As anticipated, the month of October will be dedicated to health. Given the recent COVID-19 pandemic, health policy has been one of the main topics in the political debate. However, the reason for choosing this as the focus of my posts for the upcoming three weeks is not solely the interest that has gained lately. An added value I see in talking about health is that it is a transversal topic in the sense that health issues touch everyone in society and, as the goal here is to make the reader feel included, I decided to select an issue that could speak to everyone.
Moreover, I think that improving our approach to physical and mental health, as well as establishing more resources in the field of medical research, is something that the younger generations, who have been through such a difficult time as the pandemic, are particularly concerned about. Indeed, for too long young people in Europe – who have the privilege to have access to public schools – have been dealing with the negative impact that the pandemic has had on education. COVID-19 had led them to lose some of the milestones of their teenage years: from in-presence lectures to school trips and exchange semesters. This has impoverished the experience of going to school, which was deprived of its most crucial dimension: the social one.
Of course, this does not mean that flexibility, especially at work, is pivotal to helping people live a healthy lifestyle and that some online courses can be extremely effective. Nevertheless, the problem arises when primary and secondary education is not imparted in the present because that leads to a loss not only in learning but also in social skills and has potentially negative effects on mental health, which needs to be safeguarded as much as physical health.
I am ending this post on a positive note: in October 2021 I took part in the Young Leaders’ Forum in Budapest and, by then, social distancing was still a part of everyday life even at conferences. Luckily, in 2022, in-person events are much more common, and I am looking forward to seeing this trend increase in 2023.
Love,
Elena
Budapest, October 2021
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