About us

We want our lives back

We, the founders of this initiative, are a group of people who want to challenge the helplessness and ignorance of the policymakers.

We feel we have a responsibility for the present and for the future. COVID-19 is changing our world, and the life of every one of us. Most people simply want “their lives back”.

COVID-19 has not left a single aspect of our lives untouched. Normal daily activities like going to the movies with friends, taking with our kids to the playground, or having Sunday lunch with nana and grandad and the whole family were suddenly no longer possible, as lockdowns were put in place. While since then some of these activities are allowed again, many restrictions still apply, and the uncomfortable feeling has not gone. We are all scared that the modest freedoms we had been longing for will be cut again as soon as the number of infections begins to rise again.

We do not want a second lockdown, and we want the consequences of the recession that results from the first one to remain manageable. That can only happen if we stay alert and agile, despite the COVID-19 crisis. Therefore, we need a robust early warning system, with which we can quickly identify new flare-ups of the infection, and rapidly constrain further spreading of the virus.

There is a well-known, proven approach in science that can be the basis of such an early warning system: representative, randomized testing on all people – the sick, the healthy, the immune, superspreaders and anyone around emerging hotspots.

COVID-19 matters to all of us – in the industrialized world, in the growth countries and in the developing countries. Our economies are so intertwined that we can only find a way out of the crisis with an effective instrument that we all use.

We want to convince the policymakers

The goal of our initiative is to persuade the policymakers of the profound need for such a testing regime.

The voices of experts from science and business, and indeed the voices of all citizens, provide support to the people who are close to decision-makers, to pursue this demand. We want to create the political pressure with which the first step in this direction can be made, to ensure that we can find a way out of the COVID-19 crisis thanks to representative, randomized testing.

We are independent

Our initiative is supported by the founders through financial contributions and voluntary effort. The people who are giving their support to the initiative have no material interest in the implementation of a broad testing regime. Our engagement to advocate a representative, randomized testing approach stems from our desire to regain normality for ourselves and for future generations.

  • «We need data, otherwise we are navigating with a blindfold.»

    Koen Smets
    Organization Development Professional, Adj. Asst. Prof. at Saint Louis University, Senior Advisor BVA Nudge Unit

  • «Because testing is the best way to face this crisis.»

    Dominic Täubert
    Student and Former President of the Youth Parliament Canton of Zurich

  • «I support the petition, because we need large scale testing to prevent further infection waves and to be able to safely reopen economy and social life»

    Isabelle Daniel
    Journalist at oe24.at

  • «Because its the only way to get evidence! Only evidence can lead to appropriate actions.»

    Reto Blum
    Founder & CEO Human Decision Design GmbH, Owner Decision Architect Reto Blum

  • «We need more data in order to finetune measures that minimize socio-economical impact while protecting the public health system. »

    Esther-Mirjam de Boer
    Owner and CEO at GetDiversity GmbH

  • «Testing is the key to better knowledge and thus to better management of the recovery phase.»

    Jean-Robert Tyran
    Professor of public economics and Vice-Rector for Research and International Affairs at the University of Vienna.

  • «Testing is central to enable us to live with the virus without severe and blunt distancing measures.»

    Dorothea Kübler
    Director of the department Behaviour on Markets

  • «Evidence matters.»

    Jörn Basel
    Professor of Business Psychology at Kalaidos University, Advisor at The Negotiation Studio

  • «Because testing and tracing are the right thing to do to combat the pandemic.»

    Iris Bohnet
    Albert Pratt Professor of Business and Government and Academic Dean at the Harvard Kennedy School

  • «I think it’s a good idea.»

    Alexander Scheer
    Managing Lawyer at Scheer Rechtsanwalt GmbH Vienna

  • «I support this petition because testing is important to know your status and to deduce the right measures!»

    Martin Ohneberg
    President of the Federation of Austrian Industry Vorarlberg

  • «Policymakers need valid data to design measures that are effective and at the same time do not restrict public and private life more than necessary.»

    Matthias Mölleney
    Founder and Managing Partner at peopleXpert

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