Holistic resilience – What is it?
Resilience is the trendy word of the day. Everything – people, businesses, systems, agencies, institutions, states, armies, nature, et cetera – should have better resilience.
english translation marko saajanaho
As a scientific term, resilience poses challenges. It could even be compared to love or power. It is difficult to define and multifaceted while having many different effects. Resilience is also associated with safety and the feeling of safety and security.
In psychology, ecology and material sciences, resilience has typically been considered a reactive function, recovery from some sort of disorder or disruption. Technological science perhaps approach resilience more from a proactive approach; how to predict disruptions and mitigate their effects.
In Finland and the European Union, improving resilience is a political priority. It has also emerged as an important focus in academia. The reason for this may in fact be quite simple; free societies, the democratic system, the rule of law, common principles, common and functional rules, and trust are challenged in our security environment today. There are multiple reasons for this. We are in a state of upheaval in which the new meets and collides with the old in technology and social thought alike. Turning points are always situations in which we notice traditional solutions and thinking no longer suffice. The feeling of insecurity grows along with uncertainty. Meanwhile, several external operators – both governmental and non-governmental – try to take advantage of the situation whilst pushing their own interests.
Resilience research must not simply become research focusing on protecting resistance and the status quo. Instead, it must be associated with new creative thinking, innovative solutions, multidisciplinarity, the appeal of community, and daring to try. When one’s own will and belief in the new as something positive – not removing the old but improving it – is strong, harmful attempts and campaigns by external operators to cause harm and hurt society lose their effect. A resilient society requires no definition or quantitative measurement. It can be felt.
