The year has come to an end. To a hopeful 2021

this isn't going to be another 'thank you, next' note to 2020

At the end of every year, no matter what that year had brought with it, we have a collective tendency to reflect negatively back at the year that has been and deem it 'the worst one yet'. So present is this trend in humanity that New Yorker columnist and author Jia Tolentino wrote an article about 'the worst year ever' trend a few years back in 2016. At the time, Trump had just been elected, Brexit voted among many other global tragedies and crises.

In it, Tolentino writes: "I’m worried that the “worst year ever” feeling is half a condition of the Internet, of the way we experience the news as delivered through social media. Everything feels too intimate, too aggressive; the interfaces that were intended to cheerfully connect us to the world have instead spawned fear and alienation. I’m worried that this sense of relentless emotional bombardment will escalate no matter what’s in the news."

Of course, if we were to teleport to December 2016 and let Tolentino know of 2020 she would have been left speechless at what's to come in just four years' time. But we are not here to reflect at the disaster that was this year, no. We are here to install hope and shine a light on some of the great achievements of humanity this year, despite the mounting challenges.

Welcome back to the very last FairPlanet weekly roundup of this year. We wish you all health, peace and hope for the year ahead. The FairPlanet team.

The good

Change has happened! we have come together.

Amid the global crisis that has consumed the world for a year now, big steps toward positive change have happened. And while it might be difficult to see the good through the bad, these achievements, however small or large, must be celebrated and used as a stepping stone toward more hope; more coming together to instil change.

From the historic presidential election in the United States, that saw Democrat Joe Biden win the presidency, unseating incumbent Donald Trump and amassing the most votes ever noted in the history of the US elections. More people came out to vote than ever before with a clear message: we can do better than this!

A vaccine was created and began rolling out in the UK and across the world — this is a triumph to world scientific and research community, proving us once again that we are most powerful when we work together.

Another triumph came just yesterday, Argentina legalised abortion in a landmark moment for women's rights following years of protesting, becoming only the third country in South America to legalise a woman's right to choose. The Senate approved the historic law change by 38 votes in favour to 29 against, with one abstention. Pro-choice campaigners who had been keeping vigil outside Buenos Aires’s neoclassical congressional palace erupted in celebration as the result was announced at just after 4 am on Wednesday, December 30.

abortion-legalisation-argentina-fairplanet

FairPlanet has been with you

	Latin America and the race for a vaccine by Ellen Nemitz The race for purchasing doses has already begun and the richest countries are far ahead. But LA nations haven't enough doses to immunise their people. Read

	Progressives press Biden on climate justice by Yair Oded Progressive activists and lawmakers pressure president-elect Biden to "be bold" on climate, economic, and racial justice issues. Read

	Breach of human rights in UK’s migrant camps by Federica Tedeschi ‘A man attempted to take his life at Napier Barracks in Folkestone yesterday’, reads a report recently published by AVID, a network of voluntary organisations providing support for people in detention (20 November 2020). Read

	Give us a piece of peace, hope! by Shadi Khan Saif As the world welcomes the vaccine against devastating corona virus, there is nothing to cheer for the hopeless Afghans battling pandemic of the worst sort. Read

	Human solidarity is a key recipe for global order and prosperity by Bob Koigi As International Human Solidarity Day is this month, the world should explore how to foster unity in diversity at a time of huge social classes gaps. Read

To a new year

our local coverage on a global level is here for you.

Our ability to do good when we come together has once again shown that, in these times, community is as powerful as it has always been – and that if you have more than you need, build bigger tables, not taller walls.

To 2021. We have hope in you.

FairPlanet team.

We hope that our stories and insights are valuable to you. If so, we kindly ask you to consider sharing the newsletter with your friends, colleagues, families... Referring is the best thing you can do to support our work - and add value for all of them. As always, thanks for reading. We look forward to continuing to deliver the best solution stories straight to your inbox.