TheJakartaPost
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A major overhaul is needed on how decisions are made
We all know about the multiple crises the world is facing today and the goals we need to achieve to help resolve them; perhaps the issue is not the goalposts, but how we strategize decision-making so we reach them.
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A person walks on May 15, 2023 past stilt houses in a coastal area in Makassar, South Sulawesi. (Antara/Arnas Padda)
I recently attended the World Social Forum (WSF), which was held in Kathmandu for the first time.
Amid the multiple crises engulfing the planet, the central theme of this huge, incredibly messy but also inspiring and energizing event was utopic and at the same time, also refreshing.
“Another World is Possible” was the theme provocatively but also rightly chosen by the organizers as the key message, a powerful signal that we should never be overtaken by disillusionment and hopelessness.
This should be particularly true, especially for those of us with the luxury of being able to live a normal life; not a perfect one, but surely much better than the lives of our other fellow humans that are being bombed and killed, even as you read this piece now.
There is plenty to worry about amid the current triple planetary crisis, from the devastating one about climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution, to the crises caused by geopolitics from Ukraine to the Sahel to fighting around Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and to the ongoing tensions in the South China Sea, as well as what’s going on in Myanmar and in Gaza.
Add to this the not ideal though widely forecast election results in Indonesia, and these confirm that the quality of democracy is indeed in decline, both regionally and globally.
India is edging toward probably third term of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This is great news if you are a big businessman or an airport or highway operator, but very worrisome if you belong to a minority, especially if you are Muslim.
