During this pandemic, people have been nothing more than a statistic; countries closed their borders, impeding mobility rights, and society went through a transformation. There was no concerted effort to deal with the global enemy, and as a result, the consequences will be felt in years to come.
These were some conclusions that the international conference of AAB College and other European universities came to.
118 studies were presented during this conference, in which over 183 researchers from 29 countries were involved.
Key speakers of this conference were Prof. Dr. Pierluigi Musaro, from the University of Bologna whose topic was “Mobility, Security and Covid-19: the invisible enemy and the right to breathe”, and Prof. Dr. Derek El-Zein from the University of Paris Descartes, who presented on the topic “State’s effectiveness on the battle against the pandemic: examples from Lebanon, Germany and France”.
Besides the plenary session and the key speakers, the conference titled “Transformations and consequences in society due to Covid-19” also held 17 panels, each with their specific topics of discussion.
“Today, we shared scientific information with one another on the consequences and transformations in our society that happened due to Covid-19. These presentations touched on the consequences of the pandemic on healthcare, manufacturing, trade, services, education, and mobility, and on the transformations caused in education, interpersonal communication and mass communication. The period of isolation has also taken its toll on our mental health, family relations, human rights, justice system, and international relations”, said Salihu.
It was concluded that the consequences caused by Covid-19 were similar across the world, but the quantity of these consequences differed depending on the country.
Countries closed their borders—the heavily promoted idea of unimpeded mobility was put to the test, and it failed, especially in the European Union. Even the transportation of goods was hampered, and brought with it a crisis for a simple product: the face mask. However, the exchange of ideas was empowered online. Technology marked its peak usage during these trying times.
As with the consequences, the transformations caused by Covid-19 were also similar across all countries. Classes were mainly held online. Through technology, teachers and students found new ways to express their emotions and connect with one another. Virtual communication was also imposed on adults during these times of social distance, enabling us to increase our reach of communication and socialize globally, as we have done with this conference. The pandemic may have removed us from our social circles and the friendly embraces, forced the masks upon us, but it also brought us closer to our families.
This conference was a success owing to all the wonderful participants!
The contributions will be added after the publication of the presentations. One part will be published in the Book of Proceedings, the other part in the International Scientific Journal “Thesis”, and another part in a special edition in collaboration with the German Publishing House “De Gruyter”.
