SE-Trends wishes you a successful 2024
In these days "between the years", very few of you will be dealing with systems engineering (me neither!). So first things first: I wish you all a few quiet days with the people who are important to you.
Do not forgetI will be donating on behalf of SE-Trends again this year. You can help decide for which organization by voting:
Should I donate for peace, education or the environment? What's behind this, I had described last week. You can also vote there.
Wishes for 2024
Peace in the world: Even though armed conflict is very visible to us, it is the number of conflicts in the world has actually fallen since 2013. However, this is no reason to rejoice, as the conflicts are becoming bloodier and affecting the civilian population more than ever.
Fewer greenhouse gases: There have also been a few developments in the right direction this year with regard to the environment: In the COP28 there were some concessionsSlowly, word is getting around that climate change is real. But unfortunately everything is still happening far too slowly, many people see others as being "responsible" and not themselves. And global warming is only one of many environmental problemsthat we have.
Education for all: Education is a real paradox for me: on the one hand, education is more accessible than ever: from adaptive learning platforms to zero-distance learning, the offer is immense and often free. But in order to take advantage of this offer, children need a good basic education, which they unfortunately still don't get reliably in many parts of the world. And adults also often lack the will to take advantage of the wide range of education on offer.
Much moreThere are so many other issues that demand our attention: Health, hunger or justice, to name just a few. But we have to start somewhere.
We can all do our bit
In everyday life, we can all be a little more mindful and show gratitude for the fact that we live in a peaceful country and don't have to worry about basic needs.
As systems engineers, we are also in a position to make the world a better place in the long term with the products we help to develop. I hope that we all seize this opportunity.
Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash
