A few random thoughts at the end of the year… translated from a German text for New Year’s Eve.
No one can claim that 2025 was a socially or politically boring year. Political upheavals are no longer in their infancy, but in full swing. And the consequences are brutally disruptive on many levels, destroying social cohesion and international law.
COVID and its consequences, the massive increase in mistrust of politics, and the constant bombardment and manipulation by social media are having an impact. Autocrats and corrupt financial and IT oligarchs are celebrating their unchecked power in the US, and it is becoming clear how the EU has failed/missed the opportunity to assume its rightful role and become independent of the whims of the US or China. Added to this is a continuing considerable ignorance of the neighboring continent of Africa, which is mainly seen as a supplier of raw materials and a threat due to refugees. In Gaza, the moral failure of the international community has become manifest – it seems that the world is entering a new spiral of the “Wild West,” where the power of the strongest is the only yardstick of politics. Right-wing parties in Europe, supported by the US, are also attempting to sabotage the achievements of democracy, law, and human rights and replace them with structures that appear more fascist in nature. In a nutshell: The world is a mess!
This naturally also has consequences for NGOs. Uncertainty and attacks on humanity, justice, and legal certainty; economic concerns and a lack of prospects always have an impact on the lives of non-governmental organizations. This is also because the work of NGOs is still widely viewed as pure charity. People donate when they can afford to, and when the future is uncertain, they hold back because they never know where they themselves will end up. This is true in private life, but also in economic circles.
For 2026, I hope that NGOs will increasingly be recognized for what they so often are in reality: entrepreneurs with the ability to respond to or create situations more quickly and precisely, which then offer prospects for all sides. It is not a one-way street. And as far as Africa is concerned, I hope that Europe will increasingly engage with the continent, which also offers prospects for Europe itself.
I hope that NGOs and the business community will cooperate much more in this context and understand that companies are not just financiers and NGOs are not just naive do-gooders. Together, they could also formulate a narrative that for example currently seems impossible in mainstream politics in Germany. A narrative that removes Africa from the politicized and almost standardized ongoing battle over the dangers of refugee flows and asylum, and thus finally returns this issue to a level of discussion that advances society and the economy.
My wish for 2026 is that we achieve greater ethics and less colonialism in the skilled labour sector. We need strategies that enable a genuine win-win-win situation—not on paper, but in reality. A perspective that also takes age structure of countries into account and perhaps considers questions of location and investment, but also where work is generally heading in the age of AI. Bi-national training would also be an issue here. Looking for short-term solutions means complicating things in the long term. It is necessary to think from the end. For this to happen, politics must be much more connected to reality. And that means fewer professional politicians in parliament, but rather people who have social or economic expertise from their own experience. And that brings us back to the question of trust in democracy – and what needs to be better or different.
In times like these, we can spend our time complaining—or we can do what NGOs like HOPE Cape Town are doing: reflect, take action, and develop strategies that point to the future. Giving up or bowing to the radical right-wing Zeitgeist is not an option. People gain convictions by seeing and experiencing that their lives are becoming better or even more meaningful. While social media is currently playing a rather negative global role, it is important to counter this trend with positive news. The message of Christmas spoke of “people of good will.” I believe that this is the majority of the world’s population—and the statement is not meant or understood in a pious sense, but rather refers to everyone in their place, beyond the realm of privacy—in a very practical and down-to-earth way.
People who tackle problems head-on, an EU that is aware of its own status and potential as a bastion of economic power, democracy, and prospects, and acts accordingly; an image of Africa that sees the opportunities and not just the dangers; and an African continent that is confidently less reliant on handouts, but contributes its positive qualities and truly becomes a partner — may 2026 bring us solutions strong enough to carry us in the right direction.
Filed under: Uncategorized, 2025, Africa, democracy, economy, EU, history, HOPE Cape Town Association & Trust, international law, law, news, NGO, politics, right-wing, training, usa
God, AIDS, Africa & HOPE 