A Resolution for a 2012 WorldView: A Global Community Built On Communication, Not Conflict

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In Bahrain, on the last day of 2011, people across the country gathered in peaceful protest. When they were attacked by police, a teenager named Sayed Hashim was killed by a tear gas canister fired by the security forces.

Sayed Hashim is but the most recent of many names that I have come to know across the past 12 months --- the names of activists, politicians, reporters, victims and, most of all, the everyday individuals whose stories and struggles I have encountered online.

The circumstances of Sayed's death are tragic and horrible. I have seen pictures of his smiling face, and I have witnessed his last moments. I have wondered --- and still do --- how his family are coping in their grief. I have questioned how callous and weak a man must be to shoot a boy for the sin of being out in public. I have read the heartfelt outpourings of Bahiranis horrified by this latest tragedy to befall them. And in doing this, I questioned again the role of governments and corporations in supporting and arming a regime that can treat its people in this way.

As I write these words, I am unable to shake the profound sentiment of a letter I have just read, written only hours ago. "Dear Humanity," it opens, "How should I start a letter to someone that I lost faith into long time ago?" The Bahraini author, Zainab Ismaeel, expresses her simple wish to be heard, one voice amongst many, as part of a national and world community that listens.

If nothing else, amidst the uprisings and upheavals, the suffering and the struggles, 2011 offered new hope for the potential of citizens globally to articulate their everyday situations to others who want to hear and understand. And with this potential comes new possibilities for the future --- for a New Year founded on communication and shared exchange, even in the face of those who try to deny it.

For many of us in the "West", this requires a shift in perspective from our typical orientation: we must move from passive consumers of news to active citizens. We must recognise the blinkered media frameworks that have structured our understanding of the world, and consider alternatives which call on us to be participants in its production. Most importantly, we must come prepared to listen and to consider, to embrace the challenge of encountering multiple perspectives and worldviews, especially when they confront our assumptions.

The Internet is far from a panacea --- it is rife with ever-invasive commercial and governmental interests, and there are multitudes of world citizens who cannot access it --- but it truly does offer the possibility for a new, global public sphere. There will be those who refuse to listen, but there will be those citizens who reflect, empathise and participate.

Without question, 2011 has been a humbling and profound year for us all at EA WorldView. Humbling, as we relay the accounts of citizens in Syria, Bahrain, Iran, Libya, Egypt, Yemen, Sudan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and countless other countries across the globe. Profound, as in following these stories of struggle --- and often devastation and destruction --- we have witnessed a passion and resilience almost unimaginable to us, especially for those of us sheltered in Western abodes. We have seen a human spirit that burns bright with hope and possibility for our shared future on this planet. What is more, we have repeatedly heard the roar of that spirit in its refusal to be silenced.

This is not to be naive in the face of brutality, oppression and exploitation. Rather, it is to take sustenance and nourishment from the interconnections of ideals that form the core of our individual, local, national, and global struggles.

This underpins our optimism: it is communication that is building community. The recourse of tyrants is to violence because they refuse to hear the voice of critique or to grant an individual the time of day to express his or her wishes. Dialogue demolishes barriers, especially when it takes places amongst equals. Indeed, it creates equals by fostering understanding, empathy, shared experience, and solidarity.

This site began life three years ago as "Enduring America". Our logo and domain still bear the marks of our former name, but this will disappear in 2012 as we move to a new website, a new software platform, and new possibilities. We intend these possibilities to be built on a true WorldView. We want to speak with citizens across the globe, telling their stories and sharing their woes, in the hope that communication can build community and that through that we can work towards a more peaceful future. We look forward to joining you in creating that community in 2012 and beyond.

We thank you kindly for your continued support and wish you a peaceful and prosperous New Year.

Images © Al-Jazeera, Reuters, Getty Images, Albert Gonzalez Farran, Hamed Saber, Art Dulay and the photographers.