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Past pandemics exacerbated disadvantages – what we can learn from them about the coronavirus recovery
Societies of the past were often better at dealing with problems than those of the present. It’s a sign of our complacency that early warning systems were not in place before COVID-19 struck. This was despite the fact that the past century witnessed four major respiratory pandemics – the 1918-19Continue Reading
What coronavirus success of Taiwan and Iceland has in common
Taiwan and Iceland have won praise for their effective responses to the coronavirus pandemic. They are among a group of countries which adopted a cooperative strategy early on in the pandemic, bringing together multiple organisations to tackle the challenges in containing COVID-19. A cooperative strategy is when organisations try toContinue Reading
Coronavirus: how Brazil became the second worst affected country in the world
The COVID-19 pandemic has stress-tested countries, economies and political systems like never before. Nowhere has the outcome been more devastating than in Brazil, arguably the country with the worst pandemic response in the world. Brazil’s vulnerabilities are visible in the mass graves in São Paulo and Manaus. The country isContinue Reading
Women leaders and coronavirus: look beyond stereotypes to find the secret of their success
Jacinda Ardern of New Zealand, Tsai Ing-Wen of Taiwan and Angela Merkel of Germany have all been singled out for the way they have handled the coronavirus pandemic. They’ve been praised for demonstrating care, empathy and a collaborative approach. These skills – stereotypically described as “feminine” – have enabled themContinue Reading
Frank Lampard’s talk about ‘hard work’ will not help football tackle black under-representation
When Manchester City footballer Raheem Sterling challenged English football to do more when it came to tackling systemic racism in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement, Chelsea manager Frank Lampard questioned his analysis of the problem. For Lampard, his success in coaching was simply down to hard graft.Continue Reading
The painful post-Soviet transition from communism to capitalism – Recovery podcast series part five
In this fifth episode of Recovery, a series from The Anthill Podcast exploring key moments in history when parts of the world recovered from a major crisis or shock, we’re looking at what happened in the former Soviet Union in the 1990s during the transition from communism to capitalism. WhenContinue Reading
Why children need to be taught more about their human rights
Charlein Gracia/Unsplash Many children have an innate sense of equality, fairness and justice and know how these concepts relate to their day-to-day lives. A lot of children also have the confidence to voice their opinions when they feel a lack of justice. But unfortunately, this is not always that caseContinue Reading
How to support children with special educational needs as they return to school
David Tadevosian/Shutterstock Children and parents have struggled to adjust to homeschooling. Now, some have to cope with returning to schools which will seem very different to those they left at the beginning of lockdown. One group of children, though, are facing challenges beyond those experienced by the majority. Children withContinue Reading
Coming of age in 2020 – the summer without exams or school proms
Shutterstock/Katja El Sol Cemazar The transition from childhood to adulthood is marked by humans in a wide variety of ways across the world. Many of these “coming of age” celebrations are held at puberty. For instance, the filing of front teeth in Bali is said to ease the “sad ripu”Continue Reading
How philosophy can help children cope with uncertain times
5D Media/Shutterstock The current pandemic has interrupted life as we know it. People – individuals and nations – have reacted differently to the shock. We have all had to try to make sense of the situation as restrictions were brought in to govern and modify our daily routines – restrictionsContinue Reading