The year before 2012

It will be a pity if this year remains in history as the year preceding 2012. Only 'God' knows what's going to happen in the next twelve months, but I hope it's going to make us think of 2011 as the more important year. It was apocalyptic enough, and the word 'crisis' was heard every day.

In the cheerful expectation of Christmas, I am trying to remember what impressed me this year, what happened, what was new, exciting for our society. Everyone has their personal experiences and lessons learned, but they are for another blog...

So how did I perceive the last year? The first 3 months were almost scaring for me. All the protests and changes happening in the Middle East, and then the tsunami and Fukushima - come on, it really sounds like the beginning of any of these apocalyptic movies like 'The Day After Tomorrow'! Only that it was all true, and it's still continuing! Even if we don't get a lot of news about it - people are dying in Libya and Syria, and others are still fighting against the outburst of radiation in Japan.

The radiation rates around Fukushima in July 2011 (80km radius)

What about the Occupy Wall Street-movement? It's become a symbol of a new way of thinking. Actually, this thinking is not new: it's about consuming less, speculating less, it's about (mostly) young people wishing to change something in the system. But it crystallized as a movement with a name and a face in 2011.

And the first big crisis of the European Union - all the questions suddenly popping up. Beginning with the Greek problem, slowly it became clear for everyone that it's not an issue of a single country but rather of a whole continent and philosophy. Will the Euro survive? - Will the EU survive? - Is Europe ready to accept the challenge and see the Union not only as a limitless economic advantage, but also as responsibility and idea of a united rather than split in many puzzle-like pieces continent?

The mask from 'V for Vendetta' which became the face of the Occupy movement

But crisis also means opportunity. So I hope we can now say: Nuclear energy is not safe, we need to continue looking for other options and need to consider them seriously. Arabic countries need change, and there are many bright, awake people striving for it - and stop putting negative labels on everything from this region, following the US-example of a 'war against terrorism'. Our consume habits need change - we and our countries shouldn't live on credit. Our financial system needs renovation. Our European Union needs to show that for the first time, the Old Continent is having a common future.

This is not summarizing the important events of 2011. It's only a brief perspective over the past months, and the only task it fulfills is to state: it was a difficult year. But we have a lot to learn from it, and it was needed.