"Reflect hard and act quickly." The Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker opened the symposium by expressing his interest in philanthropy, his desire to boost development of the sector – and his wish to take action as soon as possible. His view is that the State must play a role, but he underlined that it cannot do everything.   Philanthropists must also contribute by offering their support and specific talents - namely speed and flexibility. He illustrated his point by quoting French philosopher Pascal who said, “J'aime les choses qui vont ensemble” (I like things that go together). The head of government advocated a review of the role of philanthropy in Luxembourg. He called for a long-term outlook and suggested that the country should take inspiration from French and German experiences in philanthropy. Jean-Claude Juncker says he is convinced that Luxembourg needs an umbrella structure – similar to the Fondation de France or the King Baudouin Foundation in Belgium. He asked for a set of proposals to be submitted to parliament as soon as 22 May 2008. He finished by saying: “We need to act quickly.”

Speech by Prime Minister, Jean-Claude Juncker
- The speech actually delivered is the true version -