With the Eurozone in crisis and much of the Western world reeling under a mountain of debt, politicians are wrestling with some tricky issues. The talk is of bail-out packages, ‘Robin Hood’ taxes, austerity measures and referendums.
But perhaps governments could do a lot worse than take a good look at the latest initiative from Today Translations. With the world coming to the end of a troubled year, we wanted people to have a platform where they could make a wish for a better future.

One simple question

With that in mind, and in the spirit of the upcoming festivities and holiday season, we contacted our linguists from around the world this week and asked this one simple question:

‘If you were to make one wish on behalf of your native country and your people, what would it be?’

We set no limits on what we expected in our answers and asked for answers to be as bold or reserved as they liked and within 24 hours, we were inundated with over 100 responses, indicating either that our linguists have too much time on their hands or that there are a lot of people out there with great ideas for improving our world. Here are some of the best of them:

Political

All corrupt politicians and judges behind bars and people who don’t accept corruption as a natural thing - Brazil

May the Euro find the way it deserves – to the cemetery of currencies – as soon as possible - Italy

I am pretty sure that a wish that covers most of the Greeks these days would be: ‘no more crisis and for things to get better’ - Greece

Humorous

My wish is that American people stop thinking that dipping your fries in mayonnaise is disgusting – this is one of our national dishes! - Belgium

Be nicer to the Norwegians - Denmark

Miscellaneous

I am sure I speak on behalf of all Polish people if I ask for more daylight during autumn and winter days. Pleeeeease! - Poland

So, in short, if the hopes and dreams of a multinational band of linguists are anything to go by, we all want the world to get out of debt, smile more and enjoy a peaceful New Year.

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To see all the responses we’ve had to date, go to our Wish page.

Or why not add your own wishes below with a comment! What’s your wish for your country?