Wide Strategy’s Year in Review
Looking forward to 2019, here is our reflection on some of the most impactful stories from the year.
Politics
German Chancellor, Angela Merkel publicly announced she will step down from Christian Democrats party leadership in 2021. Merkel served as head of the CDU for 18 years, and served for 13 years as chancellor.The CDU plunged 11% in the recent polls, reflecting the worst results in the state since 1966. Germany’s role in Europe is critical, and new leadership will inevitably bring changes that will ripple throughout Europe. Where is Europe heading in 2019?
Business
The UK’s technology sector has attracted record levels of venture capital funding, representing over half of the total VC-backed fintech deals in Europe ($26bn). The UK is leading the global fintech industry, having raised over $16 billion in investment in the first half of 2018. It seems that the UK fintech scene is prosperous and healthy, despite initial Brexit fears. The surge in UK funding reflects an increasing trend towards young entrepreneurship, and shows the strength of the UK as the leading financial and technology centre, globally. Will recent Brexit developments impact this admirable achievement?
Science
Scientists have discovered that bacteria in the deepest parts of the seafloor (4000m below the ocean surface) are absorbing CO2, and could in fact, be turning themselves into an additional food source for other deep-sea life. Professor Andrew K. Sweetman from the Lyell Centre for Earth and Marine Science and Technology at Heriot-Watt University, remarks, "If we upscale our results to the global ocean, our findings reveal that 200 million tonnes of CO2 could be fixed into biomass each year by this process." The scientific breakthrough could be an essential step towards curbing global carbon emissions and combating climate change. Is there global consensus to effectively meet the climate change challenge?
Arts
David Hockney's 1972, Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures) sold for $90.3 million on the 15th of November at Christie's New York Auction. Hockney's painting has broken the world record for the most valuable work of art by a living artist, ever sold at an auction. Hockney has solidified his place within the realm of history’s most celebrated artists. The sale is yet another indication of the limitless impact and value art has on humankind.
Person of the Year
TIME has selected, not a person, but a group of 4 journalists and one paper whose work has either resulted in jailing or death for Person of the Year for 2018 . The magazine selected the group "for taking great risks in pursuit of greater truths, for the imperfect but essential quest for facts that are central to civil discourse, for speaking up and speaking out." The selected recipients, Jamal Khashoggi, Maria Ressa, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo and the Capital Gazette of Annapolis, Md, represent people all over the world who are willing to risk their lives in pursuit of a more just future. To what extent will journalism continue to be driven by human ideals in the future?
