Hosting a workshop around issues muffled by a blanket of silence in our community felt daunting. But it was revelatory, says journalist and author Jendella Benson

Hamas’s murder of humanitarians such as Vivian Silver doesn’t show her work was in vain, says BBC News presenter Clive Myrie

The recent coups and subsequent pacts in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso are a source of hope in a sea of landlocked hopelessness, says writer and broadcaster Nels Abbey

Journalists like Ravish Kumar battle hostile forces so that facts find a way to survive, says Guardian columnist Zoe Williams

Even amid the despair that haunts our world, good can come out of evil. We need to believe that, for the sake of our future, says former UK prime minister Gordon Brown

Swept up in the sheer force of nature, we huddled into a tighter group. As social animals we survive only as a community, says writer Sophie Pavelle

At the beginning of a new year after an awful one, a trip to an animal sanctuary helped to pull me from the depths, says Guardian columnist Hannah Jane Parkinson

Memories of life with my ex-boyfriend followed me around Stockholm. But day by day, it became easier, says writer Imogen West-Knights

I don’t believe a toy will solve society’s problems, but finding a doll that looked like me sent the wordless message, ‘You belong’, says Guardian columnist Frances Ryan

Kateryna, Sofia and Julia showed me how empathy underpins their society. Their small acts of care are what solidarity is made of, says the Guardian’s chief culture writer Charlotte Higgins

During the pandemic, I was shocked that older people in Britain were regarded as being disposable. We need their wisdom, says public scientist Devi Sridhar

After a tired and desperate 2023 with our baby, finally my family found the deep bliss of sleep, says Guardian columnist Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett

From 1920s Salford to teaching disabled children, my mother Marje gave so many people hope, says Guardian features writer Simon Hattenstone

It was Diwali in New York and I was out of my comfort zone. But then two Carrie Bradshaws in saris made me feel at home, says podcaster Sangeeta Pillai

The 300-year-old music of Joseph Bologne opened the door to magic and connection, and took me to Guadeloupe this year, says academic Olivette Otele

I had little reason for optimism when I set off to march on Armistice Day, but the kindness of strangers changed all that, says academic Lynne Segal