Covid-19

In November 2020 amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, Dr. Sikhulile Moyo and Prof. Tulio de Oliveira discovered the omicron variant. Many Western countries reacted by putting in place harsh travel restrictions for Southern Africa. A Conversation with the winners of the German Africa Award 2022.

A conversation with Nicole Krause from the Life Sciences Communication Department at the University of Wisconsin about science and political communication and ways to communicate more effectively with conservative, religious and rural audiences.

Several cities and provinces in Vietnam are reopening after a so-called tragic fourth wave of COVID-19. Along with societal and economic losses, waste generated from daily routines and medical facilities has become a huge consequence and the country must learn how to deal with the overwhelming waste.

The build-up to the UN Food systems Summit 2021 has underlined why systems thinking is essential and action is required now, both concerning the ending of hunger and tackling the web of issues that contribute to sustainability.

Aliyev’s popularity reached its peak during the war; the oppositional leaders stopped their criticism, while Aliyev’s actions were perceived as a just and victorious war. The active support of Turkey during the conflict inevitably led to the re-articulation and dynamic perception of Turkey as the “big brother”.

Increased use of digital communication tools during the Covid-19 lockdowns has made working from home acceptable – and even more sociable – for many people with disabilities. But technology still has a long way to go toward inclusion. Four professionals talk about the pros and cons.

Even before the outbreak of the pandemic, the transatlantic community faced enormous domestic and geopolitical challenges. The pandemic reinforces these tendencies and at the same time makes it clear why cooperation will remain essential in the future.

In Singapore and South Korea, fact-checking initiatives have been effective in fighting Covid-19 disinformation. But other tactics – like confusing or overly broad laws – could be used to maintain political power. 

How does the current pandemic influence multilateralism? Which role can the European Union play in shaping its future? A debate.

Tech will not free us from coronavirus, but it can provide us with helpful tools – if we foster an open and democratic debate on how to use it. 

The crisis associated with the Covid19 pandemic has a gender, and clearly shows social inequalities of all kinds. It particularly affects women, as well as disadvantaged and variously marginalised groups. There are also attempts to exploit the pandemic for short-term political goals directly targeting women's rights.

COVID-19 uniquely affects women. Here are many of the ways it does.

The coronavirus crisis is leading to massive social distortions in the US. It is increasing the existing structural inequalities and discriminations in the US economy and society. 

We are living in difficult times and while the number of human COVID-19 infections continues to be on the rise, there is one patient that should not be forgotten: our parliamentary democracy. Judging from what we have seen in the past few weeks, the patient is in a serious condition and the prognosis is unclear.

Viktor Orbán uses the Covid-19 pandemic as a pretext to complete his authoritarian regime. These moves are not purely the domestic political problems of Hungary – an authoritarian state within the EU could be deadly dangerous for the entire project. Germany has a very important role to play in the current situation. 

Covid-19 in Turkey and the implications for LGBTI+ people who are among the most vulnerable groups in the country and who had already been struggling with challenges in accessing rights and facing systematic rights violations, including those related to the right to life. In addition to inequalities in enjoying the right to health and the right to employment, as well as soaring reports of domestic violence under isolation, the LGBTI+ community has been targeted by a recent wave of hate-motivated campaigns.

As European countries turn to apps to contain the pandemic, the EU must weigh the public health emergency against its own data protection rules. Policymakers and experts on data protection and privacy in Brussels warn that tracing and monitoring technology can undermine fundamental rights.

Not only has the new coronavirus catapulted us out of our everyday lives, but the way the EU is handling the Covid-19 pandemic has made its inability to take action in times of crisis painfully apparent. Just as people are stranded at airports and railway stations, any hope that Europe is capable of pulling together has also been stranded in the last few weeks.

The ongoing pandemic of COVID-19 disease has brought about an extraordinary situation. Although the past decades have brought numerous challenges like terrorism or the climate change, the global spread of a disease for which there is neither a cure nor vaccination available is something that political leaders have no experience in tackling.

Big technology companies are getting a break from the “techlash,” but this does not mean that the monopolists are permanently off the hook. The crisis has highlighted privacy and security concerns and well as subpar labor standards in the industry. Social media face additional scrutiny for how they deal with COVID-19 related disinformation.