IN TAKING, COVID-19 HAS GIVEN

Tomorrow will be December.

A new month – the final month of what was to be a new year: 2020, unlocking all of the hope and possibility, confidence and certainty of a new decade. Little did we know what 2020 would bring, how locked in we would all be, not just physically…and how grateful we would be for it to end.

As we look to close 2020, understandably wishing to forget so much that has happened – the horror, the heartache, the losses, the longings – moving too quickly into 2021 would be missing the point. It feels it would be such a waste to have it as a chapter in the history books with the pages left blank. As hard as it is to find the words to describe 2020, or as risky as it would be to put the words in writing for fear of their heat burning through the pages, they must be written.

Why? Because to leave the pages blank would be to leave 2020 unfinished in its messages, its meaning and its memories worth remembering.

Think about it……..

What if “2020” had not happened?

What if 2020 was simply the year that followed 2019.

Where would we be?

What would we be doing?

Who would we be seeing….and not?

What would we be valuing?

Just when we thought we had it all, all under control all by ourselves, Mother Nature made it very clear who is really in charge. And what she felt was needing to be truly valued.

As soon as 2020 began the dominoes started to fall, first indications coming in January that there was trouble with this thing called the Coronavirus, now what we know as COVID-19. As it started to creep across the world from East to West borders started to shut, airline started to ground. We knew something was wrong, something was seriously wrong.

For years and years, as one blessed to be travelling over 200 days/annum with an aerial view of the world, 2020 has been a year lived, viewed, through a zoom lens. My last travels before the world shut down were mid-March – Miami for Board meetings, a full moon trying to calm stormy skies as flights were being cancelled. It was time to get home, quickly. Looking through photographs of this year a feeling of awe emerges seeing just how many images there were watching the world close up – the world of other little creatures, whether it be squirrels, swans, geese, bees, bugs, whatever it might be. And for the first time really appreciating the magic of being in one place.

It’s been a challenging year, no doubt. Milestones missed, marriages missed, memorials missed, loved ones now lost are so missed, life’s work for many is no more. Never should these moments be moved on from without pause for prayer.

Thankfully, those I love have been safe – near, far, wherever they may have been grounded. I am very blessed that my business has been safe – work more intense and purposeful than I have ever known in my two decades of operation. Every day has been as humbling as it has been exhausting, AM&A’s singular focus being ensuring no one feels alone in facing the trauma of 2020. My AM&A girls have been absolutely incredible – we have been nonstop, operating as a compass and an anxiety sponge for our Clients as the global Travel & Tourism was brought to its knees like never in its history, and it has a long, long way to go before momentum comes close to 2019 levels of travel (latest estimate is only 2024). 98% of our work that we’re doing has been from within in the eye of the storm, moving through layers of crisis: the pandemic, its resulting economic crisis, the unlocking of mental health crisis – helping clients, helping partners, helping people through, trying to make sense of what in the world is going on. Our role, our impact, our sense blessing, has been vividly clear every single day. For this reason, month after month we have given back, as much as we can, because we can.

As with all, the year has been lived in the main on-line. While geo-forced apart, like everyone worldwide, 2020 has meant hundreds and hundreds of hours on-air, our world through a small screen.Thank goodness for those spinning satellites in the sky keeping us all connected.

Ans so, as we look at the end of 2020, there’s not much more I can say other than simply this: I am thankful. I am thankful for what we have. I am thankful for those who have been spared. I am thankful for what’s been created from this time. As I have said hundreds of times this year: “There is NO going back to normal – there is no ‘back’ and there certainly is no ‘normal'” The value and values of every day have shifted. 2020 has taken much, and yet it has also given.

May 2021 bring a new hope:

  • a stronger awareness of how we need each other more profoundly than we ever imagined,
  • a stronger appreciation for the world around us,
  • a stronger commitment to actively support its wellness – naturally, socially, culturally, spiritually and economically,
  • and a stronger sense of blessings for simply being ‘safe”,

And may we carry into the year(s) ahead of us that it really is so important to stop and smell the roses….and see the swan-babies grow, feed the squirrels, and rescue the ladybugs….before boarding a next flight. x

 

Copyright: ANITA MENDIRATTA 2020

 

 

 

 

“CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?” – COVID19’S CRITICAL QUESTION

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shhhhhh. Listen.

What do you hear? Anything? Anything at all?

That is the sound of COVID19. Breezes. Birds, Distant hum of cars,

Occasionally voices. Occasionally sirens.

Rarely horns.

Sounds of COVID19 are defined more by absence than by presence.

Can you hear me now?” These five words have become the start to our now daily routine of virtual meetings, virtual summits, virtual sundowners. An acceptable tech-check to ensure that the speaker, visible, is also audible. Prelude to something important about to be said.

Yet remarkably, as our world now passes the 150 day mark of COVID19 shutdown of 2020 with global case count crossing 6 million and lives taken 365,000, there is one voice that has not asked ‘Can you hear me now?’ It is the voice of someone known worldwide, recognised worldwide, respected worldwide….yet not heard worldwide when he had something important to say – 5 yrs ago in a TED Talk – https://www.ted.com/talks/bill_gates_the_next_outbreak_we_re_not_ready . It took 5 years for the world to stop the daily noise of life and listen, really listen, to the message he had to share – the next, greatest threat to our shared world is a pandemic.

Who is he? Bill Gates.

But we didn’t listen….until 5 yrs later.

His global warning became a link shared wildly in early 2020 as our shared world saw this new, wild virus travel, terrifyingly because of its invisibility and merciless nature. COVID19 is known yet not fully understood, it is everywhere yet unable to be seen, it is directly challenging systems and priorities of government, it is redefining words such as essential, leadership, community and responsibility

Speaking recently to CNN’s Fareed Zakaria, exploring what exactly is happening in terms of vaccine development, how many avenues are being explored, how many may deem to be successful, and how quickly and thoroughly can this be rolled out, worldwide conversation naturally leads to what did we know? What could we have done? What could the analysis have been in terms of how could we have been better prepared?

It’s an easy conversation to have, understandably because we’re at a much more comfortable place in terms of our own sense of self and sense of security, as surreal as these social distancing and WFH days may be. Now we can look at the world around us and, in our bubbles, form a point of view, to create an opinion and often to judge.

Who is to blame? Who will find a cure? Who has demonstrated leadership? Who has failed? Who is the ‘who’? And what is the responsibility of the WHO?

All of these questions, all of these debates, are examples of what is interesting about Bill Gates. He desires to share, to support, to separate news from noise. He does not demand to be heard.

Not once, not once since the 2015 pandemic TED Talk, not once since China first sounded the alarm around a dangerous wave of illness, not once since a pandemic was declared by the WHO, not once since the map was covered from East to West with confirmations of cases, not once since there has been questions around funding of global support to address this as a global issue, not once has Bill Gates stopped to say: “I told you so“.

Not once has he questioned: “Can you hear me now?”

There is something heroic about this truism, something incredibly classy about his silence when so many would seek recognition for having called it first.

This is especially true as we are seeing people becoming more comfortable in the discomfort zones of COVID19 – being stuck at home, gaining access to internet intelligence, forming opinions, finding platforms for personal positioning, voicing judgment.

These opinions can become incredibly hurtful. And hasty. We may be 150 days into 2020, but we still have many days / weeks / months to go. There may be stirs of activity visible around us new sounds starting to full our streets, there may be hope of when homes can reconnect, hugs hopefully not too far off. But we are not there yet – we are nowhere near the finish line. We still have many frontliners to support. We still have much to learn as we face risks of further spikes as restrictions ease, second waves as social exposure restarts, impact of curves, inroads of vaccine quests. We are a case study being examined in real-time.

The 20-20 hindsight assessments, assumptions and analysis can wait.

This is the greatest opportunity for us as a global community to act as a community, focusing on the solution, not fighting over the problem. This is the call to action for our generation. Why? Because unless we all win, we all lose.

Shhhhh. Keep listening. x

 

Copyright: ANITA MENDIRATTA 2020

 

A SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT. x

One year ago, on what was a milestone day, I received the most incredible gift from someone who is a central part of my heart and who understands my heart – Al Merschen. The shock was immense. I understood what it was, but I couldn’t quite absorb its enormity: its immense purpose, its huge potential impact. I needed to get my head around it. I needed to get my heart around it – I needed to fully honour it.

Over the past year I, we, have been figuring out where in the world to bring this gift to life, and where in the world it can start to touch lives. The process of defining the WHAT, WHY and WHEN has been a long, important one. But now we know!

And so here, now, I am delighted to share that Al’s gift – creation of THE ANITA MENDIRATTA FOUNDATION, is being officially registered as a globally-focused Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) with the UK Charity Commission. For this, I thank Al with all of my heart, and with this, I hope to be able to make all the difference. x

IIPT – WHY IT MATTERS, NOW MORE THAN EVER

Not one to feel comfortable using the word “I” in writing, on this occasion I will absorb the discomfort and make an exception. Reason being, in this sharing the ‘I’ extends far beyond me.

In brief, on May 16th, 2019. the United Nations’ International Day of Living Together in Peace which is defined and designed to be one for “mobilising those in the international community to promote peace, tolerance, inclusion, understanding and solidarity”, the title of Ambassador For Peace At Large For Global Relations was bestowed upon me by the IIPT, the International Institute For Peace Through Tourism. https://peacetourism.org/anita-mendiratta-iipt/

I was deeply touched by the honour, and the reaction of colleagues, clients, friends and family, near and far. And I was quite silenced thinking ‘what does it actually mean? What does it mean to get this title at this time in my career? What does this mean for my future focus in working to develop peace through tourism.

And ultimately, why do we need an organi​s​ation like the IIPT?’ https://peacetourism.org/

Why indeed.

The IIPT as an organi​s​ation has been around for decades. Its mission is to promote peace through tourism’s ability to connect people, places, and possibilities. It hasn’t changed since 1986, even as the world around it, and peace itself, has taken on new challenges and meaning. Its reason for being has endured, actually strengthened.

Suddenly it was clear: the appointment was not a recognition of my work in the past. It was, in fact, a clear statement of expectation of my work in the future.

And here is why: becau​s​e now more than ever our world needs travel and tourism, to not only promote all that our shared world has to offer – socially, culturally, economically and environmentally – but to protect it.

Today we are bles​s​ed to live in a world without borders. Nowhere is out of bounds either in our imagination or infrastructure. We have the ability to get from A to B, right through to the end of the alphabet, as often, as frequently, and quite honestly, as indulgently as we wish. If we have the means – the time, the funds, the motivation, the inspiration, the facilitation, we have the ability to move anywhere.

As I say repeatedly from whichever stage I am blessed to speak, there is no industry in the world that demonstrates the desire of the people of the world to come together to understand and appreciate one another like travel and tourism. It is travel and tourism that inspires people to invest their time, money and energy to cross the street or cross the world to discover the other – exploring differences in people and places to understand, appreciate, and respect.

That is how tourism has become a vehicle for peace. And right now we need this proactive, empowering, and uniting vehicle for bridge-building, a force for good that works every day to unlock people’s ability to venture out into the world to feed their curiosity, find their compassion, to give, not just take.

For years, the linear premise of tourism being a vehicle for peace would yield questioning, often incredulous looks. The leap was too far. And then the early two thousands happened. Where tourism was one seen as peripheral, as recreational, a non-essential, in the last 15 years it has become an essential part of life for both travellers and locals alike. Business Development requires tourism. Understanding of the global community around us requires tourism. Economic opportunity requires tourism. Social stability and unity requires tourism. Local identity required tourism. The potential of the world to really see the value in which it holds together as well as independently requires tourism.

Importantly, without travel and tourism, we lose the opportunity for economic expansion that raises the baseline for billions, the opportunity for social understanding and inclusivity, the opportunity for environmental protection and preser​v​ation, the vital ways in which we can ensure that, for generations to come, proudly and purposefully protecting and preserving what Mother Nature gave us, and ultimately allowing us to see, feel, that it is our differences that unite us.

It is through our differences that we learn compassion, we learn understanding, we learn respect. This applies to not only how we see and accept responsibility for our engagement with other people. It is also about how we engage with the environment around us, living harmoniously with Mother Nature.

Powerfully, to travel is to also learn about oneself.

It is through tourism that all of these prisms of life are brought to life, creating connection. That connection creates harmony, which in turn, at scale, creates peace.

This truism has always been central to the IIPT, champions of the message that we as travellers around the world have a responsibility to vocali​s​e the invaluable impact of tourism beyond the tourists. It is our responsibility to vocali​s​e just how blessed we are to be able to reach out into the world, and in doing so, to actively work to knock down walls where differences are being used as a way of separating people, politics, policies, philosophies, and ultimately hearts.

The need for all of us to stand up and work for peace has become ever more personal. Now, right here and right now, travellers of the world need to embrace it is not someone else’s responsibility, it is all of ours. It is mine.

As we look at the UN SDGs and the 17 ways in which the goals develop a framework not just at government and corporate level, but at a citizen level, to examine how we can play our part to shape a truly sustainable world, there is an overt need to, through tourism, directly strengthen the fabric of our shared global community and home, for all people and places, all creatures great and small, all of Mother Nature’s creation. http://tourism4sdgs.org/

I will forever be grateful to the IIPT for this moment, this mandate. I am committed to serving the sector, now in a way that brings greater credibility, exposure, and inclusiveness of the IIPT into the global community as a part of the DNA of our sector truly being a force for good.

Now is the time, the perfect time, to get to work. x

 

Copyright: ANITA MENDIRATTA 2019

COMMITTED TO SERVING, COME WHAT MAY

 

And so arrived the moment so many had been waiting for, betting on, planning towards, wondering when……and at the same time, worrying about. The day when British Prime Minister the Right Honourable Theresa May, stepped out of one of the most recognised and iconic doors in the world – 10 Downing Street – to make it real:

24.05.2019, 10:00am London time, her words were spoken…

“it is now clear to me that it is in the best interests of the country for a new prime minister to lead that (Brexit deal approval) effort. So I am today announcing that I will resign as the leader of the Conservative and Unionist Party on Friday 7 June so that a successor can be chosen.”

In the days leading up to the moment all knew were coming, local media put forward their most desperate images and clever headlines in an effort to capture the essence of the angst of the moment. Focus was on failure: what had Her Excellency Prime Minister May NOT achieved? Where had she proven unable to lead? Why is this now the moment to admit defeat?

Sadly, and so reflective of the times in which we live, the macro is eclipsed by the micro. Those who should be celebrated for stepping forward and trying, with all of their faith, might, acumen, credibility and prayer, are faced with a chorus of watchers-on waiting for them to step out, demanding that they step out.

How does this happen?

How do people who enter an intensely competitive, challenging, aggressive, often damning space for the good of the people go, so rapidly, from being trusted and respected political sources and certainties representing the will of the people to someone the people will willingly celebrate seeing their demise? How has civilisation become so painfully uncivilised?

And how is this take-down acceptable?

24 hours on since resignation, an endless flow of endless commentary is flooding in. Analysis continues,….accusations endure. For all of her words reflecting on tenure, the defining moment of Prime Minister May’s time in office will be her announcement of resignation – especially her tears – the last 10 seconds of her entire address in which she choked up in unedited expression of her enduring love for, and commitment to, the country she loves.

As the UK now enters into ‘who next?’ territory, much will be made of Prime Minister May’s term in office, and how, sadly, it close with her conceding:

I have done everything I can to convince MPs to back that deal. Sadly, I have not been able to do so.”

Not now, but one day, one day, history will judge, and honour, the fact that entering into the role of the Right Honourable Prime Minister on the back of a ‘leave‘ EU referendum, Prime Minister May did the best she could for the people of the UK, her people of the UK. Did her leadership yield the desired result? Clearly not. And so she now hands over the challenge of securing consensus to her successor.

And yet as she exits the stage, is it important to recognise and salute that, without question, she did her best, put it all out on the field?

No question about it.

Respect and decency where due. Thank you, Right Honourable Prime Minister May. Thank you, Ma’am. x

 

Copyright: ANITA MENDIRATTA 2019

DO IT NOW, However Your Heart Decides

Paris. 15 04 2019. 18:50 local time. Flames. And suddenly the world shifted its gaze. Hearts and minds moved, swiftly, from local headlines to the lines of firefighters forming at the doors of Notre Dame to extinguish flames which evacuating priceless pieces of history.

Days on, as holy week unfolds and embers still exude small puffs of smoke and steam, crowds continue to gather in prayer outside the aching both of the grande dame. Shock and horror has evolved to relief and gratitude. From around Paris and around the world, expressions of strength in the rebuilding of the grande dame rose above the ashes. Immediately donations, huge donations, began. Leading French families stood forward, quickly, pledging amounts which, when combined with others received over the past 5 days, are now nearing USD$1 Billion.

The response to the sight of Notre Dame on fire, and the remains that now still stand, have revealed that something bigger, stronger, more penetrating and purposeful can and does connect people across the global community, pulling people together more powerfully than the local, often biting issues that are defining the political and social headlines of our times.

Donald Tusk, President of the European Council of the EU, said it perfectly the day after flames lit up Paris night skies, he opened his report to the European Parliament on April 10th’s Special European Council (Art. 50) meeting by stating:

From this place I would like to say words of comfort and solidarity with the whole French nation in the face of the Paris tragedy. I say these words not only as the president of the European Council, but also as a citizen of Gdańsk, 90 percent destroyed and burnt, and later rebuilt. You will also rebuild your cathedral. From Strasbourg, the French capital of the European Union, I call on all the 28 Member States to take part in this task. I know that France could do it alone, but at stake here is something more than just material help. The burning of the Notre Dame cathedral has again made us aware that we are bound by something more important and more profound than Treaties. Today we understand better the essence of that, which is common, we know how much we can lose. And that we want to defend it – together.

The great efforts and good intentions of givers has made clear that across cultures, communities, societies and boundaries, connecting us is a desire to protect and preserve the signatures of generations past for the sake of generations to come. Within us, as much as there are so many small things that divide us, the desire to be part of something bigger, something better, unites us. No man, no nation, is an island.

And yet, at the same time, criticism has become audible. The voice of France’s Gilets Jaunes (Yellow Vest movement) returning to their protests across Paris, is joined by many across the globe questioning both the direction and motivation of these massive donations.

“Why this?

Why now?

And but what about _____?

And what about _____?”

Judgement is being applied to people just wanting to do the right thing, right now. The questions are valid. The reasons to act to do something, somewhere, for someone, are vast.

However, to simply stand back and judge the givers is to jeopardise the receivers.

It should never be an either-or. Whatever the cause, whatever the crisis, wherever tragedy may occur, whatever one can do to help, one must. Now, and again and again and again, whenever moved to act.

Which is why, if the open wounds of Notre Dame have resulted in the opening of hearts and wallets of people across Paris and other parts of the world, than God’s hand is wisely at work. The outpouring of affection and funds for Notre Dame cannot not also be unlocking recognition of the power of one, by the millions, to make a difference for billions.

One can only hope and pray that the rising once more of Notre Dame has sparked a wider spirit and system for giving – however, wherever, whenever and to whomever – that spreads across the global community and calendar, the spirit of holy week rising once more.

And that keeps our hearts ever-aware of our ability to turn prayers into action. x

Copyright: ANITA MENDIRATTA 2019