By Felis Tibbits
Students at Teachers College (TC) of Columbia University are collaborating with the UNESCO office in Beijing to develop a “Coronavirus Curriculum.” The aim of this curriculum packet is to use the advent of the pandemic to explore issues central for critical global citizenship. For what is now self-evident to all is that we are living in a world that is interconnected and interdependent. What can we learn by treating covid-19 as a case study of this?
Soft truths to keep Singapore from stalling.
Gold Standard provides a good account of how covid has highlighted the presence of the huge population of low-pay migrant workers in Singapore, heretofore hardly present in the consciousness of the local community at large. The high number of covid infection in this group (hundreds each day) compared to the much lower number in the community at large (several to ten-plus each day) brought about further segregation of the migrant workers and the local community, notwithstanding the new awareness of the migrant workers.
This work was made possible by the Splice Lights On Fund, which supports small to mid-sized news organisations and their freelancers in Asia that are financially affected by Covid-19.
by Sariya Idriss
“There is no “framework” behind which to hide, and I could not appear unflappable at will. I reasoned that pretending immunity to the pandemic’s global impacts wouldn’t be therapeutic, anyway. I confront the screen and this newfound vulnerability.”
by Janine Dahinden
How can the migrant-citizen nexus help us make sense of Europe’s nationalist reaction to COVID-19 and its consequences? Using the lens of the migrant-citizen nexus, I present some alternatives to these nationalism-based policies and measures. I focus on the Swiss case as a specific example of a more general pattern in Europe as a whole (and beyond).
by Marina de Regt
“While my friends worry about me, I worry about them, and about all the other Yemenis who are longing for peace, security and a somewhat stable life.”
by Jamil Mouawad
“Perhaps as never before, now is the right time – akin to many calls worldwide to imagine the world anew – to focus on the culture of hope, and look at both crises, health and economic, not as the end but rather as a constitutive moment for the future of this country.”
An essay by Adrian Favell & Ettore Recchi, pondering the future of the EU.
“Imagine the re-nationalised world we may be about to inherit. We have been quarantined in our designated national unit, and we have been told that all international travel is cancelled, except for those returning “home”.”
by Anna Triandafyllidou
National borders have become more visible and less permeable than ever, and citizenship appears to have resurfaced as the ultimate marker of community, belonging and solidarity. But is this truly the case? Or are we also witnessing the rise of transnational solidarity within and across borders, while citizens within their communities ‘betray the solidarity’ they have with their fellow nationals?
An interactive artwork by Geoff McFetridge
“Weeks into the current situation, waves of weirdness continue to erode the familiar rythm of my world.” An interactive artwork by Geoff McFetridge
An essay by Tanmoy Goswami
In India, many live in less space than is recommended for prison cells. And to most of us, having our own room is unimaginable – if not taboo. Social distancing as a measure to battle the coronavirus pandemic isn’t just a challenge. It’s completely unnatural to a country where community is everything.