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INTRODUCTION
Introduction One Year On: Lessons from COVID-19 and ‘New Normals’ for a Post-COVID World
Piroska Nagy-Mohacsi Interim Director, Institute of Global Affairs, London School of Economics and Political Science
November 2020 Edition in conjunction with the G20 Summit under the Presidency of Saudi Arabia.
The year 2020 may well be remembered as the biggest challenge humanity has faced since the Second World War. Indeed, in many respects it has felt like a war: unprecedented simultaneous health, economic shocks hitting every country and many lives lost. Economies and societies put on freeze in waves of lockdowns amidst what has been aptly called “radical uncertainty”. Families separated. Chaos in initial policy responses in many places and political chaos still in some. The virus is under control or even eradicated in some countries, while in others it is still spreading dangerously fast.
Yet 2020 will also be remembered as transformational. Unprecedented global scientific cooperation has brought a vaccine within reach in less than a year from when the COVID-19 genome was posted on the internet in January 2020. Under lockdowns, digital technologies, while already extensively in use, have allowed an accelerated shift in the way we work, study, shop, interact and enjoy leisure. While policy responses have varied by government, by and large, the first battle to avoid a global economic meltdown has been won. The credit goes to fiscal and monetary authorities that have stepped out of their comfort zone to deliver unprecedented support to Wall Street and Main Street in both advanced, and for the first time, in most emerging markets.
Risks still remain high and there is still much to be done to win the war. However, we can now draw on early evidence of what works and what does not in a host of areas from healthcare to education, to work and investment and what the related appropriate policy responses can be.
A key lesson is that leadership matters more than ever, and not only in government but in business and civil society as well. Another is that science and evidence matter. We are also learning that the young generation, whose economic and labour market prospects have been particularly hit by the pandemic, is eager to have its voice heard more clearly, particularly in areas where policy decisions today irreversibly impact their future. Science -informed inclusive leadership is what we need to tackle the big challenges ahead of us.
This is the context in which we at the London School of Economics and Political Science recently launched a new initiative on transformative leadership, the Maryam Forum.
We have created a unique ecosystem where renowned academics, policymakers, business leaders and our excellent LSE students work directly together on the biggest challenges of our time, organised into six work streams. At our virtual Maryam Annual Forum on 8, 9 and 10 December we will present our assessments and issue a public letter – our “Call to Action” – addressed to G7, G20 and national leaders with our research-informed policy recommendations.
In this edition, we offer a taste of the work we have been doing and the evidence we have been collecting.
We hope that our unique Maryam Forum platform will help national and international leaders to find the most optimal and sustainable policy solutions to our staggering global emergencies. ◆
We have created a unique ecosystem where renowned academics, policymakers, business leaders and our excellent LSE students work directly together on the biggest challenges of our time, organised into six work streams.
