Canadian & World Issues

An Introduction to

World Issues

An Introduction to World Issues

• Imagine you are a first-class passenger on a spaceship hurling through space at 100,000 km/h

• Poisonous gases are leaking into certain sections of the craft and several passengers are dying from the fumes.

• The water supply has been contaminated due to a breakdown in the ship's waste expulsion system.

• Food supplies are running out.

An Introduction to World Issues

• Many passengers crowded into the economy section of the craft are seriously ill, and only a few of them are getting proper medical attention.

• The spaceship has an overall destruct system and increasing numbers of technologists - some mentally unstable - have gained access to the controls of the destruct system.

• What would you do?

An Introduction to World Issues

• List your 5 top priorities in order of importance1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

An Introduction to World Issues

• The term “issue” refers to a question, concern, or problem that has reached the stage of dialogue.

• By studying an issue, you will come to realize that there are at least two and, most often, many points of view on a situation.

• You will be able to understand the rationale for and to debate the various positions.

How the PowerPoints Work

• For many lessons in the course, key points and visuals are displayed in PowerPoint slideshows which are available on the course website.

• If you want, print the slideshows out in advance (you can print “handouts” with 6 or 9 slides on a page) so you can take notes on information talked about, without having to copy the screen.

• From now on, the first slide will be a “table of contents” for the lesson, followed by any relevant text and visuals for that lesson.

An Introduction to World Issues

• An Introduction to World Issues – Why Study Geography?– World Issues Diagnostic Quiz – World Issues Acronyms– Current World Issues

• Who ARE these People? – World Leaders and their Flags

• Where in the World? – Mind Map of the World – Mapping Assignment – Countries Comparison

An Introduction to World Issues

4. Framing an Issue – Defining Issues

• How to Frame an Issue• Practice with an Article

– A World Issues Diary – Weekly News Reports – Website Analysis– Book Review

Why Study Geography?

• You need to study more geography to offset those who think…– Andes is an after- dinner mint.– The Balkans are an alien people on Star Trek.– The English Channel is a TV sitcom about Charles

and Camilla.– The United Kingdom is a cultural theme park.– The Tropic of Cancer is a sunscreen lotion.– The $100 000 pyramid is in Egypt.

Why Study Geography?

• You need to study more geography to offset those who think…– The Gaza Strip is a Middle Eastern folk dance.– The Ring of Fire is the centre ring of Barnum and

Bailey’s Circus.– The Bermuda Triangle is a percussion instrument in a

reggae band.– The Cumberland Gap gives out a pair of clogs with

every pair of jeans sold.– The International Dateline is a new digital TV channel.

Why Study Geography?

• You need to study more geography to offset those who think…– The Continental Shelf is a specialty section in the

supermarket.– A fault is what you find in other people.– A fjord is a type of car.– A mantle is what goes over your fireplace.– Tide is a laundry detergent.– You can do a research project to find out who killed

the Dead Sea.

Why Study Geography?

• “Nature is not only more complex than we think, it is more complex than we can think.”

Dr. David Suzuki

Who ARE These People?

• Match the names of the world leaders with their photographs and country’s flag.

(His Excellency)The Right Honourable

Stephen HarperPrime Minister of Canada

United Kingdom

• His Excellency The Right Honourable David Cameron

• Prime Minister

of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

United States of America

• His Excellency The Honorable

• Barack Hussein Obama

• President

Iraq

• His Excellency Nouri al-Maliki

• Prime Minister

France

• His Excellency Nicolas Sarkozy

• President

Mexico

• His Excellency Felipe Calderón

• President

Australia

• Her Excellency The Honourable Julia Gillard

• Prime Minister

North Korea

• His Excellency Kim Jong Il

• President

China

• His Excellency Hu Jintao

• President

Rwanda

• His Excellency Paul Kagame

• President

Afghanistan

• His Excellency Hâmid Karzai

• President

Japan

• His Excellency Yasuo Fukuda

• Prime Minister

South Africa

• His Excellency Thabo Mbeki

• President

Egypt

• His Excellency Hosni Mubarak

• President

Pakistan

• His Excellency Pervez Musharraf

• Former-President

Pakistan

His Excellency

President Asif Ali Zardari

Russia

• His Excellency Dmitry Medvedev

• President

Germany

• Her Excellency Angela Merkel

• Chancellor

Israel

• His Excellency Benjamin Netanyahu

• Prime Minister

India

• His Excellency Manmohan Singh

• Prime Minister

Italy

• His Excellency Silvio Berlusconi

• Prime Minister

Brazil

• His Excellency Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva

• President

Venezuela

• His Excellency Hugo Chavez

• President

United Nations

• Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon

• United Nations

Iran

• His Excellency Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

• President

Zimbabwe

• His Excellency Robert Mugabe

• President