Manoeuvring Through Pandemic: A Collective Progression | Dr. Shadma Parveen | TEDxRITDubai
[Music] hi i'm doctor shadman parveen i'm a thought leader an academician a corporate trainer a strategy consultant and a mentor 31st december 2019 time 11 59 pm i was with my family at marjan island rasal kama ready to embrace 2020 with open arms and a positive mind some 20 000 people were gathered to witness the world record for the longest fire fireworks display everyone present over there was excited and ecstatic and why not 2020 was such an iconic error the last decade went pretty well we had witnessed some history defining occasions like world's first ipad artificial intelligence spacex reusable rocket cryptocurrencies machine learning internet of things and the list is long most of the world's major economies were also growing we were evolving and so was healthcare sector we had developed some state-of-the-art technologies like robotics internet of things in medicine and many advanced equipments on the other hand most of the businesses and corporate houses were also doing well and they had developed many optimized practices and processes like work from office system physical presence to be mandatory in the meetings they were least concerned about things like social distancing and you can easily find people encroaching your personal space we had osas but perhaps occupational hygiene was not included in its ambit we had technology but i could say that the use of technology was very limited for example we have never realized the importance of virtual presence until we got struck with the deadly virus covet 19. now that one event had impacted our lives and society that we thrive i must say change is inevitable but at the same time sometimes it happens that in order to survive we really have to change ourselves forcibly that too in a very short span of time one fine day we got to know about a viral infection initially there were few cases followed by a couple of hospitalizations and few people lost their lives a chinese ophthalmologist dr lee vilang probably was the sole warrior who was trying to convince people about this contamination but we with the state-of-the-art technologies with nobel laureate in medicine we were bound to become complacent isn't it and we did that as this deadly virus started spreading like a wildfire initially most of the governments shut it off like a seasonal flu weeks and months passed and this deadly virus is started engulfing countries by leaps and bounds claiming millions of lives despite of all the technological know-hows we humans we were being overpowered by a minuscule microbe at that point in time it felt like enough times most of the world countries they declared a state of healthcare emergency everything was shut down school colleges the stock markets product markets supply chains were disrupted i remember for months we were like we were dumbstruck trying to figure out how to manage this menace most of the world economies they succumbed to kovit 19 and we had witnessed how the gdp fell for almost all the company countries be it usa where gdp fell to minus 3.64 percent japan when it falls to minus four point five eight percent india minus seven point two five percent china at two point three four eight percent before kobe 19 usa was enjoying its longest economic expansion on record but 2020 was altogether a different story when its gdp to death ratio increased to 128 percent and the scenario was same for most of the countries including china at around 67 japan at 266 percent germany at 70 and united kingdom at 95 percent people were panicked and scared there was absolute scarcity of body of knowledge about covet 19. with no line of treatment there was complete human cry and hysteria among people unemployment rates increased in countries like usa to eight point three one percent india to seven point one one percent germany to four point three one percent and china to five percent businesses were impacted badly covet 19 had caused physiological and psychological impact on us on our society the death of a family member was a trauma the pain was immense and in most of the countries even the dead parties were not handed over to the bereaved family we had seen how the top world economies and their robust healthcare systems collapsed we have seen people dying due to lack of oxygen due to lack of space medical equipment treatment medicines now that was a moment of truth for all of us as humanity we need to ask ourselves had we progressed enough are we prepared to manage such eventualities can a minuscule microbe outsmart and outspace us from all four corners we need to understand that we can innovate only when we are alive the year 2020 and 2021 has shown us mirror in terms of our capabilities and capacities but we as humans we have also proved that we are resilient and we can stand even when everything around us seems to be falling apart and we did that we had witnessed how within no time everything was moved on a remote platform businesses and employees they worked together and devised new strategies despite of their personal setbacks with them and their family members being infected in fact this was the time when most of the business houses they realized the importance of people another very important concept came up during pandemic heard immunity with such a strong message that if we want to be safe we have to ensure that people around us are safe if we want to survive we have to make sure that the people around us they are able to survive we had witnessed how we as a community we have evolved in terms of emotional intelligence empathy and compassion this collective belief perhaps i believe that is the most significant evolution of mankind so far during this crisis especially during the second wave we have seen how people struggled in countries like india we had seen how people they were running from pillar to post in order to fetch few liters of oxygen for their suffocating patients the graveyards were full of dead bodies and the cremation grounds were full of burning dead body pyres who can forget that dreadful picture of long queue of dead bodies waiting for their last rituals or thousands of dead bodies floating on the banks of river perhaps physically the year 2020 has left us but psychologically it's still haunting us and it will keep on haunting us for years to come when i look back the last two years i can see a lot of damage a lot of devastation but the same time i can see some green shoots which this pandemic has shown us perhaps these are the learnings that need to be sustained in the society perhaps this is the moment of realization awakening and introspection we need to understand that we can survive in symbiosis and collaboration we had witnessed how our researchers scientists and think tanks they worked together and they developed kobit 19 vaccine within such a short span of time i really wonder what workers they can do if they all work together at international level this pandemic has also taught us that we need to be more proactive because catastrophe not always comes knocking at the door we have to rely more on people rather than technology artificial intelligence is important but people are invaluable i repeat artificial intelligence is important but people are invaluable at this juncture where we are standing right now we had made substantial progress and with so many variants and mutations of kobit 19 coming up we have to make sure that we are not going back to the previous system to the old systems unless and until they are full proof from any virus an infection is spread wherever we see we see government people individuals corporations everyone is rushing to go back to the old systems but my point here is why can't we accept the change why can't we accept that we had tried certain alternatives and that and those have worked well with such advanced technologies why can't we adopt a more hybridised approach for future and we can switch over and shift certain low impact profiles perhaps permanently on a remote platform because now onwards our main focus should be to make sure that in future this world is not going to witness what we had seen in countries like usa italy and india during pandemic two years since the onset of kobe 19 it's time for us to remember and realize what damages it has caused both direct and indirect damages we have to deep dive and restrict and strategize our modus operandi we have to switch over to more contingent ways of working which includes things like commitment compassion communication creation coaching collaboration there are a few things which we as community we have to make sure that will be enforced in our society in future probably these are the way forward which includes things like building up a community which is more aware so we are not waiting for certain guidelines we are aware of practicing certain things like wearing masks social distancing personal hygiene social hygiene we are a community that is supportive we are a community which is more resilient which is more aware perhaps we have to bring and practice kaizen in emotional intelligence we have to invest more on intersectoral collaboration because we have seen how countries were left behind during pandemic we cannot claim that we are a progressive community unless and until their lies their exist inequalities in terms of health and wealth in nations so we have to see the seed that the social economic environmental design of healthcare we have to invest more on healthcare to make our healthcare system and our healthcare professionals more robust to build up their capacity government need to ensure that the 100 dependency on imports will be reduced especially when it comes to medicine and medical equipments perhaps we need to revise osas and include occupational hygiene in its ambit governments also need to be proactive by involving more civilians in crisis management team by somehow creating a spatial task force which will help in crisis at the ground level countries must follow the who norm of one doctor per 1000 patients and last but not the least whosoever are formulating the guidelines be it government or business houses they have to make sure that they have dual awareness about the anxieties and fears of people especially when their life and when their freedom are going to be impacted the loss due to covet 19 cannot be reversed we cannot go into the past and change anything but we can build up a good future we can build up a better future on the foundations of collaboration communication commitment emotional intelligence empathy compassion awareness preparedness from now onwards the why of every action like for example why are we innovating why are we progressing why are we bringing artificial intelligence in different industries why are we exploring new opportunities and the answer to all these wise should be only one to save and serve the humanity are repeat to save and serve the humanity then only we can say that yes we are a truly progressive community [Music] you