“Africa, as you all know, is one of the most resource-rich regions of the world,” said Cyril Obi, Program Director of the African Peacebuilding Network at the Social Science Research Council. “But many observers have noted that in spite of all this natural wealth, Africa seems to have quite a substantial proportion of its population living under poverty.” He spoke at a recent Wilson Center Africa Program event that examined the relationship between natural resources, sustainable development, and peace in Africa. How do you explain a continent rich with natural resources where so many people live in poverty, he asked.   

“The pandemic is just making visible a reality that has been going on for decades,” said Claudia Calvin, Founder of Mujeres Construyendo (Women Building) and a member of Nosotras Tenemos Otros Datos (We Have Other Data). She spoke at a recent Wilson Center event on femicide and the rule of law in Latin America. The panelists discussed the longstanding roots of this issue and new barriers to protecting women and preventing violence during the pandemic in the launch event for a project examining gender-based violence in Latin America, co-hosted by the Brazil Institute, Latin America Program, Mexico Institute, and Maternal Health Initiative. “Violence against women and femicides are not new,” Calvin said. But what is new is the fact that the media and civil society are bringing this topic to our attention, she said.

“The pandemic has shown us in the starkest terms how wide the gaps are in health outcomes between Black and White America and between men and women,” said Representative Alma Adams (D-NC-12) at a recent Wilson Center event on women, race, and COVID-19 in the United States. “COVID-19 has revealed what the Black community and communities of color have known for a long time, health outcomes are further compounded by systemic and structural racism,” said Rep. Alma Adams. And COVID-19 has exposed what women have known for a long time. Gender inequality exists, it threatens economic empowerment, and it increases vulnerabilities.

“We all know that while no one is immune from the Covid-19 virus—and people of all types have caught the virus and died from it—it is the world’s most vulnerable communities that have suffered disproportionately from the pandemic,” said Michael Kugelman, Deputy Director and Senior Associate for the Wilson Center’s Asia Program. He spoke at a recent Wilson Center event on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on refugee communities. As of 2019, 1 percent of humanity was displaced. That’s more than 79.5 million people. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the vulnerabilities of these people. “The health pandemic is fostering a new pandemic of poverty,” said Matthew Reynolds, Regional Representative for the U.S. and the Caribbean at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

This year, three pandemics have shaken the fabric of our society, said Les Williams, Co-Founder and Chief Revenue Officer at Risk Cooperative at a recent event co-hosted by the Wilson Center and Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment on building greater resilience for U.S national security. The spread of COVID-19 highlighted the vulnerabilities in our healthcare system. The murder of George Floyd became the tipping point in communicating the risk that Black Americans have been facing for more than 400 years. And a number of natural disasters exposed society’s vulnerability to climate change.

“50 years ago, 20 million young people protested about the damage to our Earth. Over the past 5 decades, a lot has happened. Our ozone layer is healing, renewable energy is booming worldwide, environmental awareness has never been higher. But some risks are even more acute than before,” said Denis Hayes, coordinator of the first Earth Day and founder of Earth Day Network, in a video message at a recent Wilson Center event commemorating the 50th Earth Day. 

It helps to think of collaboration as a skill to develop, rather than a value to impart, said Francesca Gino, Professor and Unit Head of Negotiation, Organization and Markets at Harvard Business School, at a recent Wilson Center virtual event on the importance of cross-sectoral collaboration. Many organizations make collaboration one of their values, she said. However, this has no substantial effect. “It could be a first step, but on its own it doesn’t create a culture where all of a sudden people are collaborating effectively,” Gino said.

“You might know what to do,” said Rachel Kleinfeld, a Senior Fellow for Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. “But if you don’t think about how to do it, your reform isn’t going to move forward.” She spoke at a recent Wilson Center virtual event on how to think and work politically while supporting biodiversity conservation goals. It may sound counterintuitive, she said, but undertaking what’s considered the best intervention may not be the best approach.