It will be an exaggeration to say that most people barely remember what
working on international projects was like before the COVID-19 pandemic.
But it is true that we got used to “the new normal” – seemingly endless
virtual meetings, repurposing our homes into offices, all our
colleagues suddenly turning into “floating heads” in hazy backgrounds.
After
many months of working from home and attending purely virtual meetings
from all around Europe, the desire for a physical meeting was
understandably high. Unfortunately, due to the rising number of
infections following the holiday season and the strengthened travel
restrictions, it was unrealistic to hold a physical consortium meeting
in January. Because of that, Safeguard partners organised a series of
online workshops to keep progress running and scheduled the first major
consortium meeting physically, in early April 2022.
This series of workshops proved
very useful in providing an overview of where we stand, as well as
identifying the next steps for all key tasks. As a research project,
Safeguard is committed to cope with challenges like the COVID-19
pandemic with minimal social and economic disruption. But after all, we
should not forget how important actual human interactions are in life,
and if there is any positive outcome from the pandemic at all, it is the
realisation of this. Safeguard is hopeful and motivated to finally meet
in person in Seville, Spain, for the project's first annual general
meeting this spring, to showcase the immense effort of everyone involved
in this journey!
Photo: Brainstorming white board