Canadian & 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 importance

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 –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 $ 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 Harper Prime 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