any generation ever because of the Internet, social media generally, and the explosion of non-governmental organizations like this fabulous one you have honored tonight."
Clinton said the world is increasingly linked, with positive and negative forces "bumping up against one another." The outcome of the contest between the two forces, he said, "will determine the world that our grandchildren live in."
The event marked the 20th anniversary of a research center named after Dodd, a lead prosecutor at the Nuremberg war crimes trials. The center awards a prize every other year to a leader or group that has advanced human rights.
Charlie Smart contributed to this report, which includes information from The Associated Press.
