8 GOLD MERCURY INTERNATIONAL Global Governance: Towards a New Ethic
Today we are conscious of participating in a global society, even though what it means to be a global citizen varies widely across the world and is not the exclusive determiner of our identity. However, we are now irrevocably linked to the outside world and are awakening to our new responsibilities. In 2010, the humanitarian crisis in Haiti following the earthquake prompted an unquestioningly rapid response from across the globe. This interconnectedness makes us part of a real global community— we felt it with Obama’s election in 2009, when people across the world took part in the celebrations, from the streets of Washington to the most remote villages of Kenya. We need the global governance system to support these ideals of communality.
Although the situation in Haiti remains critical, shortly after the earthquake, humanitarian aid was immediate. Actors such as the Dominican Republic, U.S., European and Latin American countries, the International Red Cross, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank (WB), among others, announced the shipment of money, food, volunteers, firefighters, experts and even specialised search dogs to assist the Caribbean nation.