THE POST PANDEMIC "GLOBAL WELL-BEING MANIFESTO"

April 22, 2021

 

As Uskudar University Senate members, we felt the need to utter concern and offer solutions for the future of the world. We are concerned about the general despair in the world, especially our society, due to the pandemic that makes us think about the need for a global restructuring – a great reset.

As the COVID-19 pandemic to which humanity is exposed has turned into a tragedy, we see that global justice and environmental problems have become evident despite strong and advanced health systems. It draws our attention that feelings of weakness, inadequacy, helplessness, loneliness, and hopelessness are widespread all over the world. Decision-makers need different opinions for the world to improve. We feel the responsibility to openly state our determinations and suggestions for the improvement of global peace, natural beauty, and individual happiness.

Today; despite being defined as the most honorable being regardless of country, race, color, culture, religion, belief, or ideology, we see that the human character, "insatiable, unbounded, egocentric, who does not care about any purpose other than hedonist satisfaction", lacks high human values comes to the fore. That's why we sign this declaration to make our future and our beautiful blue planet more peaceful, more sustainable, fairer, and habitable.

  1. In this tragic process that humanity is going through, we are witnessing the global increase in income inequality, economic injustice, and poverty. We foresee that intercontinental migration will increase more and we want this to be noticed. We demand that the world should pay attention to the construction of bridges, not walls.

  2. We observe that inequalities in access to health services have increased much more during the pandemic process. We declare that people living in poor countries with limited access to clean water and health are subject to economic neglect and that this is not humane.

  3. We are concerned that the physical and psychological disturbances experienced during the pandemic process will increase unhappiness, loneliness, substance abuse, violence, depression, and suicidal tendencies globally. We are worried that the rulers of the countries will not attach importance to this situation as much as they attach significance to the arms trade and global domination. We demand an understanding of peace, not an individual, but a global peace that takes care of the welfare of all humanity.

  4. Lack of social relations has increased the need for secure attachment more; Living close to the anxiety of the future and constant death raised people's fears. For this reason, we want to emphasize the importance of giving more importance to global wisdom values in the 21st century and considering them in health, culture, and education policies. We declare that it is a mistake to think only of oneself in search of meaning as a person who thinks and takes responsibility.

  5. During the pandemic process, we have started to realize that we behaved very roughly to nature and it was as if nature started to take revenge on us. We are mercilessly killing nature; we are abusing the ecosystem; we are watching, desperately, reaching the panic value limit with global warming and environmental pollution. We realized that we were deceiving ourselves because of the desire for power, growth, and ambition to dominate. If we cannot develop a growth that respects nature, medical science that respects humans and nonhuman, and a policy that values the human spirit, the increasing injustice will end the human species along with nature. We declare that we should raise future generations with an understanding of life that respects nature, is more balanced, non-destructive, and produces value while consuming.
  6. We don't see the pandemic crisis not just as a threat to humanity, but as an opportunity to reach high human values also. Our biggest enemies are; prejudice, discrimination, and dissatisfaction… Our biggest needs are empathy, justice, and trust. We believe that the global scales of justice balancing the scales of personal benefits is the most important and primary reality. We declare that unless global justice is achieved, there will be no peace in our own home.

  7. We regret to see that the world is full of conflicts, that cooperation cannot be made even in the face of this global catastrophe, and that discrimination and bias are increasing. Man is a creature capable of destroying his own kind. We have seen this inhuman slaughter, caused by all wars and nuclear power. We believe that a life dominated not by polarizations but by common ideals, by the interests of all societies, not our own, by equity rather than power, will be sustainable.

  8. We declare that the main value in the 21st century is "wisdom" and that without global justice and global peace will remain just as a word.

  9. We undertake that we will strive to ensure that wisdom does not remain merely a so-called and abstract attitude, but a part of our daily life and a value of our life practice.

  10. As a result, we invite the world leaders, philosophers, and the whole public to think of "Random Goodness" and to implement them without personal benefits and preconditions. We all need a "sweet smile, a beautiful word, a loving look, a warm touch". We declare that awareness that can touch both minds and hearts can provide social happiness and individual well-being after Covid-19 trauma.

 

Every small step taken for humanity carries great hopes. If there is life, there is hope; of course, if we can learn a lesson… We present it to the public on April 22nd, Earth Day, with our best wishes.

ON BEHALF OF THE ÜSKÜDAR UNIVERSITY SENATE

Founding Rector and Chairman of the Executive Board

 Prof. Dr. Nevzat TARHAN