Publication & Podcast Series “Building Back Better: A Call for Courage”

The Covid-19 pandemic has brought to light the invisible, the neglected, and the ignored. All of whom must remain visible in order to make the world a better place. We are at a point in time when we can shape the future. To reconstruct and to build back a society requires resources and strength. But to Build Back Better requires yet another ingredient: courage. It demands the courage to go beyond what is familiar and what we already know, and to rebuild new structures. Forging change requires valour and political will. And if the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us one thing, it is that we cannot ignore the need for change.

The texts in this publication shed light on the fragility of the global system. They discuss the effects of the pandemic on vulnerable groups, as well as on their enjoyment of human rights, and social and economic protection. The authors of the 13 think pieces who are also our speakers of the related five-part podcast series are from diverse backgrounds working for international organisations, NGOs, and trade unions.

The publication as well as the podcasts delineate concrete and possible avenues in different policy areas towards a world of prosperity and equality for all. They contain a number of policy recommendations. This pandemic is not the last crisis our world looks set to run into. To Build Back Better, we need to focus on prevention rather than response. Thus, the authors’ recommendations are possible ingredients for a future in which “Building Back Better” is a success and not another failed attempt.

Music and podcast created, edited, mixed and mastered by Calvin Lanz Sound; clsound.net/