That's up to us. First of all: My heart goes out to all those who suffer from CoVid-19 and their families and friends! We are asked to stay at home and away from big crowds to avoid the spreading of the virus and the breakdown of the health system. I have NO reason to complain or worry. I am healthy. I am NOT suffocating. I am NOT dying alone without my loved ones to hold my hand. My loved ones are healthy. Staying at home, is the least I can do. What do Adult Education & Lifelong Learning have to do with Covid? These are challenging times. Even before Covid, demographic change (more people are getting older, while less children are born) and rapid technological advancement have affected the way we communicate, work, date, learn, live our lives. The world is changing constantly. Who likes change? Change can be scary and the feeling of powerlessness can be overwhelming. With so much information going round, we don't know what's true anymore. Who can we trust? What can we believe? The current pandemic shows us our limits but also our opportunities. It took away our illusion of being in control. For the time being, we need to let go of freedoms that many of us had taken for granted. With freedom comes responsibility. Like any crisis, this time gives us a possibility for re-thinking our values and ideas about ourselves and our life. So, what do Adult Education & Lifelong Learning have to do with Corona? We need to learn to deal with this situation. We can learn to stay at home without hitting the walls. We have the possibility to learn how to use internet platforms in order to stay in social contact. We HAVE to learn to help each other and yet take good care of ourselves. Adult Education & Lifelong Learning are important concepts from economical, political and social perspectives. They all affect and influence each other. From an economical perspective, competitiveness and maximum profit can only be gained if employees are either on the edge of development by educating themselves further, or stay uneducated in low-paid jobs. Politics are influenced by economical agendas. Social stability often is related to economical and political stability. This is a wake-up call. We are waking up and can see how important the underpaid sectors of service, Healthcare & Social welfare are. I hope that those who work in these fields will be shown appreciation not only through standing ovations, but through pay-rise and development of infrastructure. Financial budgets should be adjusted, to make the employment of more professionals in the field possible. People who care for people need time to care for themselves. You cannot give, what you don't have. SAVING HAS NO PLACE IN THE SOCIAL AND HEALTH SECTOR. I think it's time to unlearn certain believes and to learn new ways of living. Be true to yourself. Love what you do. Do what you love. Today.
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