A day late, but Happy New Year and best wishes for the year ahead.

2011 was a year of great change across the globe and anxiety for many (especially for us folks in Europe!).  Some commentators have suggested that it is a year to forget.  I disagree.  In many ways we should be thankful that 2011 is over, but we should not forget the events that defined it.

The Tsunami in Japan whose effect will be felt for future generations.  The Arab Spring where successive totalitarian governments were toppled like Dominoes.  The killing of Osama Bin Laden.  The continuing Euro crisis that will almost certainly never be resolved fully – I smell a Heath Robinson half-baked euro-bodge-solution in the coming months.  These are just some of the events that have profoundly reshaped the world we live in.  I suspect that in the future, 2011 will be viewed as the turning point where the world truly started to become less West-centric.  The economic emergence of the BRIC nations at the time of the decline of the European block has all but ensured that this scenario will come true.

Every year has defining events.  2011 stands out due to the sheer and almost incessant number of events, spread out across the world affecting a significant proportion of the global population.

Here’s to hoping that 2012 will be a great year.