Twelve reasons to wish each other a happy new year 2022

What does 2022 have in store for us?

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Text by: RFI Follow

7 mins

The enthusiasm of the end of 2021 has been seriously dampened by the Omicron variant.

So to get off on the right foot, RFI has found you the good news that 2022 has in store for us. 

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The first exceptional images of the James-Webb telescope

In 2022, are we going back in time?

Thanks to its sophisticated instruments,

will make it possible to observe fields of light invisible to the naked eye, in particular infrared rays.

Enough to learn more about the birth of the first stars and galaxies, as well as exoplanets, these other worlds where we perhaps hope to find life one day, because this light emitted billions of years ago. years now reaches us in the form of infrared radiation.

If all goes well, the first images are expected by spring. 

In France, unsold non-food items can no longer be destroyed

No more waste. Until now, in France, products unsold after sales and other destocking ended up being destroyed by incineration. From January 1, 2022, this will be prohibited. This measure, resulting from the

, is intended to "

 ", To reduce waste and greenhouse gas emissions and create new forms of solidarity," said the Ministry of Ecological Transition.

Electric and electronic products, batteries, textiles, furniture, ink cartridges, as well as hygiene and childcare products, food preservation and cooking equipment, early childhood products and recreation, as well as books and school supplies.

Record World Bank funding for the poorest countries 

This is the highest amount ever mobilized by the International Development Association (IDA).

This World Bank institution helps the poorest countries on the planet by providing grants and loans at low or no interest rates for projects that stimulate economic growth, reduce poverty and improve people's lives. poor.

It must be said that there is an emergency.

These funds, which will be disbursed from July 1, 2022 and over three years, should help these countries overcome the consequences of the health crisis and stimulate their growth.

Among

, most are Africans.

Sailing freighters to reduce greenhouse gas emissions

On November 10,

left the Saint-Malo docks to sail to America with nearly 10,000 bottles of organic wine on board that it will unload in New York before taking the helm. from the Dominican Republic to deliver medical equipment.

He should be back in France in February with a shipment of cocoa and coffee.

While the maritime transport sector, which represents 2% to 3% of gas emissions, has committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2050, companies are turning to less pollutants such as sail freight.

If this technology and projects have been developing for years, the French sector should be structured in 2022.

New record for electric car sales 

Almost 5.6 million

(including

hybrids) were sold across the world in 2021. Of the 8.5 million 100% electric and hydrogen cars currently in circulation in the world, 4 million are in circulation. China.

Nearly 2.5 million are in Europe, while the United States has just over 1.5 million.

Two other important markets are South Korea and Japan.

Women's team sports in the spotlight

Do you like sport but you are tired of the controversy over the World Cup in Qatar and the Olympic Games in China? Luckily, the year 2022 has a great program in

. Mark your calendars. It starts with the Cricket World Cup in New Zealand, March 4 through April 3. We continue with football and the African Cup of Nations in Morocco (July 2-23) and the European Championship in England (postponed from July 6 to 31). From August 26 to September 11, it will be the Volleyball World Championship and then the Basketball World Cup in Australia (September 22-October 1). Finally, also postponed, the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand (October 8-November 12). Hoping that the pandemic will not spoil the party.

New perspectives for artificial intelligence

Last November, 193 countries signed a very first global agreement to design a common framework for an

charter

.

Several companies have also joined forces with the Data & Trust Alliance to support the use of artificial intelligence in the detection and fight against algorithmic biases.

More recently, a researcher unveiled technology that could be used to predict breast cancer in healthy people.

Opening of a Museum of Jewish culture in Fez, Morocco

Farewell to conflicts and long live culture: a new Museum of Jewish Culture is scheduled to open in May 2022 in the city of Fez, with the stated intention of sending the world a message of openness and tolerance.

Importantly, the Moroccan Jewish community is thus celebrated as a “ 

” of national identity, estimates the Council of Jewish communities in Morocco.

With this second cultural place, the Museum of Moroccan Judaism which opened in 1997 in Casablanca will no longer be the only Jewish museum in the Arab world. 

Effective restitution of works of art in Benin and Nigeria 

The splendid bronzes of the ancient kingdom of Benin, located in present-day Nigeria, are on their way back. So decided Germany, which wants to return them in 2022, and is committed to return all African works of art looted during colonization. The University of Aberdeen in Scotland has decided the same, as well as the Metropolitan Art Museum in New York, which will return two of the Benin bronzes in its collection. The splendid Edo Museum for West African Art, designed by architect David Adjaye, will receive them before its opening in Benin City, hoped for in 2025, thanks to the construction of a deposit center wanted as soon as possible by Nigeria. On the French-speaking side, some

will also return to Benin in 2022, to be exhibited in a renovated museum in Ouidah.  

In France, contraception becomes free for women up to 25 years old

Since 2020, contraception was free for minors.

From January 1, Health Insurance will cover 100% of the cost of contraception for

.

A breakthrough that concerns three million people.

The free relates to the first and second generation hormonal pills, the hormonal contraceptive implant, the IUD and the morning after pill.

Excluded from the device: condoms, spermicidal creams, patches, vaginal rings, third and fourth generation pills and sterilization.

Black Panther

sequel

Wakanda Forever

released

Following the

released in 2018, which became the ninth highest-grossing film of all time, the sequel is slated for release in the United States in July 2022. The lead role, played by actor Chadwick Boseman, who died in 2020 , will not be replaced.

But the cast remains the same, with Angela Bassett and Lupita Nyong'o among others, under the direction of young African-American director Ryan Coogler.     

The Philharmonie de Paris dedicates hip-hop culture

Glory to street art!

Quite a symbol for this artistic movement which landed from the United States in the 1980s and which some predicted would be a flash in the pan.

Hip-hop has today become a heavyweight in the music industry, the history of its flagship groups, like NTM, is being told on the big screen and in 2024, breakdance will even be an Olympic discipline.

Music, dance, graffiti ... It is therefore time to immerse yourself in the history of this culture with the “Hip-Hop 360” exhibition, at the Philharmonie de Paris, until July 22, 2022.

So many promises that portend a year 2022 rich in good news and give the RFI editorial staff the opportunity to wish you their best wishes!

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