Building inclusive and resilient societies in unpredictable times

A statement by the Global Resilience Partnership arguing that the COVID-19 pandemic exposed systemic fragilities caused by a global economic focus on productivity over resilience. The authors advocate for a shift toward inclusive governance, localized value chains, and a sustainable relationship with nature to protect vulnerable populations from future shocks.

• The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted global fragilities resulting from an economic structure prioritizing top-down productivity and efficiency over social inclusion and resilience. This system, combined with an exploitative relationship with nature, led to massive disruptions, including an estimated loss of up to 80% of income for 1.6 billion informal workers due to lockdowns.
• Grassroots and locally rooted organizations have been essential in building community resilience during the pandemic by assessing vulnerabilities, directing support, and providing reliable information. These organizations are described as critical for both responding to immediate shocks and proactively building long-term resilience.
• To effectively build resilience and protect the most vulnerable from future shocks, the authors propose three fundamental pillars: investing in inclusive governance that empowers grassroots organizations, diversifying and localizing concentrated value chains in food, energy, and finance, and establishing a new relationship with nature that recognizes the link between human and planetary wellbeing.
• The document notes that while global and national leaders use the term 'resilience' in post-COVID-19 stimulus packages, there is little evidence that these commitments will actually protect the most vulnerable.

APA

Patel, S., & Nel, D. (2020). Building inclusive and resilient societies in unpredictable times. Global Resilience Partnership. https://www.globalresiliencepartnership.org/building-inclusive-and-resilient-societies-in-unpredictable-times/

Chicago

Patel, Sheela, and Deon Nel. Building inclusive and resilient societies in unpredictable times. Global Resilience Partnership, 2020. https://www.globalresiliencepartnership.org/building-inclusive-and-resilient-societies-in-unpredictable-times/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Patel |first1=Sheela |last2=Nel |first2=Deon |title=Building inclusive and resilient societies in unpredictable times |publisher=Global Resilience Partnership |date=19 October 2020 |url=https://www.globalresiliencepartnership.org/building-inclusive-and-resilient-societies-in-unpredictable-times/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{patel2020building, author = {Patel, Sheela and Nel, Deon}, title = {{Building inclusive and resilient societies in unpredictable times}}, publisher = {Global Resilience Partnership}, year = {2020}, month = oct, url = {https://www.globalresiliencepartnership.org/building-inclusive-and-resilient-societies-in-unpredictable-times/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }