A new year has begun. 2022 - with it comes the knowledge that we have not yet returned to pre-pandemic life, but it brings also a little hope and the opportunity to look forward. For many of us in the Global Diplomacy Lab, the past two years have been challenging, especially because of the pandemic.
Our work and social interactions have fundamentally changed for many - some long for a real-life hug and good conversation, others are happy about the now new normal of being able to exchange ideas at weekly online gatherings without having to fly miles. The GDL has also adapted to the new circumstances during the pandemic, developed new communication channels and has grown. We are a multidisciplinary international group and here we want to hear what some of the members hope and wish for in 2022.
We definitely wish you, dear GDL members, a good start and look forward to getting together soon – be it either in real life or in virtual meetups.
“For 2022, I would like to see the conception and implementation of a feminist foreign policy in the sense of a qualitative transformation of foreign and security policy: diplomatic instruments should be used in such a way that structural injustices are dismantled and thus the roots of security problems are addressed.”
- Annette Ludwig, Adviser to the Gender Equality Representative of the Federal Foreign Office in Berlin
"I hope for 2022 to be a year full of citizen power. 2022 must be a year in which the closing of civic space in the world comes to an end, and citizens can use in full their rights to association, expression and manifestation for the benefit of all societies. Also, in 2022 I hope to see more multi-stakeholders partnerships to ensure a dignified life for all citizens. And I wish for a 2022 with less fear and more (much more) joy!"
- Gina Romero, social activist, social entrepreneur and expert in civic education, youth empowerment, integrity and anticorruption as well as democracy strengthening
"Disruption of education systems caused by the global pandemic has caused substantial losses and increased inequalities in teaching and learning over the past years. In 2022, I truly hope that all governments will prioritize the recovery of their respective education sectors by restructuring more resilient and innovative school systems to face current and future crisis situations. This will require intersectoral efforts and multilateral cooperation that can tie the education sector to social inclusion- and economic development programs."
- Dulguun Batmunkh, development cooperation professional
“For 2022, I’m hoping that there will be real progress on the peace talks to solve the conflict in Ukraine. So far, it is rather depressing how the negotiation is handled by Russia and the United States, leaving Ukraine and the EU aside.”
- Eleonora Tafuro, research fellow at the Russia, Caucasus and Central Asia Centre at ISPI
“In 2022 my hope is that we can spare some of our inner energy to make peace-full decisions. There are communities in Cambodia, which decades ago after bloody ethnic conflict made the decision that peace was more important than anything else, that peace was more important than revenge, justice, or family. And thus, they moved on to rebuild. That for me, has always been the hopeful ray of light: if people in Cambodia could do it, we can do it anywhere else. Today, whatever we are currently perceiving as the #1 issue politically and socially, we can make a collective decision to transcend it, to collaborate, to prioritize that #1 above all the other things. So, this year, I hope for some flash points locally and globally to prioritize a future of peace. Because without peace, there is no business, no health, no human rights, no education, no progress.”
- Cristina Gallegos, strategist for the social sector and an expert on global change and philanthropy
"For 2022, I wish for peaceful and constructive discussions, remembering that we only have this one earth and that we act accordingly in a social, fair, ecological, sustainable and respectful way. Personally, I would like to see inspiring exchange, more international work, be it in research, for exciting journalistic topics and new cooperations. I wish that important independent projects become reasonably financed and realizable, such as my postponed trips to Mozambique and Brazil. #happy2022"
- Julia Jaroschewski, reporter and founder of Buzzing Cities Lab
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