The world after COVID-19
Katrín Jakobsdóttir, Prime Minister of Iceland, discussed this morning the challenges facing the planet following the COVID-19 pandemic, at an international symposium hosted by the committee for the future of the Icelandic Althingi in colloboration with the Pimre Minister Office. Smári McCarthy, MP for the Pirate party and Chairman of the committee, moderated the discussion and presented along with well-known international speakers. The title of the symposium was: What will the future look like beyond COVID-19.
The Prime Minister discussed the importance of the future changes benefiting everyone,
"There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that right now, with our worlds already upended, we have a unique opportunity to do just that: bring about fundamental change. A green transformation across industries and nations. Policies for social justice, policies that ensure that the gain that will stem from the current technological revolution will be evenly distributed – that societies will benefit from the seismic shift that is happening to the way we work and produce things – and not just the few, wealthy and privileged."
The speakers of the symposium discussed fundamental changes that need to be made to increase fairness and strengthen societies to be better prepared to address the changes ahead. Other speakers were Marina Gorbis, author and director of the Institute for the Future (IFTF), Jamie Susskind, a barrister and the author of the book Future Politics: Living Together in a World Transformed by Tech, and Izabella Kaminska, editor of Alphaville at the Financial Times. They all agreed on the importance that politics need to tackle long-term changes with a systematic discussion of future issues, for example with future committees, but the Future committee in Iceland was formed in 2018.
