Word from the Chair
As this year crawls to a close, its worth reflecting on where we were twelve months ago. That feels like a really long time ago. When I took over as programme chair on 1 February, Corona was looming, but we still had little idea what an impact it would have on everything. Since then its often been hard to maintain a positive vibe about anything.
Nevertheless, it is possible to look at 2020 and find some positives. Here is my own top-five shortlist of those individuals who came out ahead of the rest:
- President Biden. This is not simply a political choice, it’s a constitutional choice. Trump turned unconstitutionality into an openly partisan political strategy. He surfed the wave of conspiracy theories and gave them the presidential stamp of approval as new forms of ‘patriotism’. He avoided taking any stand when injustice and violence was at its most blatant. For all these reasons, for the sake of US democracy as a whole, it was essential that Biden won. May he go for broke in 2021.
- Jacinta Ardern. New Zealand is a special place, not just because it was the first nation to develop a welfare state, or its long history of anti-nuclear weapons activism, or Flying Nun Records (check them out). It also elects inspired political leaders, Jacinta Ardern being the latest. Her controlled response to the Corona pandemic, measuring economic interests with human needs, has been “a masterclass in crisis communication” (Washington Post). Feminist, republican, progressive. May she stand tall in 2021.
- Lewis Hamilton. I don’t claim to be a Formula 1 fan, and I never watch the races themselves. But I do check the results. Hamilton has not only become the most successful driver of all time, he’s done so with a dignity and pride often lacking in the million-dollar glitz of what is, largely, a ridiculous bonanza. May he go for 8 in 2021.
- Kylie Minogue. And why not? With the release of her 15th studio album, Disco, this November, she became the first female solo artist to achieve a number-one album in the UK in five consecutive decades from the 1980s to the 2020s. This is only matched by McCartney, Lennon, and ……. Paul Weller. That is not just pop stardom of the highest rank, its also a testament to her ability to take control of her own career and consistently re-invent herself as a successful artist. May she rock on in 2021.
- Alexander Navalny. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya must definitely get a mention for leading the democratic fight in Belarus, and my heart goes out to Hong Kong, but for sheer no-holds-barred determination to fight corruption, and for coming back from a nerve agent attack last August, Navalny gets my vote. May he get elected to anything at all in 2021.
Who would be in your top five? Let us know!
We can now gradually look beyond 2020 to something a bit brighter. Corona has brought a vast amount of suffering and this is all far from over, but it has also been a time for reconsidering many things in our daily lives: the ethics of civil aviation, the brutality of our food chains, the racial/ethnic inequalities in our societies. This is a plus, and maybe this critical reflection is what we need to hold on to in the New Year. Stay well, stay merry, and stick with it!