2021, Too?

Came across this caption that quite aptly describes the wearied mood of many as they enter into 2022. On my part I have also been wearied in the last quarter of 2021- evidenced from the accumulating blog drafts holding sparks I want to release into the WWB that I have yet to actualise. Contrary to my naive novice researcher belief, my qualitative analysis was far from being in the final stages 😂 Even so, there is much progress, and entering 2022 I am rather excited to submit my contribution to The People’s Summit!

Reflecting on the theme of this global summit that seeks to draw a diverse range of people, communities and organizations in light of world events where leaders have disappointed us terribly, I couldn’t help but feel immediately somewhat cynical. What meaningful systemic change can possibly emerge from this? Can there be global cooperation towards a better new world that leaves no one behind?

Yet as I lean into the hopeful voices of some interviewees I have the privilege to meet through my research, I am encouraged in my hopeful vision for a better world beyond COVID-19. There is only so much we can do, but we can do so much as we partner with people who share similar visions.

This brings me to a possibly philosophical question that I am trying to answer through my research: Why do some people have this vision that leads them to engage in civil participation (while others don’t)? And the important ‘research-implications’ question: Can the disposition for civil participation behaviours be fostered, and if so by what means?

Leaving you, reader, with these questions, till I can share my polished piece of work hopefully at the Summit 😄 In the meantime, I have a draft on the beauty of the critical realism approach to explaining society and how change happens that I want to work on. Haha, it may sound like the stuff of academic/abstract fluff, but I believe if I manage to condense and work it down to the practical level, it is quite a transformative way of understanding the world~