In the lead up to the end of a turbulent year, the International Institute of Human Security takes a pause from our bi-weekly news digest to introduce our new, weekly article series ‘2020 remembering our societal stabilizers’.
Over the course of the next few weeks, we will showcase never-seen-before articles written by advocates and on-the-ground activists. Each article will relate to one of our societal stabilizers and we hope that you share your thoughts, reflections, and comments with us on social media as we lead up to January 1st.
2020 has turned into a year that would have been unimaginable some 18 months ago. January brought us to the verge of war between the United States and Iran, along with raging wildfires in Australia. February brought us the unimaginable global pandemic, COVID-19. With June, the fight for racial equality arrived on doorsteps worldwide, and in November, the world watched as a world superpower prepared to transition its leadership. The year 2020 brought us face to face with life-changing factors: the global pandemic, the fight for equality, and the devastation of East Africa by locusts.
As we approach 2021 with hope, the International Institute for Human Security will pause its advocacy initiative, the Virtual World Café as well as its bi-weekly digest, in order to spend time reflecting on the societal concerns we started the year with. We will focus on pre-COVID-19 threats to the human security societal stabilizers: good governance, women, migrants, victims of modern-day slavery, the Responsibility to Protect, and indigenous rights.
Join us as we close 2020 by revisiting global challenges we started the year with and reflect on how we can impact 2021.