Looking back over a year always means taking the risk of choosing events which will have seemed important to some people, but which will not have left a lasting memory for others.
However, when taking stock of the past twelve months, it seems impossible not to mention the international armed conflicts, in the Middle East and in Ukraine. Like it or not, these wars influenced global politics and economics. And they have also sometimes weighed on the morale of people, even those who think they do not feel concerned.
It is also impossible not to mention extreme and deadly climatic events. From heatwaves to hurricanes, including floods, they have not spared the planet in this year 2024, which was also the hottest year of all time. These disasters claimed many lives and caused striking damage, including in Switzerland.
But no retrospective will ever be able to identify the events that really mattered in everyone’s daily life. These moments, whether happy or tragic, are part of our personal stories. A birth, a bereavement, a meeting, a friendship that is fading, a professional hitch, a successful exam… All these things, small or large, have also made up, and marked, the past year.
So if, on a global level, we are not really sure we will regret 2024, perhaps more personal events will temper this feeling.
And if this is not the case, we can still hope that, both around the world and close to home, the year 2025 will be better. In any case, this is what the “20 minutes” editorial team wishes for all its readers!
