Hard to believe that another year passed already… so quickly.
2009 was the second year of an international financial crisis that Indonesia managed and weathered remarkably well–all things considered. A year during which Indoensia also went through an impressive democratic process that showed maturity and created the prospect of rapid social progress for years to come, as the result of political stability, good economic management, and effective leadership.
The year 2009 ended with the COP15 at Copenhagen. On the one hand, there was utter failure to achieve the binding global agreement on curbing GHG emissions that many had–probably unrealistically–hoped for. On the other hand, the coming together of more than a hundred heads of states and thousands of other leaders to discuss the global commons is an unprecedented success in mobilizing global awareness and hopefully eventually action. I remember, just 20 years ago, few of us discussed climate change and even fewer dared dreaming about global treaties and a global carbon trading system that would deal with the acute threats to the health of our planet. Now these topics are at least on top of the global agenda. In the end, we need to recognize that it takes time to create the kind of global ethics that is needed to deal with global challenges at an unprecedented scale.
I am happily spending the end of the year together with three happy and healthy young daughters who are growing up very quickly. Here they are… together with cousins and other German relatives.
I wish you a very happy, successful, fulfilled, and healthy 2010!
We wish all of our family and friends very Happy Holidays and a wonderful, successful, and healthy New Year! Daddy and Daughters are enjoying wintery holidays in Germany (Berlin, Lueneburg, and the Black Forest) with the German family.
