“At moments of immense change, we see with new clarity the systems – political, economic, social, ecological – in which we are immersed as they change around us. We see what’s strong, what’s weak, what’s corrupt, what matters and what doesn’t.” - Rebecca Solnit

The world over we have seen how the pandemic has made acts of (localized) solidarity more common and more prominent. In what had increasingly been recognized as being an individualistic world, many of us have chosen in the past year and half to challenge that perception by showing up for each other - and not just our families and those we know, but oftentimes, strangers. Strangers we don’t necessarily share anything in common with, other than our shared humanity.

We have witnessed community gardens and kitchens, meals for migrants, free personal protective equipment (PPE), and mental health support efforts for our healthcare workers, and much more take hold in communities around the world.

Some of these acts of compassion and solidarity have also gone beyond individual action to becoming acts of collective advocacy pushing for change at a systemic level.