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This week, the United Nations’ General Assembly took place, arguably, during one of the most restless periods in its history since it began almost 70 years ago. Two days ago Ban Ki-Moon the Secretary General opened the meeting acknowledging, that ‘it may seem as if the world is falling apart.’ Today, as the British Parliament is recalled for debates on the fight against extremism, it may feel precisely like that. In the words of the Irish poet, W.B. Yates, Things fall apart, the centre cannot hold; mere anarchy is loosed upon the world. Ban Ki moon’s sentiments were echoed by the current president of the UN General Assembly, Sam Kutesa. In his opening remarks Mr Kutesa cited the challenges facing the nations present. But neither men are committed pessimists. Kutesa, for example, reminded us that with 470 days to go, some of the historic pledges of the Millennium Development Goals, announced in 2000 were making good progress. As a result of these 8 promises to slash extreme poverty by half, by 2015, a billion people have been taken out of extreme poverty; we’ve cut infant and maternal mortality by half and provided primary education for 90% of the world’s children. But these opening addresses were also a wake up call about our outstanding deficit on these promises. Even as we debate, procrastination is the thief of our children’s time. For one of the most sinister features about conflict and the pandemic of extremism is the undermining of our children’s education. According to UNICEF, nearly 3 million Syrian children are displaced, one million out of school and another million at risk of dropping out. And yet there is no inherent contradiction between despairing about human behaviour and hoping for the future. As Bishop Tom Wright suggests, through faith in God, people are often, Surprised by Hope. Indeed, that element of surprise has everything to do with the idea that hope which comes from beyond our abilities, is often the very means by which we construct a better future for our children. It’s as Wright would argue, a dream of ‘a world put to right.’ In 1944, amidst the devastation of the Second Great War, President Roosevelt had such a dream. This dream was a vision of a world, with freedom of speech and belief, as well as freedom from fear and want. This vision became the foundation of what we now call the United Nations. And it’s a vision we need to keep alive today.