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

Small plant growing through cracks in worn asphalt
Photocase_Nordreisender Photocase: Nordreisender

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.

   

Listen to the Podcast Series
 

Caroline Dommen (host) is speaking with Todd Howland (OHCHR), Gabrielle Marceau (WTO), and Manuela Tomei (ILO). In this podcast, the guests are looking at why no single country can win the battle against a crisis alone but is in need of coordinated cooperation.

Caroline Dommen (host) is speaking with Joachim Monkelbaan (QUNO) and Ben Schachter (OHCHR). In this podcast, the guests discuss how much we depend on a healthy environment - not least because of our own health - and what this pandemic has shown us in this regard.

Caroline Dommen (host) is speaking with Olivier De Schutter (UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights), Kinda Mohamadieh (TWN), and Karin Pape (WIEGO). In this podcast, the imbalances of power within and between societies as well as between the private and the public sector are at the heart of the discussion.

Caroline Dommen (host) is speaking with Torbjörn Fredriksson (UNCTAD), Rashid Kaukab (CUTS International), and Magdalena Sepulveda (GI-ESCR). In this podcast, the guests discuss why this pandemic is a “shecession”, why digital solutions are not (yet) available for everyone and why not only developing countries are in need of a fairer international trade governance.

Caroline Dommen (host) is speaking with Daniel Bertossa (PSI) and Lily Sommer (ECA). In this podcast, the guests look into a brighter future where public services and those working in the sector are adequately valued - and valued more than privatized services – and why this pandemic can be a fostering element for Africa towards a more robust and flourishing trading region.

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