Cairo in October 2012. During their meetings with President Mohamed Morsi, senior officials and diplomats, representatives of civil society organisations and young people, the Elders emphasised the importance of "an inclusive, democratic transition." Brundtland and Carter both visited Egypt earlier in 2012, where they met civil society organisations and spoke to students at the American University in Cairo. Carter also travelled to Egypt with The Carter Center to witness the country's presidential and parliamentary elections in January and May 2012. Outside of their role as Elders, Kofi Annan and Lakhdar Brahimi have individually been involved in the international efforts to try to resolve the conflict in Syria. In February 2012, Annan was appointed Joint Special Envoy of the United Nations and League of Arab States on the Syrian Civil War. He was succeeded in the role by Brahimi, who was appointed Joint Special Representative in August 2012, a position he held until May 2014. Russia The Elders held a three-day visit to Moscow in April 2015. Kofi Annan, Gro Harlem Brundtland, Martti Ahtisaari, Lakhdar Brahimi, Jimmy Carter and Ernesto Zedillo held talks on geopolitical issues with Russian officials, including President Putin, Foreign Minister Lavrov and former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev. Campaigns State of Hope In July 2021, The Elders launched the "State of Hope" series of digital discussions to explore significant global challenges. Mary Robinson, Graça Machel, Juan Manuel Santos, Ban Ki-moon and Zeid Raad Al Hussein delivered online addresses on the relationship between hope, peace, justice, human rights and multilateralism, which can be viewed on the Elders' website. Their speeches were complemented by video responses from selected global figures including former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, NASA astronaut Chris Hadfield and Ugandan climate activist Vanessa Nakate. Finding Humanity podcasts During the initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, The Elders produced a special podcast series called "Finding Humanity", focusing on the need for empathetic and principled leadership on some of the biggest challenges facing humanity. In episodes broadcast from 2020 to 2021, topics included pandemic preparedness, access to justice, ending violence against women and girls, reform of the UN Security Council, and the existential threat posed by nuclear weapons. The Finding Humanity series was produced by the Humanity Lab Foundation and Hueman Group Media in partnership with The Elders, and was hosted by Hazami Barmada, Founder of the Humanity Lab Foundation. #WalkTogether Together with civil society partners, The Elders marked