Covid-19 has shone a light on the terrible repercussions of inequality.
Radical reforms are required to forge a society that will
work for all”
https://www.ft.com/content/7eff769a-74dd-11ea-95fe-fcd274e920ca
I think that we have an opportunity for revolutionary
reform that could address social injustices and inequalities, improve accessibility,
decrease economic disparity, and amplify voices that have been erased in the arts,
while maintaining the necessary practices that will keep Covid-19 levels down
and perhaps even eradicate future pandemics.
In Ottawa I have already noticed increasing awareness and
attempts to address these issues. For example, there are now porta potties on
Bank Street and McNabb Community Centre has a respite centre:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/homeless-ottawa-covid-1.5544164
Community Gardens, which were initially closed have
opened up, in consideration of food shortages.
https://www.ottawamatters.com/local-news/ottawas-community-gardens-opening-for-the-season-2334950.
Need for Collective Based Approaches
“According to one analysis, as of April 23, a staggering 151 countries have planned, introduced, or adapted a total of 684 social protection measures in response to the pandemic.”
COVID-19: remaking the social contract
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30983-1/fulltext
The pandemic has driven home the point that our individual
actions affect others. You can easily see the connection between rise and
continued spikes in Covid-19 cases and laissez-faire economic and social
policies. The crisis means we must all work together. The priorities are clear.
Ahead of May Day, 500+ Groups Worldwide Demand Just and
Visionary Recovery From Covid-19
"This virus proves how interconnected we are. The
solutions we come up with now must ensure that no one is left behind."
Brett Fishman, 350.org
1. Put people's health first, no exceptions.
2. Provide economic relief directly to the people.
3. Help our workers and communities, not corporate
executives.
4. Create resilience for future crises.
5. Build solidarity and community across borders—do not
empower authoritarians.
Here are a few of the ways in which a revolution has
begun and some of the ways in which innovators, organizers and artists are using
their creativity and care to make necessary changes. I believe that the only
way we’re going to survive the pandemic and its ensuing economic downfall is to
to lead with love, to lead by example, to care for each other and with an
unwillingness to restore the same old white cis-het patriarchy that has gotten
us to where we are now.
END WHITE SUPREMACY
Health experts have finally started to communicate that
racism is a public health issue.
We’ve been facing a pandemic of racism. How can we stop
it?
https://theconversation.com/weve-been-facing-a-pandemic-of-racism-how-can-we-stop-it-140284
We Must Defund the Police. It Is the Only Option.
https://www.flare.com/identity/defund-the-police-toronto-black-lives-matter-canada/
PRIORITIZE MEDICAL INNOVATION RESEARCH AND SPENDING
How Scientists Could Stop the Next Pandemic Before It
Starts
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/21/magazine/pandemic-vaccine.html
These six Canadian initiatives just received $1 million
in funding to help fight COVID-19. The one-time innovation grant was split
between six Canadian physicians and health care teams who designed unique
solutions to the challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.
https://covidkindness.ca/news/these-six-canadian-initiatives-just-received-1-million-in-funding-to-help-fight-covid-19/
TAKE CARE OF EACH OTHER
When the pandemic came to Ottawa, I was impressed by how
immediately FB groups sprung up to offer food, supplies and aid to those who
needed it.
What Is Caremongering? And Why Is It So Uniquely
Canadian?
https://nuvomagazine.com/daily-edit/what-is-caremongering
Why George Monbiot is fighting to build a 'politics of
belonging' to better our world
Monbiot argues creating communities of "mutual
concern, of mutual aid, where we support each other, as indeed many people have
been doing during the coronavirus pandemic" is key.
PRIORITIZE ACCESSIBILITY
Remote events, work and education have an accidental benefit
of making it possible for disabled people to take part. I say accidental because
accessibility has not been a priority at all, and this is just a side effect,
but now that it’s happening, I don’t think it can be turned back that easily. Much
more needs to be done, including making technology and the internet accessible
for all. Ableism continues to create barriers to much needed change.
Why coronavirus may make the world more accessible
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200513-why-the-coronavirus-can-make-the-world-more-accessible
DEVELOP A STRONG AND INCLUSIVE WOMEN’S MOVEMENT
https://www.equalitynow.org/defining_a_new_inclusive_future
The future of feminism
Five feminists explain where the movement needs to go
next.
By Jessica Machado and Karen Turner
https://www.vox.com/identities/2020/3/7/21163193/international-womens-day-2020
INNOVATE PERFORMANCE AND EXHIBITS
Over Headphones and in a Truck, the Philharmonic Stays
Alive
With indoor performances still far-off, the orchestra has
organized a “Soundwalk” in Central Park and outdoor pop-up concerts.
The Isolation Museum, a brand new virtual museum asks
people to submit artifacts that represent their isolation experience during the
COVID-19 pandemic.
Artist and Carleton University student Kit Chokly came up
with the idea after they lost their job and their classes were moved online. via
CBC Sparks
In Berlin, the Art World Spreads Out to Stay Safe
The first major international art event since the
lockdown started took place at smaller venues around the city, rather than
under a single roof.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/14/arts/design/berlin-art-weekend.html?smtyp=cur&smid=tw-nytimesarts
How to Birth a New American Theater – replacing the white
canon
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/11/theater/how-to-change-theater.html?smid=tw-nytimesarts&smtyp=cur
The Frankfurt Book Fair will be digital
PRIORITIZE A SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENT
Take into account
the link between humans and the planet
Lockdown Let the Earth Breathe. What Do We Do Next?
COVID-19 could be a turning point in climate activism—but
only if we play it right
BY SARAH RATCHFORD
https://thewalrus.ca/lockdown-let-the-earth-breathe-what-do-we-do-next/
“Human wellness and planetary wellness are inextricably
linked, and that link must be taken into account in order to save us.”
FIND WAYS TO CONNECT TO ONE ANOTHER TO AVOID ISOLATION
Making Connections, Telling Stories: Dispatches from the
Empty Met
https://www.metmuseum.org/blogs/now-at-the-met/2020/met-closure-dispatch-met-stories
Solutions from Around the World: Tackling Loneliness and
Social Isolation During COVID-19
“A Norwegian company, No Isolation, developed a
“one-button computer” designed to help people with no experience using
smartphones or computers. With an internet connection and a power outlet, it
can stream photos, send or receive messages, and conduct video calls. Currently
the product is available in eight European countries.”
Beaded map of Canada creates 'a sense of community' among
Indigenous artists amid pandemic
https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/beaded-map-canada-completion-1.5712673
MAINTAIN AND INCREASE REMOTE SOLUTIONS FOR EDUCATION
AND WORK
It’s not enough to just move classes online. We need
better access to digital solutions for all. We need free and universal
accessibility to technology.
Classes are moving online, but teaching methods still
need to catch up, says education expert
“I don't see why, in the long run, we shouldn't be able
to offer everything, so students can study in any way they wanted. The
important thing is the learning outcome should be the same, the exam should be
the same, but the students can get there through different routes, different
ways of learning.”
https://www.cbc.ca/radio/spark/classes-are-moving-online-but-teaching-methods-still-need-to-catch-up-says-education-expert-1.5628502
After covid: 'Working from home' is long term ambition
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-54125620
ENSURE ECONOMIC STABILITY FOR ALL
120 Canadian CEOs And Business Owners Representing Over
$2.3b In Combined Annual Revenues Are In Support Of A Universal Basic Income In
Canada.
https://ceosforbasicincome.ca/
A Universal Basic Income would also help to eliminate
food insecurity issues.
Groups like Food Not Bombs in the USA is a free meal collective
that redistributes food to those who need it.
https://www.teenvogue.com/story/food-not-bombs-history
In Canada, federal funding has been allocated to help provide
surplus food to the hungry from farms.
https://www.farms.com/ag-industry-news/surplus-food-distributed-to-canadians-in-need-288.aspx
The pandemic has illuminated the issues with gig working
and the need for basic worker rights.
This Pandemic Is a ‘Fork in the Road’ for Gig Worker
Benefits
As Covid-19 keeps people indoors, delivery and other
contract workers are more visible than ever—making this a pivotal time for them
to secure basic rights. Arielle Pardes
https://www.wired.com/story/gig-worker-benefits-covid-19-pandemic/
END HOUSING INSTABILITY
https://www.amo.on.ca/Advocacy/AddressingOntariosHousingCrisis
FIND NEW WAYS TO DELIVER HEALTH CARE
The virtual triage assessment centre connects residents
to health-care providers over phone or video chat
OTHER IDEAS
Meet Will Rondo, the man behind the NBA's bubble barber
shops
https://www.cbc.ca/radio/day6/meet-will-rondo-the-man-behind-the-nba-s-bubble-barber-shops-1.5719799
Hate Social Media but Love Nature? There’s an App for
That
Facebook and Twitter can be sinkholes of rage and
despair. But virtual communities like iNaturalist might usher in the digital
utopia we were promised
BY EMILY URQUHART
https://thewalrus.ca/hate-social-media-but-love-nature-theres-an-app-for-that/
Conclusion
I don’t want to go back to business as usual. I want mindful
change and I will support and amplify visionaries calling for change, and social
justice movements in their attempts to ensure we have it. This isn’t a
short-term issue. The pandemic isn’t going away anytime soon and after it is over,
we are going to need to support one another more than ever.
4 Key Ways to Build Strong Social Justice Movements
https://www.teenvogue.com/story/how-activists-cope-emergency-pandemic
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