Beyond COVID-19: grassroots visions of change
In June 2020 IIED launched a series setting out key lessons from the coronavirus pandemic. We focused on forward-looking responses to COVID-19, drawing on our partners’ insights and providing a platform for voices from the global South.
Youth volunteers took to the streets to mobilise against COVID-19 in Ethiopia (Photo: UNICEF Ethiopia, via Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
The ‘Beyond COVID-19: grassroots visions of change’ series of blogs and articles was a reaction to the coronavirus pandemic. It aimed to gather together the varied ways grassroots organisations responded to COVID-19, share lessons and spark a discussion to help address multiple future risks.
Based on our partners’ experiences and insights, we wanted to provide a platform for grassroots voices from across the global South and promote joined-up approaches to post-coronavirus development action.
This series was just part of IIED's response to the coronavirus. With our partners, we looked at some of the emerging impacts on the people and places where we work. How communities may be affected and how they have responded.
We've discussed the steps needed for an immediate reaction and then for the longer-term recovery by economies and societies – a recovery that benefits everyone and is sustainable, without having negative effects on the environment.
We've also considered how the lessons learnt on the way will relate to tackling climate change, conserving natural resources, ensuring safe urban environments and building sustainable livelihoods.
