Blog | Jimmy Carter Responds to Questions on Peace, Health, and Hope from Around the World

Former U.S. President and Carter Center Founder Jimmy Carter is answering questions from the public via Facebook, Twitter, and this blog starting Oct. 19, 2012, as part of a year-long commemoration of the Center’s 30^th anniversary waging peace and fighting disease worldwide.

Click on the videos below to view his latest responses.

QUESTION: How do you respond to criticism of the U.S. providing humanitarian aid to other countries during this time of economic duress at home?
(Submitted by Parul Parikh, Atlanta, Ga., via blog)




QUESTION: What will U.S.-China relations look like in the next decade?
(Submitted by Christopher Storey, Atlanta, Ga. via blog)

QUESTION: How can we overcome partisan division and work together toward a mutual interest?
(Submitted by Mohammed Siddig, Santa Barbara, Calif. via Facebook)

Question: What is your latest book?
(Sumbitted by Jane Bigham, Decatur, Ga. via Facebook)

Question: What is the future of the Middle East after the Arab Spring?
(Submitted by Habib AlBadawi, Beirut, Lebanon, via Facebook)


Question: How has your Carter Center work changed you in ways that you didn’t expect
(Submitted by Mary H. Doby, Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., via write-in)


Question: Will you work for women’s empowerment in the Middle East and developing countries?
(Submitted by Renate Rose, Cambridge, Mass., via write-in)


QUESTION: Mrs. Carter has been a global leader in mental health awareness for decades. What steps can we take to support her work?
(Submitted by Kevin Imrie, Ontaria, Canada, via Twitter)


QUESTION: Is a Middle East peace agreement possible? What can be done if Palestinian leaders do not recognize Israel’s right to exist?
(Submitted by Leslie Powell, Los Angeles, Calif. via email)


QUESTION: Now that Guinea worm is nearly eradicated, what will be required to keep it controlled?
(Submitted by Bill and Marilyn Cleveland from Plains, Ga. via email)


QUESTION: What kind of political reform would you suggest to the Chinese central government?
(Submitted by Zan Luo via Carter Center blog)


QUESTION: What innovative ways have been used by the Carter Center to make health care dollars go far and help change lives and fight disease.
(Submitted by Judith Askew, Amarillo Texas via write-in)


QUESTION: What can students like me do to advance human rights around the world?
(Submitted from Facebook by Zach Komes, Washington, D.C.)


QUESTION: What might be a peaceful solution to the situation in Syria?
(Submitted from Facebook by Maria Solla, London, United Kingom)

More than 1,000 questions were received from 33 countries around the world on topics from how to eradicate Guinea worm disease to how students can help further world peace.

“I am overwhelmed by the many thoughtful and sometimes poignant questions we received on our website, on Facebook, and on Twitter about so many issues critical to our future,” said President Carter. “My answers reflect my own personal values and experiences, but also the larger goals of The Carter Center to protect human rights, promote peace, and build a healthy, more hopeful future for all people everywhere.”

The Carter Center regularly uses social media channels to support many of its efforts, especially those protecting human rights and strengthening democracy in fragile states, where these platforms have become an important tool among communities with limited or obstructed access to news media and information.

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• • Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter answered OUR questions on how to wage peace, fight disease, and build hope.  Learn more: www.cartercenter.org/AskPresidentCarter

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• • • @CarterCenter celebrates 30 years of hope. Jimmy Carter answers questions on peace, health, and hope #CarterQA . Learn more: www.cartercenter.org/AskPresidentCarter

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Our blog will be hosting all of President Carter’s responses to questions from around the world.

*Some questions were shortened for time.