We are eight months into a new decade, and it already ‘the worst’ year in the 21st century. COVID-19 has destabilized most organizational settings.
The impact of COVID-19 will depend not only on the nature of the virus but also on how society reacts to disruptions caused by it.
We live in a time with the most advanced science and technology. At the same time, a virus invisible to us has massively disturbed healthcare, economies, and the education systems worldwide. It is a harsh warning for us to prioritize issues that are most important in the 21st century.
There is a necessity to introspect the difficulties that we are already facing. On the one hand, we prepare ahead of the 21st century. On the other hand, nationalism, violence, and inequalities continue to act as barriers to growth.
Post COVID-19, a quality healthcare system that is affordable and accessible to all, should be the primary objective. There is solid evidence to prove that increased investment in health and education can potentially build the necessary foundation of a country.
A world post-COVID-19 should promote global citizenship, where nationality, gender, race, caste, and other unnecessary issues, are mere variables, not identities of individuals.
The objective is to build citizens who play an active role in their society and work collectively and develop an inclusive and environmentally sustainable planet.
The immediate focus post-COVID-19 should be to mitigate the multiple problems that have emerged from the pandemic.
It will enable us to make the year after COVID-19, a year that highlights recovery and acts as a pathway to new beginnings. While there is hardly anything good to gain from such a fatal pandemic, we must use it to make the ‘new normal’ in our favor.
Fostering a culture of inclusiveness, social and cultural equality, healthcare for all, new technology, environmental care, and improved education should be our “new normal.”
