The Positive News Stories You Might Have Missed In 2020

1. The coronavirus vaccine wasn’t the only medical breakthrough…

In July, scientists in Australia reported results from studies of a new cancer vaccine had shown promising signs. It’s hoped the new vaccine could be used to treat blood cancers, plus other solid tumour types of cancer, including breast, lung, renal, ovarian and pancreatic cancers, and glioblastoma. Developed by researchers based at Australia’s Translational Research Institute, in collaboration with the University of Queensland, the work was actually funded by grants from the UK cancer research charity, Worldwide Cancer Research, and Mater Foundation, a community-based fundraising organisation.

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2. The world took a big step forward towards gender equality…

While no country has yet to achieve complete gender equality, the United Nations’ World’s Women 2020 report, published in October, found women’s representation in parliament has more than doubled globally, reaching 25% of parliamentary seats in 2020. There are now 20 countries with a female head of state or government, up from 12 in 1995, while health outcomes for women have also improved in some key areas, particularly childbirth, with the greatest reductions in maternal deaths achieved in Southern Asia. 

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3. Life beyond our planet became a real possibility…

In October, Nasa confirmed that the amount of water on the moon is more widespread than previously thought and could help sustain future missions as drinking water or fuel. The space agency’s Artemis programme (astronauts for which were announced just days ago), will learn all it can about the presence of water on the moon in advance of sending the first woman and next man to the lunar surface in 2024, with the aim of establishing a sustainable human presence there by the end of the decade.

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4. Evidence showed fewer animals are becoming extinct…

In September, it emerged that up to 48 bird and mammal species have been saved from extinction by international conservation efforts since 1993. They include the Asian crested Ibis, yellow-eared parrot, Hawaiian crow, spoon-billed sandpiper, red wolf, black-footed ferret and pygmy hog. According to researchers at Newcastle University and conservation partnership BirdLife International, 15 bird and mammal species have become extinct or suspected extinct since then – but the extinction rate could have been three to four times higher without the action global populations have taken to tackle the issue. 

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5. Britain actually went coal-free for the first time…

The UK switched off its last coal generator on 9th April this year, after the country went into lockdown, with no coal used for electricity since. According to the experts, so far this year renewables have generated more electricity than fossil fuels – which has never happened before. This means there’s a real chance that renewables will overtake fossil fuels in 2020 as a whole.

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6. Cartoonist Charlie Mackesy inspired the nation yet again…

If there was one Christmas gift that swept the board last year it was Charlie Mackesy’s The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse. In response to the coronavirus pandemic and heroic efforts by frontline workers, Mackesy soon picked up his pen again to dedicate a series of new cartoons to Britain’s doctors and nurses. Although starting online, multiple hospitals up and down the country took it upon themselves to print out Charlie’s cartoons to display on the wards to keep people’s spirits up. “Don’t give up, the storm ends,” he says. Words to live by…

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7. The Queen & The Duke of Edinburgh celebrated their 73rd wedding anniversary…

November marked the 73rd wedding anniversary of the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, with the royal family releasing a special photograph of the couple together on their honeymoon at Broadlands in Hampshire in 1947 on their Instagram to celebrate the occasion. The media also published pictures of the couple now, reading cards and well wishes from the rest of their family, including the three Cambridge children – Princes George and Louis, and Princess Charlotte. 

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8. Author Douglas Stuart won the Booker Prize 2020…

Last month, Scottish-American author Douglas Stuart was awarded the Booker Prize 2020 for his astonishing debut novel Shuggie Bain. It tells the story of the youngest of the three children, Shuggie, as he grows up with his alcoholic mother, Agnes, in the 1980s, in Thatcher-era post-industrial working-class Glasgow. It’s understood that, in something of a rare occurrence, the judges’ vote was unanimous and it only took an hour to declare Stuart the winner. 

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9. The government announced a bumper bank holiday in 2022…

Last month, it was announced that a four-day bank holiday weekend will take place in June 2022 in celebration of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, which will mean she has reigned continuously for 70 years – the longest of any British monarch. The move was welcome by the public, who felt they lost out on the one-off bank holiday announced for 2020, which was designed to allow the nation to celebrate VE Day. 

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10. Joe Wicks raised millions for Children In Need…

Back in November, ‘the nation’s favourite PE teacher’ Joe Wicks completed an incredible, live 24-hour workout challenge, raising over £1.5m for the BBC’s Children In Need. The fitness expert and author was joined by famous pals including Louis Theroux, Sam Smith and Mel C, all of whom took part in an array of workouts from HIIT to yoga.

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11. The Theatre Support Fund+ raised £500,000 for theatre workers & the NHS

The Theatre Support Fund+, a platform launched by theatre industry workers, has raised half a million pounds for theatre charities including Acting For Others and The Fleabag Support Fund, as well as the NHS COVID-19 Urgent Appeal since it launched six months ago. ‘The Show Must Go On!’ campaign has drawn huge support from the likes of Keira Knightley, Michael Ball and Phoebe Waller Bridge. 

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12. Sales across UK bookshops went through the roof…

During the first week shops reopened after the first lockdown in March, records show almost 4m books were sold in bookshops across England. Reni Eddo-Lodge’s anti-racism book Why I’m No Longer Talking To White People About Race helped propel sales as it topped the charts, with total book sales up 30% on the same week in the UK the previous year, despite the fact that shops in Wales and Scotland remained closed at the time. 

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13. UK supermarkets pledged to cut down on Christmas plastic…

Tesco joined Morrisons, Iceland and Asda by introducing plastic-free Christmas ranges this year. A huge amount of plastic enters the ocean every single minute and UK supermarkets produce 800,000 tonnes every year, according to Greenpeace. But Tesco removed more than 20m pieces of single-use plastic from its seasonal ranges – including crackers, cards and lights. A layer of plastic was also removed from Tesco packaging on Christmas puddings and sponges, and its own-label crackers are plastic-free for the first time. It has also eliminated glitter in all its single-use products and packaging, making its wrapping paper, gift bags, cards and crackers completely recyclable.

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14. US president-elect Joe Biden swore to refocus the US’s climate change efforts

US president-elect Joe Biden has promised to hold a major, international climate change conference early next year and said he would seek to re-join the Paris agreement on the first day of his presidency, putting the US on a path to net zero emissions by 2050. During 2020’s only virtual climate summit, the UK pledged to stop funding fossil fuel development overseas, while the EU laid out plans to slash emissions by 55% by 2030.

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15. It only took six days for people to donate more than £1m to Black Lives Matter…

In the wake of the shocking murder of George Floyd in May this year, the Black Lives Matter movement launched a fundraising drive which saw an overwhelming amount of support – and money – go towards combating the causes and consequences of racism. Receiving more than £1m in the space of just six days, the group said the funds would go towards effecting changes in the law, developing and distributing educational resources and healing practices in Black communities.

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