Unfortunately, I’ve misled you. This article will NOT be on the hip-hop phenomenon by Vanilla Ice, which changed everyone’s lives. Sorry.
One quick scan of the Financial Times (or any news outlet) tells us that basically, we’re all done for. A deranged orange schmuck is attacking us from all sides. There’s NO escape, and the rich will eat us all! If that doesn’t kill you, AI will take your job – or its bubble will burst in your face…crashing the economy yet again. The other perspective is that everyone’s a hypocrite because we post on our social media that we’re so protesting against everything right now and we’re so upset that everyone’s on their phones and it’s so horrible that we won’t be able to ski anymore in our Gstaad chalets anymore because the snow will be gone soon… or because it’s so hot and it’s all so, so, so depressing and our lives are so difficult. But also, these young people have to be more grateful, right? I mean, it was so much harder back in the day, am I right?
It would be a ridiculous understatement to say that everything is changing faster than it ever has before. How can we understand the gravity of any situation before something new pops up – something more shocking, revolting, grotesque – that we can’t keep up with? Can we even cover everyone – victims stretching from Gaza to Venezuela, from Bangladesh to Little Saint James – to children as young as five being detained in ICE detention centers?
I think everyone feels really powerless right now. But don’t worry! I’m not here to depress you further (for that, turn to Don’t Use That Word!). Our current crisis is a real page turner. There has been so. Much. Bad. News. It is all happening while we scroll through collapse; something else is happening too.
Let us name a few…
→ Activists and volunteers have formed rapid response networks, with hundreds of people monitoring ICE activity, issuing warnings, and helping affected families access legal support.
→ Following Supreme Court Orders, Brazilian authorities have finally begun confiscating land that was illegally deforested or burned, physically returning control of ancestral lands to Indigenous protection.
→ Swiss Construction Workers’ Victory – Protests across Switzerland secured a deal with the new daily site allowance for automatic inflation adjustments for wages and travel time.
→ For the first time in decades, cancer survival rates have doubled – with 2026 being hailed as the “golden age” for gene therapy and early detection.
→ Wind and Solar Power have officially overtaken fossil fuels for electricity generation across the entire European Union.
→ How can I forget? The WHO recently reported that global polio cases have plummeted by more than 99% over the last 35 years (…good things take time).
→ I’m hoping you’ve noticed the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Games displayed both in the North and South Campuses. What perhaps has been overlooked is that this is the most gender equal Winter Olympics in history, featuring 47% female participation.
→ Global extreme poverty is now at historic lows, with countries such as India lifting over 415 million people out of poverty as of 2026.
→ Africa is on track for its strongest economic growth in years – with Senegal and Rwanda both growing by 8% since January
→ UN Women launched 17 mobile courts in early February, travelling to remote communities in Haiti to facilitate the prosecution of gender-based violence
→ After a high-profile hunger strike, the Korean Teachers and Education Workers’ Union secured a landmark agreement with the National Assembly to guarantee teachers’ rights to participate in political life outside their working hours.
Again… that’s just to name a few.
We need to recognise that people are making solid progress. Is it enough? Not in the least. What I’ve shared doesn’t even remotely cancel out any suffering. But it doesn’t mean that progress isn’t happening. We can’t always focus on the good side of the story – but we also can’t feel hopeless all the time.
Remember – there are about 300 days remaining this year. That leaves a lot of space for good. My advice? Please don’t stop looking at the news, but just be a bit more aware that there are different kinds. Please do try to put your phone down now and then. Go outside more. For everyone’s sanity, but especially your own, go to bed. Don’t lose hope. And most importantly, take care.
