Yes, absolutely. Right now, international cooperation is more important than ever. Why? Emergencies like pandemics and environmental disasters do not recognise international borders, geopolitical lines, isolationism or party politics. Therefore, the world leaders and state representatives must share their data, and always be transparent with their findings (particularly their scientific discoveries or ongoing trials).

A positive example of effective international cooperation was how Chinese scientists from Wuhan, the initial source of the outbreak, shared the genetic sequence of the new virus with the global scientific community. What makes this outreach so significant is that the publication of these findings allowed the global scientific community to start their critical research immediately. Ultimately, this research will hopefully lead to a vaccine being developed for the global community – for global health.

When we come out of this health crisis, we should be able to form not just a mentality but a reality of greater cooperation. Further challenges lie ahead. We should get behind the United Nations as well as related international forums such as the WHO (World Health Organisation), as this will not be the last pandemic that we will face. After all, we are one people. Underneath our skin, life stories, job titles, we are all the same – we are all human.

The genetic similarity between ourselves and other human beings who may live on the other side of the planet, is 99.9%. 

We are interconnected so therefore it only makes sense if our world is too.

 

Also, geography students have been taught that 300 million years ago, there were no countries or continents. Instead, there was simply a gigantic ‘supercontinent’ that we now call ‘Pangea’ which consisted of all of the world’s seven continents that exist today. The continents are still drifting. Eventually, they could once again combine into another supercontinent for a few hundred million years before breaking up. Then the cycle may repeat itself.

What I am trying to say is that there will be global developments and challenges but nonetheless, we must all look out for each other. All world governments should share the same goal – to beat this virus as well as future health threats. Similarly, we must not lose sight of climate change; “there is no Planet B”. We all need our planet and our home that we call Earth, is indifferent to our differences.

We are all global citizens if we believe in building a better world. 

 

This article was written by Jess, volunteer at Sunrise Project France since April 2020. Jess lives in England, but she is also a global citizen. She LOVES travelling, languages and meeting people from around the world. She believes in cooperation and kindness!