Dealing with the Past, the Pandemic, and the Future in an Intercultural Context

Abstract

Societies of today’s world are deeply connected to each other through ‘smart’ communication and transport networks. Everyone can access any information, learn anything, contact anyone, carry out business transactions and all from the comfort of their home anywhere in the world. Whereas, stepping back to the 1800s or early 1900s, such privileges were not there, and human mobility among civilians was much more limited than now. Hence, pandemics such as the influenza of 1918 that killed over 50 million people worldwide was mostly transmitted by the movement of soldiers in the first world war. However, over the years, the interconnectedness of societies in the world has amplified global disease transmission with significant implication on intercultural encounters. For example, the advent of the coronavirus pandemic has highlighted human mobility as essential mechanism of the transmission of infectious disease globally. This was assessed with the help of airline and seaport data and travel information which confirmed mobility as significant determinant of the spread of coronavirus. This  editorial therefore reflects on the past, the pandemic and the future in intercultural context.