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On or around 12 January 2024, Listening Posts were conducted, mainly online, in fifteen countries, yielding nineteen written reports. By studying the reports, it was possible to discern the terrifying impact of global warfare, the lasting legacy of Covid-19 and lockdown, overwhelming concerns about the future (regarding economic and environmental sustainability, the advent of artificial intelligence) and widespread disillusionment with the status quo—a sense of democracy failing. As a consequence, the authors of this report wondered whether the prevailing global experience could be best described as a “collective trauma”.
During the Listening Post, citizens (i.e. members of society) are encouraged to adopt a “reflective citizen” role in order to think together about society. There is no doubt that in the nineteen meetings held internationally, there was a steadfast commitment to this task. However, the experiences reported by participants all around the world led the authors of the global report to question whether we are living in a time of reflection, or whether we are all in some ways drawn to enact the violence and aggression to which we are exposed daily in the news media and online. As outlined above, the fear is that by acting out on our unconscious impulses (in variations of the fight/flight or freeze model), we inadvertently contribute to the decline of society and ultimately increase the likelihood of war. If we are experiencing a collective trauma, how on earth do we recover?