I am naming today the V day. V for victory? for vaccine? for visionary? for valorous? I am about to share with you what has happened today that has inspired me to name the day as such and that all of the words mentioned above are perfect to describe the emotions of the day and the respect that I have toward science, technology and to human species resilience to overcome challenges and find successful solutions to small and big problems.
After almost one year or since the pandemic crises started, with an estimated toll of 1.5 Million deaths and 70 Million infections worldwide, the first woman took the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid 19 jab. She is a British grandmother, who will turn 91 next week and she is making history for her bravery for leading the way forward towards the biggest ever mass vaccination programme.
Also, last night we had the grand opening of the yearly season of Teatro alla Scala in Milan, with the opera “A Riveder le Stelle”, that due to health restrictions it went streaming on many international channels. The singers were instructed to perform before an empty theatre, that once interviewed the artists confirmed that it was an awkward sensation to sing without an audience, but fully aware that their followers were scattered across the world because the performance was streaming live thanks to new technologies, and the gathering was even wider and richer due to virtual remote public enjoying this event from everywhere they were based. A theater with no walls.
We ended the day with a Champion League soccer match that saw playing the soccer teams of Barcellona vs. Juventus, in the Catalan city at the stadium Camp Nou or should we say it was a match that saw Lionel Messi play and lose against Cristiano Ronaldo 0–3. Again, due to Covid health restrictions, the stadium was empty. A stadium that can accommodate easily 100.000 spectators, and it was so painful to experience it empty, just by watching it you could feel that is not correct, you could hear the echo of the players talking to each other, there was no live cheering from the fans, just silence and emptiness. However they were playing, 6 months ago all matches in all national leagues were cancelled but yesterday, even if not in the best sporty conditions, the players were back in the stadium playing and giving us emotions and hope that all will go back the way we like it, the way we have initially designed it to be and probably we will make it even better by incorporating new learnings. In the meantime, the sport still amazes us and makes us dream. Just to remind us the size of the joy that we experienced, Cristiano Ronaldo’s posted on his Instagram account a portrait of him with his teammates after the match and it hit in less than 12 hours from posting, 7,5 Million likes. Stunning. Spectators are still watching their heroes, just in a different way to beat the scourge, but still there and waiting to embrace life the way we like it and want to live it.
It is incredible how capable is the human species to adapt and transform immediately to its surrounding to protect itself from extinction, to find solutions to problems that it was never confronted with before and the speed with which we learn to adapt our emotions and feeling, to support our well-being from negatives downturns.
Eyeing the end of the pandemic era, I can start feeling my lungs filling in with fresh air, I am assured by today’s’ achievements, that we will come up with further new ideas and innovations that will see us triumph against the invisible enemy, that has been with us for the last year, so that we can definitely buried it behind us and move on and do the things that we want to do.
I think we have witnessed a defining moment, a moment that usually we read about on books when you have history class at school and you get schooled about past generation, on how they behaved, what solution they had put in place to overcome hurdles or enemies or invaders, the strategies and the winners. I think we have written a page of history, on how to stay patient, to create virtual communities, have faith on other human beings to create a vaccine, to manage telecommunication infrastructures that kept as going for work, education, entertainment, health, shopping, gym, and for our mental health because many of us have learned to adapt to a different lifestyle in a very short period and to respect stringent rules, even if these rules were undermining our democracy and its values.
Looking at the future, I start seeing the light at the end of the tunnel or even better, I sense that victory, over the pandemic, is coming our way. We will need to keep on breathing slowly still for a little awhile more, before our lives can start blossoming again with new re-discovered energy.
However, downhill has started, success is out for grab.
Denise D’Elia