To find the good in 2020 can sound like a fool’s errand. To say the year was a roller coaster ride, it would have to mean that the roller coaster was a deep dive into the deepest, most challenging abyss of the world as we have it. This year we all swiped away the most difficult push notifications on our phones, read the most devastating news around the world, and retweeted the most heartbreaking news.
Yet, the human spirit grows stronger with each trial and tribulation it faces. German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche once said, “That which does not kill me makes me stronger.” As a collective, we all have worked and survived this difficult year and have gone on to prove this aphorism.
So as difficult as it may seem to keep your eyes on a silver lining for such a year, we are going to be taking a moment today and remember some of the most positive and uplifting stories from across the world that will restore our faith in humanity and appreciate the strength of human perseverance.
- All We Need Is Love! Legalization of Same-Sex Marriage
Northern Ireland saw its first same-sex marriage at the beginning of the year, in February. In May, Costa Rica became the first country in Central America to legalize same-sex marriage.
As the year saw its peak in the COVID infection rate, it was not all gloom and doom as Thailand approved and passed the Civil Partnership Bill under which same-sex couples could not only marry and live their lives together as a lawful married couple, but they would also have the right to adopt children.
But perhaps the most heartwarming news came from the most surprising of places. Pope Francis from St. Vatican city indicated that there has been a significant progress in Cathorine doctrine and said “gay people are children of God and have a right to a family.” Pope Francis was in the headlines for his support for LGBTQ community as he said, “We need to make a civil union law.”
- Animals Facing Extinction Thriving!
With rapid and continuing globalization, every year we hear the news of several species going extinct or facing extinction. These species are then labeled under the category of endangered and preservations across the world work around the clock to monitor them and keep them safe against all dangers.
For people who are actively working towards understanding this problem so that they can contribute and work towards itit, 2020 was a good year. This year, animals that were on the verge of extinction made a comeback. Additionally, animals continued thriving in areas where usually human intervention like tourism usually polluted their environment.
In Tunisia, sea turtles (part of the keystone species, as it plays a role in keeping the environment what it is) made a comeback and inched closer to survival. As lockdown was lifted in Tunisia, the locals returned to empty beaches while the sea turtles revisited their birthplaces.
In another incident, researchers tallied a total of 36 sightings of 55 critically endangered Blue Whiles during in South Georgia. Research and conservation community were both in joyous ecstasy as the number of sighting increased from 1 (in 2018) to 36.
- More Female Fortune 500 Company CEOs This Year Than Ever!
Although women only make up a paltry 8% of the CEO’s running the 500 biggest US corporations, 2020 was the year that marked the highest number of females as CEO ever on the list at 40.
This year’s number beat the numbers of 2019 by quite a margin as there were 33 female CEOs in the list. This year’s trend was in sync with the trends of the past 4 years of the upward trending of a steady increase in the female CEOs.
The newest additions to this steadily growing list has been Carol Tome, a long time employee of Home Depot who has started her journey as a CEO with UPS, America’s biggest supply chain and logistics company.
Apparel and accessory retailer GAP appointed Sonia Syngal as its CEO while vehicle manufacturing giant General Motors appointed Mary Barra as its CEO.
- SpaceX Doing What SpaceX Does Best- Make History!
SpaceX came one step closer to revolutionize space technology in May this year. The company owned and lead by innovator-billionaire Elon Musk launched two Americans into space orbit, making it the first spaceflight of NASA astronauts from the USA in 9 years.
Also known as the Demo-2, this launch represented all the work SpaceX had put in so far. The company formerly had launched more than a dozen of satellites with 48 rockets, but it was the first time they put a human in space.
Since its inception, the company has gained worldwide attention for multiple milestones. To this date, SpaceX remains the only private company that has been capable of returning a spacecraft from the lower-Earth orbit. In 2012, its spacecraft Dragon became the first commercial craft that delivered cargo to the International Space Station and brought it from it to Earth.
- World Hunger Is At Its Absolute Low
October came, and with October we could see the world started stabilizing itself after the COVID-19’s biggest peaks subsided.
In the same month, the Nobel Peace Prize was given to the World Food Program for- “its efforts to combat hunger, for its contribution to bettering conditions for peace in conflict-affected areas and for acting as a driving force in efforts to prevent the use of hunger as a weapon of war and conflict.”
The WFP or The World Food Programme is the world’s largest organization that is working towards addressing issues surrounding hunger while promoting food security.
Last year, the WFP assisted around 100 million people spread across 88 countries that were the unwarranted victim of hunger.
- We (almost) have a Covid-19 vaccine
And finally, the news we all have been looking forward to patiently(and sometimes, anxiously).
After months of brainstorming, experimentation & trials, pharmaceutical giants Pfizer announced that one of their 11 vaccines that were in the final stages of experimentation, is proven to be 95% effective against COVID-19 beginning 28 days post the first dose.
The effectiveness of the vaccine was proven to be consistent across all ages, gender, race, and demographics.
A giant jab from mankind to the pandemic, the vaccines for COVID-19 will be the fastest vaccine in the history of mankind to go from the development process to multiphased clinical trials to the point where it could be safely administered to people.
