WHAT HAPPENED?
In a situation that seemed unthinkable – the isolation resulting from the declared global pandemic and all the accompanying cardinal changes in lifestyle since the end of 2019 and the first months of 2020 – we decided to ask questions. First we asked philosophers, poets, writers, psychologists, artists, designers and journalists. We turned to them because of the broader and visionary scope their vocation implies.
WHERE ARE WE NOW?
Today, June 9, 2020, as we publish this platform of collected viewpoints, in Bulgaria the abrupt and groudbreaking change of which we were undoubtedly part already seems unreal and far removed from the present moment. City life makes (or tries hard to make) its return to ‘normality’ and works with dedication to recover from the damage done. At this point, there continues to be a good numer of countries around the world still in isolation – internally and in relation to the surrounding world, while others report new threatening waves of infection in the number of patients and re-introduce more serious health measures. In the last few days in Bulgaria the number of confirmed cases of the disease has reached its highest levels since the beginning of the pandemic. A preemptive return to restrictions is beginning to be discussed.
The outbreak of the epidemic has left its mark on drastically different lives and lifestyles of all types of people. It quickly leveled and affected without apparent limitation all age groups, national and local communities, social strata, ethnicities, races, genders – people from all corners of the world.
⊰֍⊱
WHAT DID WE DO?
As early as April 2020, we started to collect visions and opinions on the big change that is happening asking a selected number of experts in different intellectual fields whom Amorpha had worked with creatively over the years. As a local organisation which stays close to the people and their aspirations for 12 years, these individual views concern us our work directly as we attempt to anticipate sociatal issues and change and have a clearer view of future horizons.
We asked respondents 7 main questions, some of which require deeper speculation and formulating a future forecast, others are very immediate and specific.
We publish the views of our guests in Breakwater Visions – the online platform we launched at the start of the pandemic.
Breakwater Visions is part of Amorpha Foundation’s discussion series Breakwater Talks interested in expert opinions, citizen views and community processes.
Български