Our Turn

Why are the most promising ultimately dissuaded or prevented from taking the mantle, from having a hand in steering the future they will inevitably inherit? In May 2023, former Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin gave a commencement address at NYU and implored the graduating class she addressed to stop being afraid. There is a different way to lead and think about leadership. She pleaded with them to walk out of the stadium and remember three things: You have to want things to change. It is your turn to take over. And, most importantly, don‘t be afraid: you are enough and you are capable. In Our Turn, Sanna asks us to do the same. There is too much at stake to simply step aside. We have to question why the roads that lead to real change are often so fraught and inaccessible. Through vivid retellings of high-stakes political moments, such as the invasion of Ukraine, to intimate stories of growing up in the Nordic countryside, Sanna shows us what leading from a place of high value and courage looks like, and how that is the only way to affect change, even within yourself. Only an unshakeable understanding of what you stand for - your values - can reliably provide the conviction and courage to lead. There is no one else but us, no other time but now.