rcs high school teacher resources

41© Royal Commonwealth SoCiety | www.theRCS.oRg/youth

» The seven lessons in this blue section (identified with a square on each page) are designed with students aged 14 to18 in mind. However, they can be readily adapted for older or younger students – please see the Introduction for further details.

» Sessions cover the Commonwealth (Lesson 1), Diversity (Lesson 2), Global Inequalities (Lesson 3), Education and Development (Lesson 4), Malaria (Lesson 5), Climate Change (Lesson 6) and Democracy (Lesson 7).

© Royal Commonwealth SoCiety | www.theRCS.oRg/youth42

leSSon 1Page 1 oF 3 1

Note - This lesson could be split into two for students to have more time to prepare and discuss: activities 1 and 2 in the first lesson, and activities 3 and 4 in the second lesson.

Lesson aims/key questions

1 » what is the Commonwealth? how did it form?2 » what does the Commonwealth do?3 » how should we develop the Commonwealth in future?

Learning outcomes and key processes

Students will be able to:a » Recognise a number of member states of the Commonwealthb » explain the historical roots of the modern Commonwealthc » identify and categorise a number of activities of the modern Commonwealthd » Rank and evaluate different ideas about the future of the Commonwealthe » Formulate and propose new ideas for the future of the CommonwealthKey processes: Critical thinking; research; discussion and debate; communicating ideas; critically assessing your own view and others’ viewpoints; working with others to solve problems; taking an interest in global issues and current affairs.

Key words/ concepts / terms

Commonwealth | diversity | development | democracy | empire | colony | global | Secretariat | civil society | non-governmental organisations | heritage | Queen | consensus | Secretary-general | Commonwealth games | youth programmes

Summary of activities and links to learning outcomes

activity 1 (starter): Guess Who? And the History of the Commonwealth (Powerpoint presentation)

a »

b »

activity 2: Investigators and Detectives: What does the Commonwealth do? (information hunt)

c »

activity 3: Future Leaders of the Commonwealth (Card sort to categorise and diamond rank)

d »

e »

activity 4 (plenary): Commonwealth Board Race all »

Assessment opportunities

» activity 1 (starter) and » activity 4 (plenary) could be transformed into a short test of students’ knowledge about the Commonwealth Countries.

» activity 2 could be a group assessment in which students decipher and categorise activities under timed conditions.

Differentiation » activity 2 contains information Sheets with a variety of complexity (1r2); questions on the Student investigator Sheets (1r3) also increase in complexity.

» activity 3 contains cards with a variety of complexity (1r4), some of which students may investigate further if they wish to challenge themselves, or if they do not have time they might discard the cards they have difficulty understanding.

Homework or extension tasks

you could ask students to:» write three paragraphs explaining what they understand by each of following terms,

which form the core themes of the Commonwealth: diversity, development and democracy.» Research and write a report on the difference between making political decisions

and agreements through consensus and through some alternatives such as majority voting, veto powers, top-down ‘leader decides’ and executive boards or committees.

» you could set students the task of extending » activity 3 into a detailed proposal to send to Commonwealth leaders, for example in the form of a letter addressed to the Royal Commonwealth Society.

Resources needed » activity 1 (starter): Commonwealth Introduction Powerpoint (1r1)» activity 2: Commonwealth Activity Information Sheets (1r2) (one set to each group

of 4-6 students), Student Investigator Sheets (1r3) (one each (printed on small paper), one per team (printed on big paper) or write the questions on the board)

» activity 3: Future Leaders Card Sort (1r4) (need to cut out the cards or give students scissors to cut them out) (one set for each group of 4-6 students)

» activity 4: Board (wide enough for two people to write on it at the same time) and two Board Pens

1r2

» Introducing the Commonwealth

Commonwealth SCHOOL RESOURCES » Lesson 1

1


© Royal Commonwealth SoCiety | www.theRCS.oRg/youth 43

» Activity 1 (starter): Guess Who? and The History of the Commonwealth

Show the Commonwealth introduction Powerpoint (1r1), pausing between slides.

ask students to identify the countries and then guess the connection between them using the hints. each answer is on the next slide but you can take these out if students might see the answers too early. if you wanted this task to be a little more competitive you could divide the class into teams and score them on correct answers.

the Powerpoint (1r1) then goes on to describe a brief history of the Commonwealth. tell students that they should imagine they are a group of investigators or detectives trying to find out what the Commonwealth is and what it does. therefore during the historical part of the Powerpoint they will need to take some notes so they understand a little about the origins of the Commonwealth. Students for whom note-taking is difficult could write key words as memory prompts.

» you could have individual students read out the Powerpoint slides or you could read them and clarify any challenging elements with a short class discussion.

» Activity 2: Investigators and Detectives: What does the Commonwealth do?

Divide students into teams of four to six.

give out a set of Commonwealth activity information Sheets (1r2) to each group – this will work best if they are printed onto big sheets of paper. you could also put them up as posters around the classroom.

write the questions on the board from the Student investigator Sheets (1r3) or give out copies to students.

as above, ask students to think of themselves as investigators or detectives who have been tasked to find out what the modern Commonwealth does.

they must read the information Sheets (1r2) between them and find the answers to the questions (1r3).

if students have access to the internet they could also investigate the websites identified on each information Sheet (1r2).

after 10 minutes, ask students to choose a team member to report back to the class on what they found out: for example, you could ask each team in turn to report back on a different question from the question sheet.

one student could be offered the role of manager of the Detective agency, keeping everyone on task.

1r1

10-15m

15-30m

1r31r2

» Suggested time allowance for activities


leSSon 1Page 2 oF 3



» Activity 3: Future Leaders of the Commonwealth

ask students to think of themselves as potential future leaders of the Commonwealth.

they have been presented with a number of possible ideas for the future of the Commonwealth and have to choose the best ideas and formulate a proposal towards a stronger Commonwealth and a better world.

give out the Future leaders Card Sort (1r4) (either already cut up or with scissors for students to do so) and ask them to do the following (you could leave out (a) if time is limited):

a » Categorise the ten cards into the following core themes of the Commonwealth: diversity, development, democracy. are any of them difficult to categorise? which category has more cards? [NB there are no right or wrong answers for this task: it’s to get students thinking about the meanings of the three core areas]

b » Discard the three cards you think are least important and then add two ideas of your own on the blank cards.

c » Rank the nine cards into a diamond shape according to how good you think the ideas are. this could perhaps be based on how much you think they would help the Commonwealth develop (how idealistic they are); or on whether you think the ideas would feasibly work in practice (how realistic they are). [NB see right for an illustration of a diamond ranking]

d » Identify the top three cards in your ranking. if you have time, write these out into a half-page proposal for the future of the Commonwealth, expanding on each idea and explaining how they might fit together to work towards a better world. if you are proud of your proposal see if you can share it with the class, explaining your choices and any new ideas you may have put forward.

after giving the students ten minutes or so to categorise and rank the ideas, come up with their own suggestions and then write their proposals, ask the class for volunteers to read out or summarise their choices and / or proposals.

See if the class can come to a consensus about their top three ideas.

» Activity 4: Commonwealth Board Race

a board race is where students line up in two teams in front of the board.

the first student in each team needs a board pen.

When you say ‘go!’» these two students run up to their side of the board, write down a word or phrase connected to the Commonwealth and then pass the pen to the next person in line and go to the back of the queue. the next person then runs to the board and writes another word or phrase connected to the Commonwealth (words and phrases cannot be repeated) and runs to the back, passing the pen on to the next person.

When you say ‘stop!’» they have to stop running to the board: any answers written after that should be excluded from the count.

go through both the team entries and strike out any repetitions or words / phrases unconnected with the Commonwealth, or any written after you said ‘stop!’. then count up the number of correct entries and the team with the highest number wins!

Best

2nd 2nd

3rd 3rd 3rd

4th 4th

Worst

1r4

View p3-20CommonGround guide



30-50m

50-60


ReSouRCe 1r1Page 1 oF1 1r2

» Please view powerpoint presentation supplied on resource disk

Commonwealth Introduction Powerpoint » Resource 1r1

» Guess Who powerpoint presentation


►�Every�two�years,�Commonwealth�leaders�(for�example,�Prime�Ministers�and�Presidents�or�their�representatives)�meet�to�discuss�issues�affecting�both�the�Commonwealth�itself,�and�the�wider�world.

►��The�meeting�is�called�a�CHOGM�(Commonwealth�Heads�of�Government�Meeting)�and�it�is�hosted�by�a�different�Commonwealth�country�each�time.

►�The�decisions�made�shape�Commonwealth�plans�for�the�next�two�or�three�years.

►��Decisions�are�normally�reached�by�consensus�(with�the�agreement�of�all)�and,�at�the�end�of�the�meeting,�a�series�of�statements�are�issued�on�behalf�of�all�leaders.

►��All�states�have�the�same�opportunity�to�speak,�so�a�small�island�state�such�as�St�Lucia�or�Tonga�can�voice�their�opinion�in�the�same�way�as�a�large�country�like�Canada�or�India.

►��Many�other�meetings�take�place�between�Commonwealth�government�ministers�at�different�times.��These�focus�on�particular�issues,�such�as�education,�health,�and�economic�development.

How�does�the�Commonwealth�work?

The Commonwealth is group of 54 countries who work together for their common good, promoting ideas such as

diversity, development and democracy.

What is the Commonwealth?

» Commonwealth Activity Information Sheets

• it is the job of the Commonwealth Secretariat to take forward plans developed at Commonwealth meetings.• the Commonwealth Secretariat is rather like the civil service of the Commonwealth.

this means it organises all the major Commonwealth meetings; it gives advice and support to member states; and runs programmes to help Commonwealth countries.• Commonwealth Secretariat programmes range from training midwives in

malawi to helping conserve rainforests in guyana.• the Secretariat is based in london at Marlborough House.• the present Head of the Commonwealth is her majesty Queen elizabeth ii.

however, the Commonwealth Secretariat is led by the Commonwealth Secretary-General, who must ensure that decisions agreed at Commonwealth meetings are properly carried out.• the Secretary-general must be impartial (not favouring one country above another), putting the needs

and interests of the Commonwealth as a whole before those of individual member states. the holder of the post is chosen by all the Commonwealth heads of government for one or two four-year terms. • Secretary-generals have come from all over the world, including india, Canada, guyana, nigeria

and new Zealand. • the Secretariat also coordinates the Commonwealth Ministerial Action

Group (Cmag) which is responsible for suspending members if they violate the principles of the Commonwealth. the group is made up of a rotating group of Foreign ministers from nine Commonwealth states.

• an important part of the Commonwealth Secretariat’s work focuses on young people, who make up over half of the Commonwealth’s population. the Commonwealth youth Programme has offices in guyana, the Solomon islands, Zambia and india, as well as in london

The Commonwealth Secretariat www.thecommonwealth.org

Commonwealth SCHOOL RESOURCES » Lesson 1r2

ReSouRCe 1r2Page 1 oF 3 1r2


Commonwealth Activity Information Sheets » Resource 1r2

I t was a day for ceremony and celebration in Chandigarh, India, on 15 December, as the Commonwealth’s newly-elected youth leadership

took their oaths in an hour-long Installation Ceremony presided over by the Commonwealth Secretariat Deputy Secretary-General.

The eight new youth representatives read their code of conduct in the presence of their peers, Commonwealth Youth Programme Staff and the media.

Together they pledged to work according to the principles of selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, leadership, professionalism and political neutrality.

The Deputy Secretary-General told them: “We hope you will make a critical difference in youth leadership and advocacy in the Commonwealth.”

The Deputy Secretary-General then initiated the traditional candle lighting ceremony, signifying hope.

The Commonwealth’s Youth Caucus seeks to promote meaningful engagement of young people in the planning and decision-making process of the Commonwealth Youth Programme (CYP).

The five-day conference is being hosted by the CYP Asia Office based in Chandigarh, India. The theme for the meeting is ‘Our Year, Our Voice’.

CEREMONY AND CELEBRATION FOR NEW YOUTH LEADERS

NEWSYOUR FAVOURITE NEWSPAPER 15 December 2010

Rebecca Solomon from Vanuatu (left) and Deputy Secretary -general masire-mwamba (right)

THE 54 Commonwealth members COUNTRIES are...

ANTIGUAAND BARBUDA

AUSTRALIA THE BAHAMAS BANGLADESH BARBADOS BELIZE BOTSWANA

CANADA CYPRUS DOMINICA FIJI ISLANDS THE GAMBIA

JAMAICA KENYA KIRIBATI

MOZAMBIQUE NAMIBIA NAURU NEWZEALAND NIGERIA PAKISTAN PAPUA NEWGUINEA RWANDA ST KITTSAND NEVIS

ST LUCIA ST VINCENT ANDTHE GRENADINES

SAMOA SEYCHELLES SIERRA LEONE SINGAPORE SOLOMON ISLANDS SOUTH AFRICA SRI LANKA

SWAZILAND TONGA TRINIDADAND TOBAGO

TUVALU

BRUNEIDARUSSALAM

CAMEROON

GHANA GRENADA GUYANA INDIA

LESOTHO MALAWI MALAYSIA MALDIVES MALTA MAURITIUS

UGANDA UNITED KINGDOM UNITED REPUBLICOF TANZANIA

VANUATU ZAMBIA

» Commonwealth Activity Information Sheets continued...



» The Commonwealth Family

The Commonwealth has a wide network of organisations that work in the 54 member countries, in order to promote shared goals and values. They work at local, national, regional or international levels and play crucial roles in policy, political or social aspects of Commonwealth life.

Here are a few examples:

Commonwealth Foundation www.commonwealthfoundation.com

this organisation helps civil society (trade unions, ngos, professional associations and other similar not for profit organisations) express their voice to governments around the Commonwealth in the promotion of democracy, development and diversity. it runs the Commonwealth People’s Forum, which is a meeting held once every two years just before the Chogm to bring key issues facing people around the Commonwealth to the attention of the member countries’ heads of State. the issues are presented to heads in a joint statement on behalf of all participating organisations. the Commonwealth Foundation also runs a number of prizes to promote diversity and cultural understanding. these include the Commonwealth writers Prize, the Commonwealth Short Story awards and Commonwealth Connects, an international exchange programme for artists and crafts people. the Foundation also supports civil society through the provision of small grants, totalling over £1 million a year.

Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Plan (CSFP) www.csfp-online.org

this organisation runs an international programme under which Commonwealth member governments offer scholarships and fellowships (funding) for citizens of other Commonwealth countries to study and work at their universities.

Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) www.thecgf.com

this organisation is responsible for the direction and control of the Commonwealth Games. the Commonwealth games is a multi-sports event which is held once every four years for members of the Commonwealth. it is often referred to as the ‘Friendly games’. the CgF also runs the Commonwealth Youth Games which are held every four years and are open to competitors between 14 and 18.

The Royal Commonwealth Society (RCS) www.thercs.org and www.thercs.org/youth

the RCS is the oldest and largest civil society organisation in the Commonwealth Family. it is a charity that aims to promote understanding of international issues and the Commonwealth.

the RCS helps to coordinate a celebration for Commonwealth Day, which is on the second monday of march each year, and each year has a different theme. it also runs a wide range of programmes for young people around the world. here is just one example…

CASE STUDY » Competitions for Young People Around the Commonwealth

Essay Competition: every year, the Commonwealth essay Competition inspires thousands of young writers from all over the world. this international student writing contest has been running for over 100 years - the world’s oldest and largest - and is a highly regarded and popular international education project. open to all Commonwealth citizens aged 18 or under, the essay Competition offers young people the opportunity to make their voice heard on a global platform, encouraging students to engage with issues which are important to them.

Photographic and Vision Awards: the Commonwealth Vision awards promote excellence in filmmaking and photography. open to anyone in the Commonwealth under the age of 30 with a keen interest in visual media and with some excellent prizes on offer.

Find out more at www.thercs.org/youthView p18-20CommonGround guide



What is CHOGM? When is Commonwealth Day?

Where is the headquarters of the Commonwealth Secretariat?

What is the Commonwealth People’s Forum?

How often are the Commonwealth Games

and the Youth Commonwealth Games held?

What are the three core themes

of the Commonwealth, which

all start with D?

At what ages can you take part in the Royal

Commonwealth Society’s Competitions for Young People?

What happens if member states violate the principles of the Commonwealth?

Which principles do the Commonwealth Youth Leaders pledge to follow?

What does the CSFP do? How does the Commonwealth

make decisions?

Which other facts about the Commonwealth have you found interesting

or surprising?


Student Investigator Sheets » Resource 1r3


» Commonwealth Detectives

You are a team of detectives and you have been tasked

to find out what the Commonwealth does.

» Make sure you use all your team members’ skills to

fill in as many boxes as you can!

Commonwealth Detectives Student investigator 1r3

Who is the Head of the Commonwealth? Draw a quick picture of this person if you can!

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1© Royal Commonwealth SoCiety | www.theRCS.oRg/youth 51

2



1 » in which ways is the Commonwealth diverse?2 » what is life like in other countries around the world? what are some similarities

and differences with our own lives?3 » what is agreement by consensus? to what extent does diversity make reaching

consensus difficult?


Students will be able to:a » list three ways in which Commonwealth countries are diverse.b » examine the similarities and differences between our own lives and the lives of

people living in another Commonwealth country.c » explain what is meant by agreement by consensus.d » evaluate some of the advantages, limitations and challenges of consensus among

diverse countries.Key processes: empathising with others; discussion and debate; arguing a viewpoint other than your own; communicating ideas; listening to others; working with others to solve problems.


Commonwealth | diversity | consensus | trade | language | religion | culture | heritage | microfinance | Fairtrade | trade bloc | free trade agreement | world Bank | international monetary Fund


activity 1 (starter): Diverse Commonwealth Quiz (Powerpoint presentation) a »

activity 2: Commonwealth Letters (letter-writing task) b »

activity 3: The Challenge of Trade (Structured Role Play Debate in groups) c »

activity 4 (plenary): Reaching consensus (Feedback from Debate) c » d »


» activity 2 could be assessed if marking criteria are established and letters are collected in and marked.

» activity 3 and » activity 4 (plenary) could be a group assessment either by one person in each group acting as an ‘observer’ or ‘assessor’ of the others (in groups of five rather than four), or through informal assessment of individual contributions to class discussion.

Differentiation » activity 2: the letters from Pakistan and Singapore are more accessible and those from tanzania and trinidad and tobago are more challenging.

» activity 3: Students needing extra support for group discussion work could work with a partner to represent a single country, with time beforehand to talk through the viewpoint of the country they represent.

» activity 4: thorough questioning (level and challenge of question during feedback pitched to needs of individual students).


Students could:Research a new country » individually or in small groups, ask students to pick a Commonwealth country which is new to them – one they do not know very much about (all Commonwealth members are listed below). you could ask students to carry out online research on their chosen country, using the Commonwealth Secretariat website ‘Country profiles’: www.thecommonwealth.org/s/YearbookHomePage/152099/country_profile » they could find out the following:1 » name of capital city2 » languages (official and local) 3 » life expectancy4 » land area5a » and 5b » two facts they found particularly interesting or surprisingWrite a short briefing note » for the Commonwealth heads of government meeting describing the benefits and challenges of a consensus method for making decisions amongst Commonwealth countries.

» Diversity and the Commonwealth


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Resources needed » activity 1 (starter) and » activity 4: Diverse Commonwealth Powerpoint (2r1)» activity 2: Commonwealth Letters (1 each or 1 per pair) (2r2);

Blank World Maps (2r3) (a coloured-in world map is also included in this resource showing all the Commonwealth countries)

» activity 3: The Challenge of Trade briefing sheets (1 set per group of four students) (2r4)

» Diversity and the Commonwealth continued...

1r2

» Full List of Commonwealth Countries (for possible research task)

• antigua and Barbuda •australia •the Bahamas•Bangladesh •Barbados •Belize•Botswana •Brunei Darussalam •Cameroon•Canada •Cyprus •Dominica•Fiji islands •the gambia •ghana •grenada •guyana •india •Jamaica •Kenya •Kiribati •lesotho •malawi •malaysia•maldives •malta •mauritius •mozambique •namibia •nauru •new Zealand •nigeria •Pakistan •Papua new guinea •Rwanda •St Kitts and nevis•St lucia •St Vincent & the grenadines •Samoa •Seychelles •Sierra leone •Singapore •Solomon islands •South africa •Sri lanka •Swaziland •tonga •trinidad &tobago•tuvalu •uganda •united Kingdom •united Republic of tanzania •Vanuatu •Zambia




» Introducing the Commonwealth » Suggested time allowance for activities

» Activity 1 (starter): Diverse Commonwealth Quiz

use the Diverse Commonwealth PowerPoint (2r1), to get students thinking about the diversity amongst Commonwealth countries.

give students 10-20 seconds to write down their answer to the question on each slide.

at the end, go through the answers (which are below), encouraging students to feedback on what they got right and wrong and what surprised them.

alternatively, you could make this a competitive activity by dividing the class into two teams and marking down the scores of each team with ticks and crosses for each quiz question they get right or wrong: the team with the highest number of correct answers wins the quiz. Diverse Commonwealth answers: 1 » What is the average temperature on 1st July?

(Source: The Weather Channel – uk.weather.com) [NB You might want to award a point for ‘the temperature in Summer’ or ‘the temperature in July’ or similar.]

2 » (c) Uganda (Source: 2008 World Population Data Sheet, Population Reference Bureau)

3 » (b) Languages in use (Source: the country’s government or Ethnologue - www.ethnologue.com)

4 » (c) 5m (Source: www.cia.gov.uk)

5 » Join the Commonwealth (Source: www.thecommonwealth.org)

» Activity 2: Commonwealth Letters

give out the Commonwealth letters (2r2) to students along with a blank world map (2r3).

the letters are based on real letters written by young people in Commonwealth countries, detailing what their lives are like. ask students to mark or shade in on the blank world map the country the letter is from. then ask them to read the letter and reply to it, answering the questions within the letters.

if you have time, ask students to feed back on the most interesting or surprising fact they have found out.

Discuss with the class the similarities and differences students noted between their lives and the lives of the letter-writers and introduce the term ‘diversity’ (differences or variations between people in communities and societies)

emphasise that these narratives are not representative of all the people in that country, just like the students’ lives will be different from those of their peers and those of others around their country or region.

0-10m

10-30

2r1

2r32r2


2leSSon 2Page 3 oF 4

54

» Activity 3: The Challenge of Trade

ask students to get into groups of four (any extra students should pair up with someone in a group).

give each group a set of ‘the Challenge of trade briefing sheets’ (2r4). ask each student to take one of the sheets without showing their sheet to the other members of the group.

explain that each student in the group represents the Minister for Trade from the country shown on their briefing sheet (2r4) (india, ghana, australia or Bangladesh). they will shortly be having a discussion in their group about trade. as part of the discussion, each member of the group will put forward the idea described on their sheet.

they should do their best to explain their idea and persuade the other group members to support it. on each sheet there are also notes about the ideas they will not be keen to support.

give students around 5 minutes of quiet time to read their sheet and ask any questions, and then 10-15 minutes for their discussion (more if you have time).

By the end of the discussion, the aim is to have reached an agreement within the group on which idea they will go for.

explain that this is the way decisions are made at Commonwealth meetings – countries must reach agreement, which is called ‘consensus’.

» at the end of the 10-15 minutes, stop the group discussion (even if students have not come to an agreement), and ask students to get out of role (it may help to ask them to move back to their original seats).

» Activity 4 (plenary): Reaching consensus

ask students to discuss the following questions with a partner, (who ideally should have been in a different group for Activity 3):

1 » Did you reach consensus in your group?

2 » why/why not?

3 » what are the advantages and disadvantages of making decisions like this?

4 » to what extent do you think the diversity of the Commonwealth might make reaching consensus easier or more difficult?

5 » what are the necessary qualities a person needs in order to work well with others? which ones do you have? which do you need to improve on?

» you can also find these questions on the Diverse Commonwealth Powerpoint (2r1).

give students five minutes of discussion time and then ask different pairs to feedback their views on different questions.

if you have time, you could add an extra step before the class feedback, asking each pair to join another pair and share their answers. emphasise that these sheets and ideas do not necessarily represent the views of the governments or people of the countries concerned: it is important not to fall back on stereotypes but to consider all new information with an open mind.

2r4

30-50m

50-60m

2r1




© Royal Commonwealth SoCiety | www.theRCS.oRg/youth



Diverse Commonwealth Powerpoint » Resource 2r1



» The Diverse Commonwealth powerpoint presentation

P.S. Look at this coinfrom my country...Do you know what thecrescent symbolises?

BaddomalhiNarowalPakistan

Dear Cousin,

I wanted to write to you to tell you a bit about my life in Pakistan, and to find out

about your life too.

I live in a village north-east of Lahore, very close to the border with India. My

village is surrounded by green fields and trees. Life here is very different from all the

pollution and noise you have probably heard about in the big cities of Pakistan. My

house is located in the centre of the village, and it is two storeys high. We have three

bedrooms, a kitchen, a TV lounge and two bathrooms. We also have a room that is for

guests. My bedroom is spacious and airy and it’s on the top floor. Where do you live?

What is your bedroom like? How does your village or town compare to other places in

your country? Is there any overcrowding?

My bedroom faces the east, so in the morning the sunlight comes in and wakes me up.

Once I am up, I usually have chapattis, butter and milkwater for breakfast before

school. What do you have for breakfast? My mother is a housewife. She is a fantastic

cook and she makes chapattis and vegetables for lunch, and dal (lentils) and rice for

dinner. We are really lucky to have fresh vegetables. After school, I take our two

buffaloes to the field for grazing and sometimes I ride on the brown one. The milk of the

help your family with? What do you do in your spare time? Does the local government

or anyone else provide activities for young people in your area? My village has a big

playing field, where my friends and I play cricket and football.

There is a railway station in our village that links us to Lahore and Narowal. In

our village there is also a church where Christians go for worship and a mosque where

and respect each other here, but this has not always been the case in Pakistan. What

religions do you have in your country? Do they live peacefully together?

Write to me soon!

Love from, Farhan


Commonwealth Letters » Resource 2r2


A view of my city for you!




Trinidad

Tobago

P.s I’ve drawn you amap of my country!




» World map for students

» World map for students


WORLD MAPS » Resource 2r3


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WORLD MAPS » Resource 2r3

» World map for teacher reference


COMMONWEALTH DEVELOPMENT BANK

the world Bank and the international monetary Fund (imF) are

currently the main organisations that provide loans and grants to

countries around the world to help with their development. however,

they have been strongly criticised by organisations such as greenpeace

and Survival international for giving loans out for projects that harm

the environment or for promoting policies that hinder rather than help

the development of some countries. what is needed is a new

international bank that would be a not-for-profit development

organisation rooted in Commonwealth principles. Bangladesh is an

example of a country that has received a number of international aid

packages and loans over the past decades (including many from the

world Bank) and it has made great progress in its development and

now relies very little on outside assistance. a new Commonwealth

Development Bank would help to promote microfinance schemes,

new industries and infrastructure projects (e.g. transport links) that

would help many Commonwealth countries to develop in a similar way.

Your idea » is that the Commonwealth ministers for trade should set

up a new Commonwealth Development Bank that would give loans

and development grants to countries around the Commonwealth.

this would be rooted in Commonwealth principles and would help to

promote diversity, development and democracy around the

Commonwealth.

Can you convince the other Ministers for Trade to agree to your idea?

Note: you are not keen on the idea of Commonwealth Fairtrade because

you think the current Fairtrade organisations are doing a very good job and it

would be confusing for people around the world to have a different label on

their products.

Note:

BANGLADESH


The Challenge of Trade Briefing Sheets » Resource 2r4

You are the Minister for Trade for Bangladesh.

You are at an international trade meeting and you have

been asked by your Head of Government to try to get

consensus (agreement by all) on the following idea:

information from the greenpeace website (www.greenpeace.org.uk); the Survival international website

(www.survivalinternational.org); and the seminar paper ‘aid effectiveness in Bangladesh’ by m.g. Quibria

(www.economics.illinois.edu/docs/seminars/aid-effectiveness-in-Bangladesh.pdf). 2r4

» Minister for Trade for Bangladesh


COMMONWEALTH MICROFINANCE

the Commonwealth has 640 million people living in poverty and

these people can potentially be helped out of poverty by microfinance,

which is the lending of very small amounts of money (for example, $20

or $100) to people on a very low income (particularly women), to help

them set up a business that could take them out of poverty.

the money is gradually paid back to the lenders with interest once

the business is up and running. the microfinance market within the

Commonwealth is worth over 100 billion uS dollars.

Your idea » is that the Commonwealth ministers for trade should

expand the microfinance schemes which have already been set up in

india by the Commonwealth Business Council to other countries all

around the Commonwealth.

this should be accompanied by legislation (laws) in all Commonwealth

countries to ensure that people taking part in microfinance schemes

are not kept in poverty by very high interest rates.


Note: you are not keen on the idea of a Commonwealth Development

Bank because you currently receive a lot of grants and loans from the world

Bank, which would be likely to see this new bank as a competing institution

and might remove some of its financial support for members of the

Commonwealth, including india, if this idea goes ahead.

Note:

INDIA


The Challenge of Trade Briefing Sheets » Resource 2r4The Challenge of Trade Briefing Sheets » Resource 2r4

» Minister for Trade for India

You are the Minister for Trade for India. You are at

an international trade meeting and you have been

asked by your Head of Government to try to get


information and statistics from ‘Summary note on ‘Commonwealth trade – time for action!’,

which is available on the Commonwealth Secretariat website

www.thecommonwealth.org/files/231053/Filename/worldtradersSeminar300910Summary.pdf;

and from the Commonwealth inclusive growth Services website

www.cigs.in/index.php” http://www.cigs.in/index.php. 2r4


COMMONWEALTH FAIR TRADE

ghana exports cocoa (from which chocolate is made) and other

produce to many countries around the world. the country’s economy

lies heavily on agriculture (farming), which provides over half of the

country’s employment, mostly through small landholders (people who

own and farm small plots of land rather than vast areas). it is very

important to ensure that the idea of Fairtrade is spread around the

Commonwealth, in order to protect ghana’s economy and society

and also those of other countries in a similar position.

Fairtrade is where farmers and other local producers and suppliers

(particularly small-scale growers) are paid better prices for their goods

and must meet standards that show that they have good working

conditions for their employees and work towards sustainability in

relation to protecting the natural environment. over 4 billion uS

dollars of Fairtrade products are sold each year around the world.

Your idea » is that the Commonwealth ministers for trade should set

up a new certification called ‘Commonwealth Fair trade’ which has

the highest standards for employment and sustainability. this would

help to promote the idea of Fairtrade around the Commonwealth and

improve the lives of people everywhere.


Note: you are not keen on the idea of a Commonwealth trade Bloc

because it might interfere with the free trade agreements within the african

union and also with the good trading relationships you have developed with

the netherlands, the united States, China and France.

Note:

GHANA



You are the Minister for Trade for Ghana. You are at

an international trade meeting and you have been



information and statistics from the Fairtrade Foundation website: www.fairtrade.org.uk; and the Fairtrade

labelling organizations international website: www.fairtrade.net/facts_and_figures.html

2r4

» Minister for Trade for Ghana


COMMONWEALTH TRADE BLOC

a trade Bloc is an agreement between countries that they will reduced the

barriers to trade between themselves, for example by having ‘Free trade

agreements’ where they do not charge each other taxes (or customs) to

trade goods between themselves. this means they have an advantage

over other countries that are not in the agreement. Sometimes trade

Blocs extend as far as having borderless travel between the countries (so

people don’t have to get visas to travel between them) and they may even

have a common currency (for example, the euro in the european union).

already, australia has (or is negotiating) Free trade agreements with

countries such as new Zealand, Singapore and malaysia.

if the Commonwealth today were a trade Bloc, it would be equal in size

to the united States; it would have thirteen of the world’s fastest growing

economies; and it could have an economy valued at over 45 trillion uS dollars.

it would make it much easier for smaller countries around the Commonwealth

to grow in wealth much more quickly and it would bring the spotlight

back on the Commonwealth as a vibrant and relevant organisation.

Your idea » is that the Commonwealth ministers for trade should set up

a trade Bloc called the ‘Commonwealth Free trade area’ which will help

Commonwealth countries develop in wealth and reputation. as part of

this trade Bloc there could even be a ‘Commonwealth Currency’ that all

members of the Commonwealth would use.


Note: you are not keen on the idea of Commonwealth Microfinance

because you have heard that microfinance schemes have been charging some

people such high interest rates that they may have led to some recent suicides

in india. also, you are not very keen on the idea of a Commonwealth Development

Bank because australia already has a bank called the ‘Commonwealth Bank

(of australia)’ and the similarity in names would be too confusing.

Note:

AUSTRALIA



You are the Minister for Trade for Australia. You are

at an international trade meeting and you have been



information and Statistics from the Commonwealth Conversation website (article by Brent Cameron)

(www.thecommonwealthconversation.org/2009/09/commonwealth-its-time-to-talk-trade)

and from the economist website (www.economist.com/node/1742020). 2r4

» Minister for Trade for Australia




Note - This lesson could be split into two for students to have more time to prepare and discuss: activities 1 and 2 in the first lesson, and activities 3 and 4 in the second lesson. Lesson aims/key questions

1 » what do we mean by Common wealth?2 » what are some of the causes and effects of global inequalities?3 » what can the Commonwealth and other global institutions do to reduce global

inequalities and promote global justice and development?


Students will be able to:a » identify different positions people might take on the global economy and global

society (‘Common wealth’) around the Commonwealth.b » analyse some of the causes and effects of global inequalities.c » Recall at least three of the un millennium Development goals.d » evaluate some projects the Commonwealth and other global institutions might be

able to implement in reducing global inequalities, including reference to funding constraints.

e » Formulate, express and justify an opinion on global inequalities and/or development.Key processes: Critical thinking; empathising with others; discussion and debate; arguing a viewpoint other than your own; communicating ideas; listening to others; critically assessing your own view and others’ viewpoints; working with others to solve problems; an interest in global issues and current affairs.


global inequalities | Commonwealth | Development | un millennium Development goals | global institutions


activity 1 (starter): ‘Ideas of Common Wealth?’ Puzzle (Diagram to cut up and put back together)

a »

activity 2: Global Inequalities: Causes and Effects (match-up task) b »

activity 3: Millennium Development Goals Funding Board (Presentations in groups)

c »

d »

activity 4 (plenary): Values Continuum (Justifying opinions on a values scale) e »


» activity 2 could be assessed by marking the completed cause and effect sheets (3r2). this might be a good opportunity for peer assessment (students marking each others’ work).

» activity 3 could be a group assessment, graded when each group presents to the ‘funding board’.

Differentiation » activity 1: the ‘ideas of Common wealth?’ diagram (3r1) has two forms: Puzzle X is more accessible as it focuses on the general principles, and Puzzle y is more challenging as it identifies ideological descriptors such as ‘authoritarian’ and ‘libertarian’. Questions in the activity are ordered from the more accessible to the more challenging.

» activity 2: Sheet X contains more accessible ideas and Sheet y contains more challenging ideas (3r2).

» activity 3: Students can support and challenge each other in their groups.» activity 4: thorough questioning (level and challenge of questions pitched to needs

of individual students). Statements increase in their complexity from 1 to 10.

» Ideas of Common Wealth? Global Inequalities and Development

3 leSSon 3Page 1 oF 4


» Activity 1 (starter): Ideas of Common Wealth? Puzzle

Cut up the top half of the puzzle sheets (3r1) into irregular pieces and give one puzzle out to each group of 3-4 students. ask students to reassemble the puzzle (which shows an economic/political spectrum illustrating the different ideologies and ideas of ‘Common wealth’). Puzzle X is more accessible and Puzzle y is more challenging in the ideas presented. once students have assembled the diagram ask them to consider the following questions (or simply questions 1, 2 and 7 if you have less time), which are also listed on the bottom half of the sheets (3r1):

1 » Does the diagram contain any ideas you have not come across before? Ring the words you are not sure about. if you can, try to work out what they mean using your group’s powers of logic and links to other ideas on the diagram.

2 » looking at the ideas in the speech bubbles, which ones do you most agree with? why?

3 » looking at the statements in bold and italic to the left and right of the diagram (Money should be distributed according to need; Money should be distributed according to who has earned it), do you think you agree more with one or the other? mark on the diagram where you might position yourselves between these two ideas.

4 » looking at the statements in bold and italic at the top and bottom of the diagram (There should be minimal government interference in people’s lives; Governments should look after the most vulnerable members of society), do you think you agree more with one or the other or both? mark on the diagram where you might position yourselves between these two ideas.

5 » are your combined answers to questions 3 and 4 in the same boxes as your positions in question 2? Discuss why / why not. are these ideas easy to understand and explain?

6 » what do you understand by the term ‘Common wealth’?

7 » what impact might international institutions such as the united nations and Commonwealth have on the ideas presented in this diagram? 3r1

0-15m



you could ask students to:» Research and discuss the ideas behind some of the more challenging terms on the

‘ideas of Common wealth?’ diagram (3r1) such as ‘authoritarian’, ‘libertarian’, ‘communitarian’, ‘regulation’, ‘competition’ and ‘unethical’, and the concepts of left and right wing.

» write a resource for primary school children explaining the causes and effects of global inequalities and outlining some possible solutions.

» write a letter to the government asking for more to be done about meeting the millennium Development goals and/or suggesting other ways of reducing global inequalities.

» write a one-minute speech justifying their opinion on one of the statements listed on the values continuum statement sheet (3r6).

Resources needed » activity 1 (starter): ‘Ideas of Common Wealth?’ Puzzle (one per group of three-four students) (cut into irregular pieces for students to reassemble) (3r1).

» activity 2: Global Inequality Cause and Effect Sheets (one sheet each or one per pair of either Sheet X or Sheet y - or both if you have more time) (3r2).

» activity 3: Millennium Development Goal Cards (one set per group of five-eight students) (need to cut out the cards or give students scissors to cut them out if time) (3r3); Funding Board guidelines (3r4); large sheets of paper and thick pens, or space to write on the board; Bundles of fake money (marked $100 million in total) if possible (3r5); stopwatch.

» activity 4: Values continuum statement sheet (3r6), long piece of string and agree/disagree signs if possible, but not essential.

1r2


» Diversity and the Commonwealth continued...





1r4

» Activity 1 (starter): Ideas of Common Wealth? Puzzle continued...

if you don’t have much time, you could simply present students with the sheets (3r1) without cutting them into puzzles.

if you have more time you could ask students to consider some facts and figures about inequalities around the Commonwealth, for example:

» the top 1% of the world’s adult population owns 40% of the world’s wealth.

» the top 2% of the world’s adult population owns over 50% of the world’s wealth.

» the top 10% of the world’s adult population owns 85% of the world’s wealth.

» the bottom 50% of the world’s adult population owns around 1% of the world’s assets.

world institute for Development economics Research (wiDeR), www.wider.unu.edu 2006, based on data from 2000.

•Canadahasanaveragewealth(GDP(GrossDomesticProduct)perperson)ofaround$40,000.

•Indiahasanaveragewealth(GDP(GrossDomesticProduct)perperson)ofaround$3,000. international monetary Fund, www.imf.org world economic outlook, 2010.

•IntheSeychelles,theshareofthecountry’sincomeheldbytherichest10%ofpeopleis60%.Theshareof the country’s income held by the poorest 10% of people is 1.6% world Bank, http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SI.DST.10TH.10, 2007

•IntheUK,the50%leastwealthyhouseholdsaccountforonly9%ofwealth,whiletherichest20%own62% of wealth. uK office of national Statistics report, reported in guardian article, www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/dec/10/ons-report-uk-wealth, 2009

» Activity 2: Global Inequalities: Causes and Effects

give out Sheets X and/or y (3r2) to students, either individually or in pairs (these sheets contain ideas about the causes and effects of global inequalities that students have to match up. Sheet X contains more accessible ideas and Sheet y contains more challenging ideas).

give students six to eight minutes to match up the chains of cause and effect so they can explain some of the main causes and effects of global inequality. if you have time you could go through the answers as a class (perhaps using peer assessment) and discuss students’ responses to the ideas and questions presented on the sheets.

» ask them to consider the impacts international institutions such as the united nations and Commonwealth might have on the causes and effects of global inequalities.

15-25

3r1

3r2



» Activity 3: The Millennium Development Goals Funding Board.

ask for three student volunteers. these are members of the millennium Development goals Funding Board. give these students the Funding Board guidelines (3r4) to look through – they have a number of important elements to consider before making their decision. Divide the other students into groups of five-eight and hand out the millennium Development goal Cards (3r3), cut up in advance if possible. each group has to choose three un millennium Development goals (mDgs) and formulate a funding proposal that includes the following aspects:» the three Millennium Development Goals (mDgs) they have chosen.» how their three chosen mDgs are linked together and how they might help to reduce global inequalities.» a programme or project they would start up that would contribute to at least two out of their three

chosen goals if they were given the funding.» How many people their programme might reach across the Commonwealth (which has around two billion

people in it), how much it might cost per person, and the approximate total cost of their project or programme.once they have decided on their goals and programme / project idea, it might be useful for students to divide their group into subgroups to prepare and present the four different elements listed above. give students ten minutes or so to formulate their proposal (or read through Funding Board guidelines if they are the three volunteers). let students know that the Funding Board have very limited time so each group’s presentation can be a maximum of one minute 30 seconds which will be strictly timed – but that they have large sheets of paper and thick pens (or a board) on which to display their proposal which will save them time during the presentations. Set up the room as if the Funding Board are in a formal meeting so that each group can present to the Board in turn.

with all the students watching and the Funding Board seated in their places, ask each group in turn to present their proposal for one minute thirty seconds. Keep time using a stopwatch (or get one of the students from another group to do so) and cut each group off quite strictly if they attempt to run over.

give the Funding Board one or two minutes to decide which projects to fund and how to distribute their $100 million (3r5) and ask them to justify their choice. » if there is time, discuss with students the extent to which these kinds of programmes might help efforts to reduce global inequalities – and the extent to which the money is actually available for such programmes (considering that unaiDS calculates that there is a current 10 billion uS dollar shortfall in funding for aiDS prevention and treatment on top of the 15 billion or so uS dollars currently being spent on this: http://unaidstoday.org. » you might want to share with students the percentage of gDP (or actual amounts) the country they live in currently contributes towards, or receives for, global development as compared to other neighbouring countries. (Donor figures can be found on the un Statistics Division website: net oDa as percentage of oeCD/DaC donors’ gni - http://unstats.un.org/unsd/mdg/SeriesDetail.aspx?srid=568 - and recipient figures can be found on world Bank Data website: net oDa received (% of gni) - http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/DT.ODA.ODAT.GN.ZS). Are they surprised at this figure? » you could also share with students the annual global military expenditure (around 1500 billion uS dollars per year according to the Stockholm international Peace Research institute: http://www.sipri.org/) as compared to the annual amounts spent on global development by the oeCD Development assistance Committee (around 120 billion uS dollars per year according to the oeCD website: http://www.oecd.org) How could we convince governments and businesses to spend less on weapons and more on development?

» Activity 4 (plenary): Reaching consensus

Draw an imaginary line or stretch out a long piece of string across the classroom. tell students that this is a Values Continuum and that one side means ‘agree’ and one means ‘disagree’. Read out a statement from the Values continuum statement sheet (3r6) and ask students to stand in a position on the line in accordance with how much they agree or disagree with the statement. then pick a couple of students (perhaps names out of a hat) to justify why they chose that position on the values continuum. if they give a particularly convincing justification, ask all students whether any of them wish to change their positions accordingly.

Read out as many of the statements as you have time for and get different students to justify their opinions for each statement. talk to students about the flexibility of their opinions – even if they form an opinion today, with more information, dialogue and changing circumstances it is fine to change opinion and this is an important part of diversity, development and democracy. » if you are short of time, you could give out copies of the Values Continuum tick sheets for

students to complete themselves


3r6

3r4 3r53r3





25-50m

50-60m


Ideas of Common Wealth Puzzle X » Resource 3r1


» Ideas of commonwealth



3 » looking at the statements in bold and italic to the left and right of the diagram (money should be distributed according to need; money should be distributed according to who has earned it), do you think you agree more with one or the other? mark on the diagram where you might position yourselves between these two ideas.

4 » looking at the statements in bold and italic at the top and bottom of the diagram (there should be minimal government interference in people’s lives; governments should look after the most vulnerable members of society), do you think you agree more with one or the other or both? mark on the diagram where you might position yourselves between these two ideas.



7 » what impact might international institutions such as the united nations and Commonwealth have on the ideas presented in this diagram?

8 » what is the role of Civil Society (for example charities, faith groups and non-governmental organisations) in speaking up on behalf of people in the Commonwealth?

Fair trade betweencountries should be

promoted as thishelps to stop businesses

from making an unfairprofit through unethical

practices.

Free trade is best foreveryone! If businesses

can develop withoutinterference, in a

competitive market,they will be much moreefficient and innovative

and the whole ofsociety will benefit.

Governments shouldprotect the most

vulnerable peoplefrom being harmed insociety but generally

global trade and competition is the best way to give everyone a

better life.

Business and tradeshould be strictly

regulated (controlled)so that profit is not putbefore people’s needs.

Countries should befully supported in theirdevelopment, including

through appropriateforms of aid.

Money should bedistributed according to

who has earned it.

Governments should look after the most

vulnerable members of society.

Money should be distributed according

to need.

There should be minimal

government interference

in people’s lives.


Ideas of Common Wealth Puzzle Y » Resource 3r1


» Ideas of commonwealth



3 » looking at the statements in bold and italic to the left and right of the diagram (money should be distributed according to need; money should be distributed according to who has earned it), do you think you agree more with one or the other? mark on the diagram where you might position yourselves between these two ideas.

4 » looking at the statements in bold and italic at the top and bottom of the diagram (there should be minimal government interference in people’s lives; governments should look after the most vulnerable members of society), do you think you agree more with one or the other or both? mark on the diagram where you might position yourselves between these two ideas.



7 » what impact might international institutions such as the united nations and Commonwealth have on the ideas presented in this diagram?

8 » what is the role of Civil Society (for example charities, faith groups and non-governmental organisations) in speaking up on behalf of people in the Commonwealth?

Fair trade betweencountries should be

promoted as thishelps to stop businesses

from making an unfairprofit through unethical

practices.

Free trade is best foreveryone! If businesses

can develop withoutinterference, in a competitive

market, they will be much more efficient and innovative and the whole

of society will benefit.

Governments shouldprotect the most

vulnerable peoplefrom being harmed insociety but generally

global trade and competition is the best way to give everyone a

better life.

Business and tradeshould be strictly

regulated (controlled)so that profit is not putbefore people’s needs.

Countries should befully supported in theirdevelopment, including

through appropriateforms of aid.

Money should bedistributed according to who has earned it.

Governments should lookafter the most vulnerable

members of society.

Money should be distributed according

to need.

There should be minimalgovernment interference

in people’s lives.

Social Right

Social Right

EconomicLeft

EconomicRight

Individual/Anarchist

Collectivist/Authoritarian

Socialist/Communitarian

Libertarian/Individualist


» Sheet X

Eff

ect

thes

e g

roup

s o

f peo

ple

may

ha

ve le

ss c

hanc

e o

f get

ting

jo

bs

and

loo

king

aft

er t

heir

fam

ilies

tha

n o

ther

peo

ple

in

the

coun

try.

with

out

an

educ

atio

n, it

is

diffi

cult

for

them

to

get

mo

re

hig

hly

pai

d jo

bs

and

the

y m

ay n

ot

be

able

to

sup

po

rt

thei

r fa

mili

es if

the

y b

eco

me

ill.

the

peo

ple

suf

ferin

g fr

om

th

ese

dis

ease

s b

eco

me

iso

late

d a

nd m

ight

lose

the

ir jo

bs

or

not

be

able

to

acc

ess

trea

tmen

ts.

with

out

a p

rop

er

infra

stru

ctur

e, fo

od a

nd

supp

lies

cann

ot

be

tran

spo

rted

to

peo

ple

who

ne

ed t

hem

aro

und

the

co

untr

y.

if th

e g

ove

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ent i

s un

stab

le

it m

ay b

e u

nab

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o c

ont

rol

crim

e an

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ass

law

s to

hel

p

pro

tect

peo

ple

fro

m h

arm

.

gov

ernm

ents

of t

hese

cou

ntrie

s m

ust

spen

d m

ore

mo

ney

on

floo

d d

efen

ces

and

re

loca

ting

dis

pla

ced

citi

zens

.

Cau

se

Chi

ldre

n m

ight

no

t ha

ve

acce

ss t

o s

cho

ols

or

they

m

ight

hav

e to

wo

rk in

stea

d

to s

upp

ort

the

ir fa

mili

es.

Peo

ple

may

be

frig

hten

ed

abo

ut d

isea

ses

such

as

hiV

/a

iDS.

the

y ar

e sc

ared

to

ta

lk a

bo

ut t

hese

dis

ease

s an

d a

stig

ma

deve

lops

aro

und

su

ffere

rs.

isla

nds

and

low

-lyin

g

coun

trie

s m

ay fa

ce p

rob

lem

s fr

om

ris

ing

sea

leve

ls a

nd

oth

er e

ffect

s o

f clim

ate

chan

ge.

the

gove

rnm

ent m

ay

disc

rimin

ate

agai

nst c

erta

in

gro

ups

of p

eop

le (e

.g. o

n g

roun

ds

of g

end

er, s

exua

lity,

sk

in c

olo

ur o

r re

ligio

n)

may

no

t ha

ve m

one

y to

sp

end

on

infr

astr

uctu

re (e

.g.

road

s an

d p

ublic

tra

nsp

ort

).

Co

nflic

ts b

etw

een

coun

trie

s an

d c

ivil

war

s w

ithin

co

untr

ies

may

cau

se

go

vern

men

ts t

o b

eco

me

unst

able

.

Eff

ect

if p

eop

le b

eco

me

ill w

ho

have

no

t b

een

educ

ated

, th

ey m

ay n

ot

kno

w h

ow

to

ac

cess

med

ical

car

e to

hel

p

them

selv

es g

et b

ette

r.

with

out

tre

atm

ents

, the

se

peo

ple

may

pas

s th

e d

isea

ses

on

to t

heir

child

ren.

th

ey m

ay a

lso

die

mo

re

qui

ckly

and

the

ir ch

ildre

n m

ight

bec

ome

orph

aned

.

man

y pe

ople

hav

e to

leav

e th

eir h

om

es (b

eco

min

g

dis

pla

ced

per

sons

or

refu

gee

s) d

urin

g c

onfli

ct a

nd

may

lose

thei

r mon

ey,

po

sses

sio

ns a

nd li

velih

oo

ds.

they

may

feel

frus

trat

ed

and

dev

elo

p h

atre

d a

gai

nst

thes

e o

ther

peo

ple

; co

nflic

ts

bet

wee

n g

roup

s o

f peo

ple

m

ight

resu

lt.

the

gen

eral

livi

ng s

tand

ard

s o

f all

citiz

ens

in t

hese

isla

nd

stat

es a

nd lo

w-ly

ing

co

untr

ies

go

es d

ow

n.

Foo

d p

rices

mig

ht g

o u

p in

ar

eas

whi

ch a

re n

ot

easy

to

g

et t

o, w

hich

mea

ns p

eop

le

who

can

not

affo

rd t

he h

igh

pric

es m

ight

go

hun

gry

.

Eff

ect

glo

bal

ineq

ualit

y Draw arrows between the appropriate causes and effects of global inequality in chains leading from the left to the right of the page. The first is done for you.

1» D

o so

me

of th

e ef

fect

s fe

ed b

ack

into

th

e ca

uses

, cre

atin

g a

‘v

icio

us c

ircl

e’?

M

ark

dow

n w

here

yo

u th

ink

this

cou

ld

hap

pen

.

2» W

hat e

ffect

s m

ight

glob

al in

stitu

tions

suc

h as

the

Uni

ted

Nat

ions

an

d C

omm

onw

ealth

ha

ve o

n th

ese

caus

es

and

effe

cts

of g

lob

al

ineq

ualit

ies?

3» C

an y

ou s

umm

aris

eso

me

of th

e m

ain

caus

es a

nd e

ffect

s of

g

lob

al in

equa

lity

in

arou

nd 1

00 w

ord

s?

Global Inequality Cause and Effect Sheets » Resource 3r2



Eff

ect

if p

eop

le b

eco

me

ill w

ho

have

no

t b

een

educ

ated

, th

ey m

ay n

ot

kno

w h

ow

to

ac

cess

med

ical

car

e to

hel

p

them

selv

es g

et b

ette

r.

with

out

tre

atm

ents

, the

se

peo

ple

may

pas

s th

e d

isea

ses

on

to t

heir

child

ren.

th

ey m

ay a

lso

die

mo

re

qui

ckly

and

the

ir ch

ildre

n m

ight

bec

ome

orph

aned

.

man

y pe

ople

hav

e to

leav

e th

eir h

om

es (b

eco

min

g

dis

pla

ced

per

sons

or

refu

gee

s) d

urin

g c

onfli

ct a

nd

may

lose

thei

r mon

ey,

po

sses

sio

ns a

nd li

velih

oo

ds.

they

may

feel

frus

trat

ed

and

dev

elo

p h

atre

d a

gai

nst

thes

e o

ther

peo

ple

; co

nflic

ts

bet

wee

n g

roup

s o

f peo

ple

m

ight

resu

lt.

the

gen

eral

livi

ng s

tand

ard

s o

f all

citiz

ens

in t

hese

isla

nd

stat

es a

nd lo

w-ly

ing

co

untr

ies

go

es d

ow

n.

Foo

d p

rices

mig

ht g

o u

p in

ar

eas

whi

ch a

re n

ot

easy

to

g

et t

o, w

hich

mea

ns p

eop

le

who

can

not

affo

rd t

he h

igh

pric

es m

ight

go

hun

gry

.

1» D

o so

me

of th

e ef

fect

s fe

ed b

ack

into

th

e ca

uses

, cre

atin

g a

‘v

icio

us c

ircl

e’?

M

ark

dow

n w

here

yo

u th

ink

this

cou

ld

hap

pen

.

2» W

hat e

ffect

s m

ight

glob

al in

stitu

tions

suc

h as

the

Uni

ted

Nat

ions

an

d C

omm

onw

ealth

ha

ve o

n th

ese

caus

es

and

effe

cts

of g

lob

al

ineq

ualit

ies?

3» C

an y

ou s

umm

aris

eso

me

of th

e m

ain

caus

es a

nd e

ffect

s of

g

lob

al in

equa

lity

in

arou

nd 1

00 w

ord

s?

Eff

ect

Pollu

tion

fro

m in

dus

try

and

m

igra

tion

to c

ities

.

Few

er n

atur

al re

sour

ces

mea

ns t

he p

rices

go

up

.

go

vern

men

ts in

the

se

coun

trie

s m

ight

find

it

diffi

cult

to c

hang

e p

eop

le’s

min

dse

ts a

nd c

ont

rol

dis

crim

inat

ion,

crim

e an

d

vio

lenc

e.

Farm

ers

have

to

gro

w fo

od

an

d o

ther

pro

duc

ts fo

r th

e co

nsum

ers

rath

er t

han

to

feed

the

loca

l co

mm

unity

.

Co

rrup

tion

spre

ads

do

wn

fro

m le

ader

s to

oth

er

po

litic

al re

pre

sent

ativ

es

and

law

mak

ers,

jud

ges

, m

agis

trat

es a

nd t

he p

olic

e fo

rce.

Co

untr

ies

cann

ot

affo

rd t

o

pay

bac

k th

e lo

ans

for

man

y ye

ars

and

just

pay

the

low

est

inte

rest

pay

men

ts p

oss

ible

.

Cau

se

his

toric

ally

, peo

ple

in a

nu

mb

er o

f co

untr

ies

have

b

een

do

min

ated

, ens

lave

d

and

crim

inal

ised

by

colo

nial

p

olic

ies

that

are

har

d t

o

esca

pe

fro

m o

nce

the

coun

trie

s g

ain

ind

epen

den

ce.

go

vern

men

ts m

ay p

ut a

lot

of m

one

y in

to fa

st

ind

ustr

ialis

atio

n.

inte

rnat

iona

l ban

ks a

nd

org

anis

atio

ns m

ay g

ive

hug

e lo

ans

to g

ove

rnm

ents

at

a hi

gh

rate

of i

nter

est.

Co

mp

anie

s tr

ying

to

mak

e a

pro

fit m

ay a

void

go

vern

men

t re

gul

atio

ns a

nd e

xplo

it th

e co

untr

y’s

natu

ral r

eso

urce

s (e

.g. f

oo

d, o

il, g

emst

one

s).

Big

co

mp

anie

s m

ight

buy

up

land

fro

m lo

cal f

arm

ers

to

gro

w a

gric

ultu

ral p

rod

uce

for

cons

umer

s in

ric

her

area

s (e

.g. f

oo

d a

nd t

ob

acco

).

Pow

erfu

l lea

der

s m

ay w

ish

to

gai

n m

ore

and

mo

re p

ow

er.

this

mig

ht m

ake

them

follo

w

corr

upt

pra

ctic

es a

nd a

lso

sa

bota

ge d

emoc

ratic

ele

ctio

ns.

Eff

ect

hea

lth p

rob

lem

s an

d

ove

rcro

wd

ing

in c

ities

; en

viro

nmen

tal d

egra

dat

ion.

Vio

lenc

e, c

onfl

ict

and

in

secu

rity;

hug

e cu

ltura

l, so

cial

and

eco

nom

ic

diff

eren

ces

bet

wee

n co

untr

ies

that

use

d t

o r

un e

mp

ires

and

th

ose

who

wer

e co

loni

sed

.

Con

sum

ers

in ri

cher

are

as

dem

and

mor

e an

d m

ore

prod

uce

and

pric

es g

o up

. C

ompa

nies

mak

e a

big

profi

t bu

t do

not a

lway

s pa

ss th

is o

n to

loca

l far

mer

s.

Poo

rer

peo

ple

in t

he c

oun

try

cann

ot

affo

rd t

he m

ore

ex

pen

sive

nat

ural

reso

urce

s an

d th

ey a

re b

oug

ht b

y ric

her

peo

ple

acr

oss

the

wo

rld.

Co

untr

ies

can

spira

l int

o

deb

t, re

sulti

ng in

less

mo

ney

bein

g sp

ent o

n he

lpin

g ci

tizen

s,

and

eve

n b

ankr

uptc

y.

whe

re o

ffici

als

and

bus

ines

ses

are

corr

upt

and

ste

alin

g

mo

ney

fro

m t

he g

over

nmen

t an

d p

eop

le, t

he w

hole

of t

he

coun

try

bec

om

es p

oo

rer

and

cr

ime

incr

ease

s.

Eff

ect

glo

bal

ineq

ualit

y

Draw arrows between the appropriate causes and effects of global inequality in chains leading from the left to the right of the page. The first is done for you.

1» D

o so

me

of th

e ef

fect

s fe

ed b

ack

into

th

e ca

uses

, cre

atin

g a

‘v

icio

us c

ircl

e’?

M

ark

dow

n w

here

yo

u th

ink

this

cou

ld

hap

pen

.

2» W

hat e

ffect

s m

ight

glob

al in

stitu

tions

suc

h as

the

Uni

ted

Nat

ions

an

d C

omm

onw

ealth

ha

ve o

n th

ese

caus

es

and

effe

cts

of g

lob

al

ineq

ualit

ies?

3» C

an y

ou s

umm

aris

eso

me

of th

e m

ain

caus

es a

nd e

ffect

s of

g

lob

al in

equa

lity

in

arou

nd 1

00 w

ord

s?




» Sheet Y



1» Do some of the effects feed back into the causes, creating a ‘vicious circle’? Mark down where you think this could happen.

2» What effects mightglobal institutions such as the United Nations and Commonwealth have on these causes and effects of global inequalities?

3» Can you summarisesome of the main causes and effects of global inequality in around 100 words?

» Sheet X ANSWERS

Effectthese groups of people may have less chance of getting jobs and looking after their

families than other people in the country.

without an education, it is difficult for them to get more highly paid jobs and they may not be able to

support their families if they become ill.

the people suffering from these diseases become

isolated and might lose their jobs or not be able to access

treatments.

without a proper infrastructure, food and

supplies cannot be transported to people who

need them around the country.

if the government is unstable it may be unable to control crime and pass laws to help protect people from harm.

governments of these countries must spend more money

on flood defences and relocating displaced citizens.

Cause Children might not have access to schools or they

might have to work instead to support their families.

People may be frightened about diseases such as hiV/

aiDS. they are scared to talk about these diseases

and a stigma develops around sufferers.

islands and low-lying countries may face problems

from rising sea levels and other effects of climate

change.

the government may discriminate against certain groups of people (e.g. on

grounds of gender, sexuality, skin colour or religion)

governments may not have money to spend on

infrastructure (e.g. roads and public transport).

Conflicts between countries and civil wars within countries may cause

governments to become unstable.

Effect if people become ill who have not been educated,

they may not know how to access medical care to help

themselves get better.

without treatments, these people may pass the

diseases on to their children. they may also die more quickly and their children might become orphaned.

many people have to leave their homes (becoming displaced persons or

refugees) during conflict and may lose their money,

possessions and livelihoods.

they may feel frustrated and develop hatred against these other people; conflicts between groups of people

might result.

the general living standards of all citizens in these island

states and low-lying countries goes down.

Food prices might go up in areas which are not easy to get to, which means people who cannot afford the high

prices might go hungry.

Effect global

inequality

1» Do some of the effects feed back into the causes, creating a ‘vicious circle’? Mark down where you think this could happen.

2» What effects mightglobal institutions such as the United Nations and Commonwealth have on these causes and effects of global inequalities?

3» Can you summarisesome of the main causes and effects of global inequality in around 100 words?

» Sheet Y ANSWERS

EffectPollution from industry and

migration to cities.

Fewer natural resources means the prices go up.

governments in these countries might find it

difficult to change people’s mindsets and control

discrimination, crime and violence.

Farmers have to grow food and other products for the consumers rather than to feed the local community.

Corruption spreads down from leaders to other

political representatives and lawmakers, judges,

magistrates and the police force.

Countries cannot afford to pay back the loans for many years and just pay the lowest interest payments possible.

Cause historically, people in a

number of countries have been dominated, enslaved and criminalised by colonial

policies that are hard to escape from once the

countries gain independence.

governments may put a lot of money into fast industrialisation.

international banks and organisations may give huge

loans to governments at a high rate of interest.

Companies trying to make a profit may avoid government regulations and exploit the country’s natural resources (e.g. food, oil, gemstones).

Big companies might buy up land from local farmers to

grow agricultural produce for consumers in richer areas

(e.g. food and tobacco).

Powerful leaders may wish to gain more and more power.

this might make them follow corrupt practices and also

sabotage democratic elections.

Effect health problems and

overcrowding in cities; environmental degradation.

Violence, conflict and insecurity; huge cultural,

social and economic differences between countries that used to run empires and those who were colonised.

Consumers in richer areas demand more and more

produce and prices go up. Companies make a big profit but do not always pass this on

to local farmers.

Poorer people in the country cannot afford the more

expensive natural resources and they are bought by richer

people across the world.

Countries can spiral into debt, resulting in less money being spent on helping citizens,

and even bankruptcy.

where officials and businesses are corrupt and stealing

money from the government and people, the whole of the country becomes poorer and

crime increases.

Effect global

inequality



Goal » 1 Eradicate extreme poverty and

hunger By improving poor people’s incomes;

raising employment for all; and reducing hunger.

Goal » 2 Achieve universal primary

education By making sure all girls and boys are able

to complete a full course of primary schooling.

Goal » 3Promote gender equality and

empower women By reducing the differences between the access of men and women to education, employment and roles of political power.

Goal » 4 Reduce child mortality rate

By reducing the under-five mortality rate (how many children die before the age

of five).

Goal » 5 Improve maternal health

By reducing the maternal mortality ratio (how many women die during childbirth);

and improving access to reproductive health (e.g. contraceptives, family

planning and medical care).

Goal » 6 Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and

other diseases By reversing the spread of hiV/aiDS;

improving access to hiV/aiDS treatments and drugs; and reversing the spread of

malaria and other major diseases.

Goal » 7 Ensure environmental sustainability By putting sustainability into government policies; reducing the loss of biodiversity

(plants and animals); improving access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation; and

improving the lives of slum-dwellers.

Goal » 8 Develop a global partnership for

development By developing good systems for global

trading, and poverty and debt reduction; addressing the special needs of the poorest countries and small island states; working with private companies to improve access to affordable and essential medicines and new

technologies such as mobile telephones, computers and the internet.

1 2

3 4

5 6

7

8

Your Task » Try to get the Millennium Development Goals Funding Board to give you funding for your proposed programme or project. You will have one minute and thirty seconds only to present to the board. Your presentation should include the following aspects:

» The three Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) you have chosen.» How your three chosen MDGs are linked together and how they might help to reduce global inequalities.» A programme or project you would start up that would contribute to at least two out of your three

chosen goals if you were given the funding.» How many people your programme might reach across the Commonwealth (which has around 2 billion

people in it), how much it might cost per person, and the approximate total cost of your project or programme.

Once you have decided on your goals and programme / project idea, it might be useful to divide your group into subgroups to prepare and present the four different elements listed above.

3r3

Millennium Development Goal Cards » Resource 3r3

ReSouRCe 3r3Page 1 oF 1


» Millennium Development Goals Funding Board Guidelines

You are the Millennium Development Goals Funding Board. You have $100 million to allocate by the end of this meeting.Your aim is to help reduce global inequalities by contributing towards programmes or projects that support two or more of the UN Millennium Development Goals.A number of groups will present their proposals to you, which should each consist of the following elements:The three Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) they have chosen.How their three chosen MDGs are linked together and how they might help to reduce global inequalities.A programme or project they would start up that would contribute to at least two out of their three chosen goals if they were given the funding.How many people their programme might reach across the Commonwealth (which has around two billion people in it: 2,000,000,000 people), how much it might cost per person, and the approximate total cost of their project or programme.

The Eight UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are as follows:Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger… By improving poor people’s incomes; raising

employment for all; and reducing hunger.Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education… By making sure all girls and boys are able to

complete a full course of primary schooling.Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower women… By reducing the differences between

the access of men and women to education, employment and roles of political power.Goal 4: Reduce child mortality rate… By reducing the under-five mortality rate (how many

children die before the age of five).Goal 5: Improve maternal health… By reducing the maternal mortality ratio (how many

women die during childbirth); and improving access to reproductive health (e.g. contraceptives, family planning and medical care).

Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases… By reversing the spread of HIV/AIDS; improving access to HIV/AIDS treatments and drugs; and reversing the spread of malaria and other major diseases.

Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability… By putting sustainability into government policies; reducing the loss of biodiversity (plants and animals); improving access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation; and improving the lives of slum-dwellers.

Goal 8: Develop a global partnership for development… By developing good systems for global trading, and poverty and debt reduction; addressing the special needs of the poorest countries and small island states; working with private companies to improve access to affordable and essential medicines and new technologies such as mobile telephones, computers and the internet.

please turn over...

2r43r4

Funding Board Guidelines » Resource 3r4

ReSouRCe 3r4Page 1 oF 2

Before watching the presentations, make sure you consider:- Which of the MDGs do you think will have the most impact on reducing global

inequalities and why?- Which ones will be easier to achieve and why?After watching each presentation, your task is to decide which projects to fund and how much money (out of the $100 million) to give to each project. If they have asked for more money than this you can still give them a smaller amount and ask them to modify (change) their project or programme accordingly.Make sure you give good reasons for your decisions to fund or not to fund the different projects presented to you. Your reasons for giving funding might include:• The project or presentation contains all the information you needed to help you make

your decision.• The project is not too narrow (it will help a good number of people, in a range of countries

around the Commonwealth)• The project is not too wide (it is not trying to help so many people that it would not end up

making a difference)• The project is not too short-term (it will not just help people temporarily and have no

lasting / sustainable impact)• The project is not too long-term (it will start making a difference soon rather than many

years into the future when the global situation might have changed)• The project is not too likely to breed corruption (it does not make small numbers of

people so powerful that they might steal the money or use it only to help themselves)• The project (or a modified version) fits into your limited budget ($100 million) and will

make a big difference in reducing inequalities for people around the Commonwealth.

It might be useful to divide these guidelines among the members of the Funding Board so you are each focusing on a few different elements during the presentations. Try to be constructive in your feedback (for example, give suggestions for how they could improve their proposal next time if they didn’t receive funding). Good luck!


» Millennium Development Goals Funding Board Guidelines


Funding Board Guidelines » Resource 3r4

» Millennium Development Goals Funding Board Guidelines continued...


Funding Board Money » Resource 3r5

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Values Continuum Statement Sheets » Resource 3r6

» Values Continuum Statement Sheet

For each statement decide on how much you AGREE or DISAGREE and situate yourself somewhere along the values continuum.

Be ready to justify your decision!

the millennium Development goals will make a big difference in tackling global inequalities

healthcare should be a bigger priority than the environment.

education should be a bigger priority than healthcare.

military defence is more important than global development.

the Commonwealth could be a useful organisation to help reduce global inequalities.

there is nothing we as individuals can do to resolve global inequalities.

giving aid to governments is an effective way to reduce global inequalities.

the debts of poorer countries should all be cancelled.

there should be minimal government interference in people’s lives.

money should be distributed according to who needs it rather than who has earned it.

AGREEDISAGREE IN-BETWEEN

Values Continuum Statement Sheets » Resource 3r6

» Values Continuum Statement Sheet

For each statement decide on how much you AGREE or DISAGREE and situate yourself somewhere along the values continuum.

Be ready to justify your decision!

the millennium Development goals will make a big difference in tackling global inequalities

healthcare should be a bigger priority than the environment.

education should be a bigger priority than healthcare.

military defence is more important than global development.

the Commonwealth could be a useful organisation to help reduce global inequalities.

there is nothing we as individuals can do to resolve global inequalities.

giving aid to governments is an effective way to reduce global inequalities.

the debts of poorer countries should all be cancelled.

there should be minimal government interference in people’s lives.

money should be distributed according to who needs it rather than who has earned it.

AGREEDISAGREE IN-BETWEEN


1 copy per student




1 » why is education important for development?2 » what are the millennium Development goals relating to education and gender

aiming to achieve? how are countries progressing on these goals?3 » what can we in the Commonwealth do to address inequalities in education and gender?


Students will be able to:a » Define three key terms in relation to education.b » explain why education is important for development.c » outline current progress towards meeting mDgs 2, 3 and 4 (education, gender

and child mortality).d » give an example of an action they can take to help meet the millennium

Development goals.Key processes: Critical thinking; research; discussion and debate; communicating ideas; feeling empowered to make a difference; active involvement in the community (local and global); an interest in global issues and current affairs.


education | gender | development | Commonwealth | empowerment | enrolment | indicator inequality | literacy rate | ratio | universal primary education.


activity 1 (starter): Education Bingo (Defining Key terms) a »

activity 2: Progress on MDGs 2, 3 and 4: Choice of Tasks (Poster-making or film-watching)

b » c »

activity 3: Education Carousel (Paired Discussion) b » d »

activity 4 (plenary): Education for All Postcards (taking action) d »


» activity 1 (starter) can be an informal assessment of students’ prior knowledge of the key terms.

» activity 2 could involve teacher or peer assessment of the posters.» activity 4 (plenary) can involve teacher or peer assessment by marking the postcards

according to a set of defined criteria.

Differentiation » activity 2 contains a choice of tasks. the 15-minute online talk is fairly challenging as it contains some formal and statistical language, but is generally presented in an accessible way, particularly with the moving graphs around half way through. the poster task has four questions which increase in complexity from question 1 which has the most accessible briefing materials (4r2), to question 4 which has the most challenging briefing materials (4r2). Students could either pick a question themselves or you could allocate each group a question.

» activity 3 also contains questions of varied complexity which you can choose from.


you could ask students to:» (If they have made posters in Activity 2) add more detail to their posters through

extended research, perhaps using some extra country case studies from around the Commonwealth. the united nations website is most useful here, including the following pages: www.un.org/millenniumgoals/education.shtml | www.mdgmonitor.org/goal2.cfm www.un.org/millenniumgoals/gender.shtml www.mdgmonitor.org/goal3.cfm

» (If they have watched the talk in Activity 2) write a letter to hans Rosling explaining what they thought of his presentation and describing in detail the actions they think the world should take to resolve the global inequalities he describes.

» Following activity 4, students could research the address they need for their postcard – and post it!

» Development and the Commonwealth: Education



» Activity 1 (starter): Education Bingo

ask students to each draw a grid with six squares. Display the following key words, and ask them to pick six, and write them into their grid, one word per box.

Read out the definitions (listed on resource 4r1) one at a time, at random, without stating the term itself. if students have listed the word you describe in their grid, they should cross it out. the winner is the first person to have crossed out all six words in their grid – they should shout out ‘bingo’! Check the winner knows the definition of each of the words and if they do, they have won the game! (if not, you can carry on until the next person shouts ‘bingo!’.)

» Development; education; empowerment; enrolment; gender; indicator; inequality; literacy rate; Ratio; universal

» MDGs 2 and 3: Choice of Tasks

if you have audio-visual equipment available (e.g. internet connection, computer, projector and audio) available, tell students they have a choice of tasks. if you have a big enough space and/or can physically divide the students without the groups disturbing each other, you could have both tasks going on at the same time. if not, you could get the students to come to a consensus on which activity they would like to do.

Task A » hans Rosling millennium Development goal Progress online talk get students sitting comfortably in front of the film, which can be accessed directly at: www.ted.com/talks/hans_rosling_the_good_news_of_the_decade.html or by typing in: “hans Rosling: the good news of the decade?” into the search box at teD talks: www.ted.com/talks the online talk is around 15 minutes long and it is best to watch it in one sitting if possible, although it can be stopped and started to check students understand specific terms if necessary. ask students to take particular note of hans Rosling’s references to education and gender. in the talk he uses statistics to illustrate how child mortality can be effectively reduced through the education of girls and other social factors. he also challenges the prevailing notions of the ‘developing’ and ‘western’ worlds, showing how different two or three countries within an area of the world such as Sub-Saharan africa can be. when they have watched the talk, get students to note down their initial thoughts, then have a brief discussion about what they found out from the talk. how do they think different countries are progressing on millennium Development goals 2, 3 and 4? is it helpful to categorise countries into regions or levels of development?

Task B » mDg Progress posters Divide the rest of the class into groups. there are four topics to cover, and so there should be at least 4 groups – but you could have more and give more than one group the same topic. Distribute poster paper, pens, and a briefing sheet (from 4r2) to each group (see below for the briefing material needed by each group):

1 » what is mDg 2 and why is it important? (mDg 2 Briefing sheet* (4r2a))

2 » where do we stand in achieving mDg 2? (goal 2 Factsheet* (4r2b))

3 » what is working in achieving mDg 2? (goal 2 Factsheet *(4r2b))

4 » where do we stand and what is working in achieving gender equality in education? (goal 3 Factsheet* (4r2c))

each group has 15 minutes to create a clear, eye-catching poster which answers the question they have been given.

if you have time available students could then present their posters to the class. 4r2

0-10m


Resources needed » activity 1 (starter): Education Bingo Definitions (4r1) (one for teacher)» activity 2: Millennium Development Goal Progress Briefing Sheets (4r2) (one per

group of students – groups of any size), large paper and pens to draw posters, audio-visual equipment (e.g. internet connection, computer, projector and audio).

» activity 3: Bell or whistle, if available.» activity 4: Blank postcards (one per student)

1r2


» Development and the Commonwealth: Education continued...


* with thanks to the un Department of Public information

4r1

10-30m


» Activity 3: Education Carousel

arrange the chairs in the classroom so you have two concentric circles (or as close to this as possible!), with pairs of chairs facing each other. ask students to take a seat, facing a partner. explain that they will shortly hear a question, and have one minute to discuss the question in their pair. in that time, both partners should have made at least one point. when the minute is up they will hear a sound (a bell or whistle) and should stop talking immediately. the students sitting on the outside circle will then move one seat to their right. they will hear another question…. and so the process repeats itself. you should have enough time to ask five or six of the questions for students to discuss. if you have more time, do extend their talking time so their discussions can be a little deeper.

Carousel questions – adapt and add to these for your group as desired:

1 » why is primary education important to individuals?

2 » what are some of the reasons why children might drop out of school once they have started?

3 » what are some of the barriers in preventing girls attending school?

4 » what can be done to encourage more girls to attend school?

5 » are there other groups of people who might be less likely to attend school? (e.g. children with disabilities?)

6 » what can be done to ensure these groups are able to attend school?

7 » why is having universal primary education important for a country?

8 » what can we do, individually or together, to help meet mDg 2?

» Activity 4 (plenary): Education for all postcards

ask students to feedback to the class their ideas on the final question from the carousel (what can we do, individually or together, to help meet mDg 2 (education for all)?). encourage the group to consider who in their country has the power to make decisions about how much support is given to reaching the mDgs.

Can they name any of these decision makers? how could they influence the decisions these individuals take?

throughout this two- or three-minute discussion, try to steer the group to consider the value of giving their viewpoint in writing, to select someone they think it would be useful to write to, and to consider what they would write.

» Distribute a blank postcard to each student. Challenge them to write their message in five minutes. Decide as a class what to do with the postcards: you could put them up in the classroom, but it would be even better if students could actually post them to someone who can take direct action on these issues.

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leSSon 4Page 3 oF 3


Education Bingo Definitions » Resource 4r1

» Education Bingo Definitions

B I NG ODevelopment a process of growing and changing; in the international sense this

generally refers to improving people’s access to health, education, wealth and technologies in countries around the world.

Education a process for acquiring knowledge, skills and other capabilities, usually though a system involving teachers and students.

Empowerment a process of growing in power, ability and confidence.

Enrolment Being registered or entered into a system: for example, being registered at a school or college.

Gender what it means to be male or female in a society or culture.

Indicator a specific measure that provides a clue or sign to a bigger change: for example, one of these for poverty might be how many people are living on less than $1 per day.

Inequality a situation where things are unequal or unjust.

Literacy rate the percentage of people (usually over 15), in a given area or country, who can read and write.

Ratio the relationship between two numbers: for example, there is an average one of these of one woman to every four men in national parliaments around the world.

Universal applying to everyone or everything: for example, achieving this for primary education means making sure everyone gets to go to primary school.


Why is it important?many people argue that education is crucially important in its own right – everyone should be educated just because that will be a good thing!however, there is also a strong connection between education and the other mDgs, so it is called an ‘enabler’: education enables people to change their own lives for the better. education acts as an enabler to achieve many of the other mDgs. education gives people the power to change their lives, the lives of their children and the lives of others in their communities. education therefore contributes towards the development of communities and societies. For example:• Oneextrayearofschoolingincreasesanindividual’searningsbyupto10%.• Educationhelpstoempowerwomen,forexamplegivingthemmorecontroloverhowmanychildrenthey

have. an extra year of female schooling reduces fertility rates (how many children the average woman has) by 10%.

• Educatedindividualsaremorelikelytomakehealthydecisionsforthemselvesandtheirfamilies.Achildborn to a mother who can read is 50% more likely to survive past the age of 5. Children of mothers with secondary education or higher are twice as likely to survive beyond the age of 5. For example, in malawi, 27% of women with no education know that hiV transmission risks (passing hiV from mother to child during pregnancy) can be reduced by mothers taking drugs during pregnancy. For women with a secondary education, the figure rises to 59%.

How can it be measured? international and national statistical experts have selected indicators which can be used to provide clues or signs on the progress being made towards meeting the mDgs.

For mDg 2 there are three indicators: • 2.1Netenrolmentratioinprimaryeducation(thisistheratioofthenumberofchildrenofofficialschool

age who are enrolled in primary school to the total number of children of official school age in the population – i.e. how many children are enrolled in school in relation to the number who should be)

• 2.2Proportionofpupilsstartinggrade1whoreachlastgradeofprimary(thisisthenumberofchildrenwho finish their primary education, generally from around 5 years old to around 11 years old)

• 2.3Literacyrateof15-24year-olds,womenandmen(thisisthepercentageof15-24yearoldwomenandmen who can read and write out of the total number of 15-24 year olds in the population) as described above, mDg 2 is crucial in helping meet many of the other mDgs. it is so important that mDg 3, which aims to promote gender equality and empower women, has one of its three indicators about education as well:

• 3.1Ratiosofgirlstoboysinprimary,secondaryandtertiaryeducation(thisisthenumberofgirlswhoarein school and college compared to the number of boys)

Statistical information from uneSCo education For all global monitoring Report: www.efareport.unesco.orgwith thanks to the un Department of Public information

» Your poster should answer this question: What is MDG 2 and why is it important?

Millennium Development Goal 2: Achieve Universal Primary Education


Millennium Development Goal 2 Briefing Sheet » Resource 4r2a

ReSouRCe 4r2aPage 1 oF 1 4r2a


Millennium Development Goal 2 Briefing Sheet » Resource 4r2aMillennium Development Goal 2 Factsheet » Resource 4r2b

» Your poster should answer this question: Where do we stand in achieving MDG 2?

ReSouRCe 4r2bPage 1 oF 2 4r2B


Millennium Development Goal 2 FACT Sheet » Resource 4r2b

» Continued...

ReSouRCe 4r2bPage 2 oF 2 4r2b


Millennium Development Goal 2 FACT Sheet » Resource 4r2bMillennium Development Goal 3 Factsheet » Resource 4r2c

» Your poster should answer this question: Where do we stand and what is working in achieving gender equality in education?

ReSouRCe 4r2cPage 1 oF 2 4r2c



Millennium Development Goal 3 Briefing Sheet » Resource 4r2c

» Continued...

ReSouRCe 4r2cPage 2 oF 2 4r2c


Millennium Development Goal 3 Briefing Sheet » Resource 4r2c



1 » what is malaria? where and why is malaria a problem?2 » how can malaria be prevented and treated?3 » how are diseases and development related?


Students will be able to:a » Describe three facts about malaria.b » explain two reasons why malaria is a problem around the world.c » Formulate and justify an opinion on the best methods to prevent malaria.d » analyse how diseases and development are related.Key processes: Critical thinking; research; empathising with others; advocacy and representation; discussion and debate; communicating ideas; listening to others; critically assessing your own view and others’ viewpoints; presenting a persuasive case for action; working with others to solve problems.


Commonwealth | development | health | malaria | prevention | insecticide | prophylactic | drugs | vaccine | mosquito nets | education | immunity | vector | parasite |


activity 1 (starter): Five things I know about malaria… a » b »

activity 2: Create an Expert Report for the Commonwealth Health Ministers c » d »

activity 3: Presentations to the Commonwealth Health Ministers c » d »

activity 4 (plenary): Vote and closing session c » d »


» activity 1 (starter) can include informal assessment of individual feedback to class.» activity 3 and activity 4 (plenary) can include student peer-to-peer feedback and

could also include formal assessment of group presentations.

Differentiation » activity 1 (starter) and activity 4 (plenary): level and challenge of questioning during feedback can be pitched to needs of individual students.

» activity 2: the malaria Prevention student briefing sheets (5r2) present differing levels of complexity: Briefings a to C contain more accessible material and Briefings D to F contain more challenging material.


» The Commonwealth, Development and Global Health: The Problem of Malaria





» Research more about malaria (online or in textbooks or newspapers) and investigate the reasons why medicines and treatments may not be readily available in some countries (for example, inequalities in access to healthcare and shortages of healthcare workers; discrimination; funding problems for the distribution of medicines and nets; and the controversial issues around the protection of intellectual property and restrictive patenting of drugs by some pharmaceutical companies). more information can be found at the following websites: world health organisation: www.who.int/topics/malaria/en wellcome trust: http://malaria.wellcome.ac.uk/ united nations: www.un.org/millenniumgoals/aids.shtml malaria no more: www.malariapolicycenter.org/index.php/resources/malaria_facts

» examine millennium Development goal 6 (Combat hiV/aiDS, malaria and other Diseases) and evaluate the likelihood of achieving target 6.c: “have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the incidence of malaria and other major diseases”. you can download the most recent millennium Development goals Progress Report from the united nations website www.un.org/millenniumgoals/reports.shtml, which is also a useful source for monitoring the indicators on each goal.

» Write a written report as a Commonwealth health minister about the meeting in activity 3 to take back to their government, explaining the key messages of the session and recommendations for the government

» Write a newspaper article, from the perspective of a journalist attending the Commonwealth health ministers’ meeting (activity 3), explaining what was discussed and the decisions ministers made.

» write to their own political representative (e.g. their member of Parliament or health minister) asking them to do more to help deal with the problems of malaria around the world.

Resources needed » activity 1 (starter): Teacher Briefing resource links www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs094/en http://malaria.wellcome.ac.uk); malaria introductory Powerpoint (5r1), if needed.» activity 2: Malaria Prevention Student Briefing Sheets (5r2) (based on the above

sources) (one sheet for each group where class divided into six groups)» activity 3: Student Feedback Sheets (5r3) (one each) (if required); Stopwatch / timer

» The Commonwealth, Development and Global Health: The Problem of Malaria continued...

1r2




» Activity 1 (starter): Five things I know about malaria…

working individually or in pairs, challenge students to write down five facts that they know about malaria. they have three minutes!

when time is up, ask students to feed back some of their ideas to the class. encourage students to explain what they say and ask the rest of the class whether they agree. where students give incorrect information, provide the correct information yourself where you can (the teacher Briefing resource links and malaria introductory Powerpoint (5r1) may help with this). if you can, encourage students to think about the causes, symptoms, and impact of malaria.

if students find it difficult to think of facts about malaria, you could go through the malaria introductory Powerpoint (5r1) with them and discuss whether each slide relates to a cause, a symptom, an impact or a potential remedy for malaria.

» Activity 2: Create an Expert Report for the Commonwealth Health Ministers

Split the class into six groups. Distribute the malaria Prevention Student Briefing Sheets (5r2), one to each group. ask students to imagine that they have been selected as malarial experts to speak to the next meeting of the Commonwealth health ministers. this meeting is an opportunity for the ministers from a range of different countries around the Commonwealth to hear about different methods of malarial prevention, and consider which methods their governments should invest in (within their own countries or through aid to other countries). each group will make a three minute presentation, outlining the prevention method they have been given.

they must:

» introduce the prevention method

» explain how/why it works (how does it prevent/reduce illness or deaths)

» outline its benefits and disadvantages (e.g. effectiveness, ease of use, cost)

» give one main reason why combating malaria will contribute to development (e.g. think about how such problematic diseases might affect the workings of the health and education systems of a country)

explain to students that there is information to help them on the briefing sheets (5r2). however, not all the points are useful and relevant – they need to use this briefing sheet as a starting point rather than a complete text to read out.

as they prepare their speeches, encourage students to consider: » the most appropriate form of speech for a meeting of international politicians (for example,

they should use formal language)

» how they can ensure that they are clear and informative

» how they will split the presentation within the group (will they choose a lead spokesperson or take turns presenting part of their speech?)

the above instructions are also outlined on the briefing sheets (5r2). Students have ten minutes to prepare their speeches.

if you have more time and access to the internet, give students time to carry out their own research for their speeches – the world health organisation, wellcome trust and un millennium Development goal 6 websites are a good place to start. they could think about the potential effects of malaria and other diseases on some of the following issues of local and global concern: politics; economics; media; business; community; families; relationships; environment; religion; culture; globalisation; travel; education; law; international relations; science; technologies; communications; infrastructure; architecture; employment; and demographics (population).

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5r2

5r1

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» Activity 3: Presentations to the Commonwealth Health Ministers

you may want to rearrange the furniture to represent a meeting of the Commonwealth health ministers, with a space for presentations at the front of the room and the audience facing this area. as each group presents, the rest of the class will form the audience of health ministers. if you have time, you could assign each student a different country to represent as health minister. you could also give out the student feedback sheets (5r3) if you think you will have time at the end of the lesson for students to feed back to each other about their presentations.

the teacher (or a selected student) will act as chair, and should open the meeting in role – welcoming the health ministers and explaining the aim of the session. each group in turn will then give their presentation. make sure you time the presentations to no more than three minutes, if lesson time is limited!

» Activity 4: Vote and closing session

the chair draws the presentations to a close, thanking the speakers and explaining that:» health ministers will now be asked to vote on the method of prevention they will recommend

their government invests in (within their own country or for other countries in the form of aid)» ministers have one vote, which they can use for any of the 6 methods, or for a 7th category: ‘a

mixed approach’. » whatever they vote for, ministers must be prepared to justify their choice. if they choose a

mixed approach they will need to be able to explain which mix of methods they would invest in and why.

ask students to vote, and then encourage a range of health ministers (students) to feed back their reasons (and distribution, if mixed approach). you could pick names out of a hat to decide who to call on, ask for volunteers, or ask one student per group. if there is time, follow up by asking individual ministers to respond to some closing questions, for example:» why do you think it is important to invest in malarial prevention?» how is malaria (and other diseases) linked to development? » what can we do to help with this global problem?

Finally, if you have time, you could ask students to constructively feed back to each other on the group presentations using the student feedback sheets (5r3) as a prompt.

5r3

10-25m

50-60m



5r3


View p26CommonGround guide




Malaria Introductory Powerpoint » Resource 5r1

» Malaria an introduction powerpoint presentation

Commonwealth Health Ministers


Malaria prevention student Briefing Sheets » Resource 5r2

» A: Mosquito nets

You have been selected as malarial experts to speak to the next meeting of the Commonwealth Health Ministers. This meeting is an opportunity for the Ministers from a range of different countries around the Commonwealth to hear about different methods of malarial prevention, and consider which methods their governments should invest in (within their own countries or through aid to other countries). Your group will make a three minute presentation outlining the prevention method detailed on this briefing sheet: mosquito nets.

YOU MUST:• Introduce the prevention method • Explain how/why it works (how does it prevent/reduce illness or deaths)• Outline its benefits and disadvantages (e.g. effectiveness, ease of use, cost)• Give one main reason why combating malaria will contribute to development (e.g. think about

how such problematic diseases might affect the workings of the health and education systems of a country)

The information below should be used as a starting point but you should not simply read it out: your speech should be well-structured and persuasive.

As you prepare your speech, think about:• The most appropriate form of speech for a meeting of international politicians (for example, you

should use formal language)• How you can ensure that your presentation is clear and informative• How you will split the presentation within the group (will you choose a lead spokesperson or

each have a turn presenting part of the speech?)

Mosquito nets• Only female mosquitoes drink blood, to fuel the production of eggs. Female mosquitoes usually

bite between sunset and sunrise, when people are often sleeping, so a net provides protection.• 60 out of 400 species of Anopheles mosquitoes (the main type of mosquito that carries malaria)

are malarial vectors (they carry the disease between organisms including humans). • Mosquito nets are one way of controlling the vector, by providing a physical barrier that helps prevent exposure to infected mosquito bites. ‘Vector control’ is the only intervention that can reduce malaria transmission from very high levels to close to zero.

• To be truly effective, mosquito nets need to impregnated with insecticides, which reduce the lifespan of the mosquitoes that come into contact with it.

Nets can be relatively expensive and require regular re-treatment.


GROUP A



» B: Insecticide



You have been selected as malarial experts to speak to the next meeting of the Commonwealth Health Ministers. This meeting is an opportunity for the Ministers from a range of different countries around the Commonwealth to hear about different methods of malarial prevention, and consider which methods their governments should invest in (within their own countries or through aid to other countries). Your group will make a three minute presentation outlining the prevention method detailed on this briefing sheet: Insecticide.







Insecticide• Insecticides can be used in a number of ways. For example, they can be used to impregnate

mosquito nets so that they are more effective and they can be sprayed onto the inside of homes. • 60 out of 400 species of Anopheles mosquitoes (the main type of mosquito that carries malaria)

are malarial vectors (they carry the disease between organisms including humans). • Using insecticide is one way of controlling the vector. ‘Vector control’ is the only intervention that

can reduce malaria transmission from very high levels to close to zero. • Mosquitoes are becoming resistant to some types of insecticide which are heavily used. The

development of new, alternative insecticides is an expensive and long-term endeavour.• Only female mosquitoes drink blood, to fuel the production of eggs. Female mosquitoes bite

usually between sunset and sunrise, when people are often sleeping, so spraying nets with insecticide provides good protection.

• Spraying the inside of homes can be effective for 3-6 months, depending on the insecticide used and the type of surface onto which it is sprayed. It is most effective when at least 80% of houses in a targeted area are sprayed.

• Insecticides can be expensive and harmful to people.

GROUP B



» C: Vaccine


You have been selected as malarial experts to speak to the next meeting of the Commonwealth Health Ministers. This meeting is an opportunity for the Ministers from a range of different countries around the Commonwealth to hear about different methods of malarial prevention, and consider which methods their governments should invest in (within their own countries or through aid to other countries). Your group will make a three minute presentation outlining the prevention method detailed on this briefing sheet: Vaccine.







Vaccine• No malaria vaccines are available, although several are under development and testing. • Research into a vaccine is extremely expensive, but if successful the disease could be completely

eradicated (wiped out).• A vaccine improves the body’s immunity to a disease by enabling the immune system to

recognize and destroy the disease-causing micro-organism (in this case, the malaria parasite).• The body’s immune response to malaria is complex and not well understood.• A vaccine needs to work in few doses, be cheap to make and easy to administer.


GROUP C



» D: Education Initiatives


You have been selected as malarial experts to speak to the next meeting of the Commonwealth Health Ministers. This meeting is an opportunity for the Ministers from a range of different countries around the Commonwealth to hear about different methods of malarial prevention, and consider which methods their governments should invest in (within their own countries or through aid to other countries). Your group will make a three minute presentation outlining the prevention method detailed on this briefing sheet: Education Initiatives.







Education Initiatives• People need to be educated about the range of measures they can take to protect themselves

from being bitten by infected mosquitoes. For example: wearing light-coloured clothes which mosquitoes are less attracted to and keeping covered up with long trousers and shirt sleeves. Adding window screens to houses can also make a difference.

• Mosquito nets are only effective if people are taught to use them properly. • Some of the most effective measures to prevent malaria are mosquito nets and insecticide

spraying. Without funding and organised programmes for distributing these, education alone may have limited impact. However, education helps to demonstrate the importance of malaria prevention to the population, and they can then lobby their governments to provide more funding for such resources.

• People can be encouraged through education to make changes to their local environment to control the Anopheles mosquito, which is the main vector for malaria (a vector is an organism that carries a disease between different organisms including humans) and breeds in shallow collections of freshwater such as puddles and ponds.


GROUP D



» E: Prophylactic (prevention) drugs


You have been selected as malarial experts to speak to the next meeting of the Commonwealth Health Ministers. This meeting is an opportunity for the Ministers from a range of different countries around the Commonwealth to hear about different methods of malarial prevention, and consider which methods their governments should invest in (within their own countries or through aid to other countries). Your group will make a three minute presentation outlining the prevention method detailed on this briefing sheet: Prophylactic (prevention) drugs. YOU MUST:• Introduce the prevention method • Explain how/why it works (how does it prevent/reduce illness or deaths)• Outline its benefits and disadvantages (e.g. effectiveness, ease of use, cost)• Give one main reason why combating malaria will contribute to development (e.g. think about how

such problematic diseases might affect the workings of the health and education systems of a country)





Prophylactic (prevention) drugs• Prophylactic drugs suppress the human blood stage of the parasite’s life cycle and so prevent the

individual becoming ill with the disease, even if they get bitten and infected by mosquitoes.• When an infected mosquito bites a human to drink blood, parasites are injected into the

bloodstream. The parasites infect the liver and then red blood cells. The classic symptoms of malaria consist of bouts of fever that coincide with the parasites bursting out of the red blood cells. Infected red blood cells can also clump together, blocking blood flow and damaging internal organs, including the brain.

• Prophylactic drugs are relatively expensive and it would be financially and logistically difficult to distribute such drugs to everyone living in an infected area throughout their lives.

• Prophylactic drugs can be a good solution for travellers to an infected area.• Adults living in areas of moderate or intense transmission of malaria develop natural immunity to

malaria over years of exposure, although this never gives complete protection. As a result, most malaria deaths in Africa occur amongst young children who have not yet built up their own immunity. These children might therefore be the priority cases for the use of prophylactic drugs. However, if they use the drugs, they may be less likely to build up their own natural immunity.

• The parasite develops resistance to antimalarial drugs rapidly. In many parts of the world it has become resistant to chloroquine, the most commonly used and most affordable antimalarial drug.


GROUP E



» F: Treatment of the disease


You have been selected as malarial experts to speak to the next meeting of the Commonwealth Health Ministers. This meeting is an opportunity for the Ministers from a range of different countries around the Commonwealth to hear about different methods of malarial prevention, and consider which methods their governments should invest in (within their own countries or through aid to other countries). Your group will make a three minute presentation outlining the prevention method detailed on this briefing sheet: Treatment of the disease YOU MUST:• Introduce the prevention method • Explain how/why it works (how does it prevent/reduce illness or deaths)• Outline its benefits and disadvantages (e.g. effectiveness, ease of use, cost)• Give one main reason why combating malaria will contribute to development (e.g. think about how

such problematic diseases might affect the workings of the health and education systems of a country)



should use formal language)• How you can ensure that your presentation is clear and informative• How you will split the presentation within the group (will you choose a lead spokesperson or each

have a turn presenting part of the speech?)

Treatment of the disease • Once an individual becomes ill with malaria, they can take drugs (similar to those used for

prevention) to suppress the blood stage of the malarial life cycle. The drugs do not necessarily prevent an infected person from contracting the disease itself (getting ill), but they do help to prevent deaths and serious disabilities resulting from the disease.

• Treatment drugs can also reduce the chances of the parasite being passed on to other people by mosquitoes that bite infected people.

• Early and effective treatment of malaria can shorten the duration of the infection and prevent further complications including the great majority of deaths. If people do not seek medical help early, there is less chance of the drugs being effective.

• When an infected mosquito bites a human to drink blood, parasites are injected into the bloodstream. The parasites infect the liver and then red blood cells. The classic symptoms of malaria consist of bouts of fever that coincide with the parasites bursting out of the red blood cells. Infected red blood cells can also clump together, blocking blood flow and damaging internal organs, including the brain.

• Combination therapy is often used to prolong the useful life of these drugs, which means two or more drugs are taken together to reduce the chances of the parasite building up resistance.

• Some of the drugs used are effective very quickly. However, this means that patients might stop taking them too early, leaving parasites in their blood. This can lead to parasites building up resistance to the treatment.

• The first widely used antimalarial drug treatment, quinine from Peruvian bark, was discovered long before anyone knew what caused malaria.


GROUP F

Feed back to your fellow Health Ministers!


Student Feedback Sheets » Resource 5r3

name:

group:

Presentation

Group

What was good about the

presentation?How could the presentation

have been improved?

a: mosquito nets

B: insecticide

C: Vaccine

D: education initiatives

e: Prophylactic (prevention) drugs

F: treatment of the disease

•Whichmalariapreventionmethoddidyouchoose?

•Why?

•Wasiteasyordifficulttomakeyourdecision–andwhydoy

outhinkthisis?

•Whatisthemostinterestingthin

gyouhavefoundoutaboutmalariaanddevelopment?

» Feed back to your fellow Health Ministers!


Use this sheet to write down your

feedback about each presentation,

and your final decision.




1 » what is climate change?2 » how can the Commonwealth lead the way in reducing carbon emissions?3 » what is it like to take part in a Commonwealth heads of government meeting?


Students will be able to:a » outline some of the causes and consequences of global climate change.b » Describe and justify the position a named country is likely to take on reducing

their carbon emissions.c » evaluate the challenges of reaching consensus amongst Commonwealth heads of

governmenton a controversial global issue.d » identify some actions members of the Commonwealth might take to reduce the

impact of climate change.Key processes: Critical thinking; empathising with others; discussion and debate; arguing a viewpoint other than your own; communicating ideas; listening to others; working with others to solve problems.


Climate change | Chogm (Commonwealth heads of government meeting) | consensus | carbon emissions | industrialised | cyclone | flooding | economic growth | atmosphere | infrared radiation.


activity 1 (starter): Climate Change CHOGM Technical Expert (Reordering information)

a »

activity 2: My Country’s Climate Change Challenge (Speech‐writing in groups) b »

activity 3: The Climate Change CHOGM (Formal Debate) b » c »

activity 4 (plenary): The Role of the Commonwealth in Reducing the Impacts of Climate Change

d »


» activity 1 (starter) can include teacher or peer assessment by swapping worksheets (6r1) or taking them in to mark them, using the answer sheet (6r2).

» activities 2 and 3 can form a group assessment in which students are assessed by the teacher or other students on their teamwork and presentation skills.

» activity 4 (plenary) can include teacher assessment of students’ individual answers to the four questions, if you ask students to write down their answers rather than holding a class discussion.

Differentiation » activity 1 (starter) can include additional support to some students by giving them the first few steps and additional prompts as necessary. Students wishing to be challenged further could be asked to annotate the worksheet (6r1) with additional facts about the processes of climate change from their own prior knowledge or from additional research.

» activity 2 includes a variety of country briefing sheets (6r3) with differing levels of accessibility: for example, those for the uK and Kenya are more accessible and those for Bangladesh and india are more challenging.

» activity 3 could include a few extra roles for students who are unable to participate directly in the debate: for example, they could be Commonwealth artists, Photographers or Journalists and report back in visual or written forms on what the meeting was like. they could also be trained to give constructive peer feedback in order to help students who are involved in the debate to make their points more effectively.


» The Climate Change CHOGM




» Activity 1 (starter): Climate Change CHOGM technical expert

explain to students that they will shortly be attending a Commonwealth heads of government meeting (Chogm), where heads of government (for example, presidents, prime ministers and their representatives) will meet to discuss the issue of climate change. they have been selected as one of a number of technical experts for the Chogm, and may be asked to deliver a five minute speech at the start of the meeting about the causes and consequences of climate change.

give each student the worksheet Climate Change technical expert Briefing Sheet (6r1).

explain that their colleague has sent them some briefing cards to help with their speech, but they have got mixed up along the way. they need to put them in order so they are ready to deliver their speech.

give students five minutes to work individually or in pairs to put the statements on the worksheet in order. avoid feedback to the class at this stage (the speech will form part of the mock-Chogm), but move around the class ensuring students are getting the correct order

» Answers are on the Climate Change Technical Expert Briefing Answer Sheet (6r2) 6r1

0-10m




you could ask students to:» write a letter or newspaper article describing what the Chogm was like and what

was debated and decided.» make a plan in groups to help combat climate change locally, and go ahead and

implement the plan.» Research the next real life Chogm, finding out where and when it will be held and

the key issues that will be discussed (the Commonwealth Secretariat website should hold this information: www.thecommonwealth.org/subhomepage/33247)

Resources needed » activity 1 (starter): Climate Change Technical Expert Briefing Sheet (6r1) (one per student or pair); Climate Change Technical Expert Answer Sheet (6r2) (one for teacher)

» activity 2: Climate Change Challenge Country Briefing Sheet (one for each of the six groups)

» activity 3: national flags of the six countries if possible (uK, Kenya, tuvalu, australia, Bangladesh, india)



1r2



» Activity 2: My country’s Climate Change Challenge

Divide the class into six groups, and distribute one of the Climate Change Challenge Country Briefing Sheets (6r3) to each group. explain that this next activity is also preparation for the Chogm, and this time each group represents a different country.

at the Chogm the heads of government will discuss whether Commonwealth countries should lead the way globally in reducing carbon emissions.

each group will have 2 minutes to present the perspective of their country, and they have 10 minutes to prepare their speech using their briefing sheets. The speech should:

» introduce their country

» explain their perspective on whether Commonwealth countries should lead the way in reducing carbon emissions

» explain why they have this viewpoint

Encourage students to consider:

» the most appropriate form of speech for a meeting of international politicians (for example, they should use formal language and avoid using personal pronouns such as ‘i’ and ‘you’, instead using the name of the country they are representing)

» how they can ensure they are clear and informative

» how they will split the presentation within the group

» Activity 3: The Climate Change CHOGM

you may want to rearrange the furniture to represent a Commonwealth heads of government meeting (Chogm) with a space for presentations at the front of the room and the audience facing this area.

More information about CHOGM procedure is below.

» open the meeting in the role of the current Commonwealth Secretary general (you can find who this currently is at the Commonwealth Secretariat website: www.thecommonwealth.org/subhomepage/191183). you could also make a confident student the Commonwealth Secretary general, whose role is to steer the debate and make sure that everyone gets their say.

» welcome the heads of government to the meeting, and explain that it is a very important forum for discussion about the global challenge of climate change.

» Select a student to take the role of technical expert, and present their climate change briefing (now in the correct order!) from their completed Climate Change technical expert Briefing Sheet (6r1).

» next, ask the group representing tuvalu to start with their presentation. their briefing sheet instructs them to end their presentation with a request to the other heads of government that the Commonwealth countries lead the way on reducing climate change. then invite each of the remaining groups to give their presentations in response.

if you have students who are unable to participate directly in the debate, they could be Commonwealth artists, Photographers or Journalists and report back in visual or written forms on what the meeting was like. they could also be trained to give constructive peer feedback in order to help students who are involved in the debate to make their points more effectively.

10-25m

25-50


6r3

6r1


104

» Activity 4 (Plenary): The Role of the Commonwealth in Reducing the Impacts of Climate Change

in your role as Commonwealth Secretary general, thank heads of government for their contributions (or ask the person taking on the role to do so). if any of the students wish to feed back to the group (or present their work as Commonwealth artist, Journalist etc.), they could do so now if there is time.

to finish, close the meeting and ask the group the following questions:

» Do you think the Commonwealth should be leading the way in reducing carbon emissions?

» is it possible for us as Commonwealth heads of government to reach consensus on this issue?

» if so, what would that consensus be? what would it mean in practical terms for different countries?

» how important is it that Commonwealth countries take action to reduce the impacts of climate change?

you could either ask students to write down their answers to these questions, or hold a brief class discussion on their initial ideas for each one.

50-60m




» Notes on CHOGM Procedures:

• traditionally, what differentiates Chogms from other inter-governmental meetings is their friendly, informal character. heads of government (or their appointed representatives – such as Foreign ministers – if heads are not able to attend) spend a day at a ‘retreat’ away from their aides, the media and so on, which is seen as quite a unique opportunity for frank dialogue between leaders.

• Chogms are chaired by the Chairperson-in-office (i.e. the Prime minister of the host country), who passes across to the Secretary-general at various points.

• the host government and the Commonwealth Secretariat play a central role in drawing up the agenda for the Chogm based on key global issues.

• it may be useful to keep the classroom Chogm fairly formal as this may help students get into the role of a Commonwealth head of government. For some examples of some formal rules and procedures you could use if you wish, see model united nations procedural guidelines, of which there are many online (for example, una-uSa’s rules of procedure can be found at: www.unausa.org/munpreparation/rulesofprocedure).

if you have a large group, some students could place the role of civil society representatives (from, for example, women’s unions, charities or faith groups).

at Chogms, the Peoples Forum allows civil society to have their voices heard on important issues like the environment.

Find out more at www.commonwealthfoundation.com/HowwedeliverCommonwealthPeoplesForum



…up the planet. Computers have been used to make predictions and, even in the ‘best case’, the average global temperature is likely to rise by 1.8°C to 4°C by the year…

…common. Changes in weather patterns will mean damage to crops, less water and food and more diseases. The poorest countries, which are already struggling with these things, will be the hardest hit.

…2100. The rise in temperature affects wind, cloud and rain patterns as

well as the length of spring, summer, winter and autumn. It also melts the

earth’s ice caps and causes the sea levels to rise, which could mean the

disappearance of some islands and low-lying coastlines. Extreme weather

including floods, cyclones and tornadoes will also become more…

You have been asked to brief the

Commonwealth Heads of Government

Meeting about the causes and consequences

of climate change. Your colleague has

sent you a pack of briefing cards to help

you deliver your speech, but unfortunately

they got mixed up in transit. You need

to get them back in order, by numbering

the statements 1 - 8.

1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...

…possible. Our planet’s outer atmosphere

sends a third of sunlight back into space,

but two thirds of it reaches the earth’s…

…space. The earth’s atmosphere contains gases such as

carbon dioxide and methane. They are called greenhouse

gases because they trap heat on earth like a gardener’s

greenhouse traps heat in cool climates for growing…

…surface. The earth reflects the energy back as infrared radiation. This is carried slowly upwards by air currents andeventually it escapes into…

The sun’s energy (mostly in the

form of visible light) is what makes life on earth…

…vegetables. When humans burn coal, natural gas and oil (including petrol in

cars), carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere which makes the blanket

of greenhouse gases too thick. Carbon dioxide levels are increasing by over

10% every twenty years. This is slowly warming…

1


Climate Change Technical Expert Briefing Sheet » Resource 6r1

» Climate Change Technical Expert Briefing


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ome

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1 -

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1..

.2..

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.7..

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.


Climate Change Technical Expert Briefing Sheet » Resource 6r2

» Climate Change Technical Expert Briefing - ANSWERS


Clim

ate

Chan

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Ex

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» R

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» C

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ReSo

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F 2


Climate Change CHALLENGE COUNTRY Briefing Sheet » Resource 6r3


You need to prepare a speech for the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting, outlining your country’s position on whether Commonwealth countries should lead the way in reducing carbon emissions.

your speech will:

•introduce your country.

•give your perspective on whether Commonwealth countries should lead the way in reducing carbon emissions.

•explain why you have this viewpoint.

Use the statements below to help you write your speech:

• The Kenyan government calls for an increase in international aid in order for developing countries to protect their people against the negative impacts of climate change, particularly natural disasters.

• Kenya currently lacks the resources to combat the effects of climate change.

• After several years of poor rains, Kenya and its neighbours suffered devastating droughts in 2009. Crops suffered and food prices doubled across Kenya. Wild animals such as lions and elephants died in large numbers in national parks, and electricity had to be rationed, affecting petrol and food supplies. Violence increased around the country as people went hungry.

• Climate change is making it more difficult for Kenya to meet the Millennium Development Goals.

• The Kenyan government calls for the lowering of emission rates globally, but believes that this must fall particularly to the more industrialised nations such as the UK. The carbon emissions of richer nations continue to rise and the Kenyan government believes that they should be held accountable for their over-consumption.

Your group represents: Kenya


your speech will:





• The UK government promotes a multi-country process (lots of countries working together) with ambitious climate change targets.

• The European Union (of which the UK is part) has set a target to not allow the global temperature to increase more than 2ºC above pre-industrial levels.

• The European Council (part of the European Union) has called for countries to consider a target of a 15% to 30% reduction in emissions by 2020, relative to the 1990 levels (baselines).

• The UK government has highlighted the importance of working with young people, Members of Parliament and others to make sure people are working together to set and implement government policies related to climate change.

Your group represents: UK

108




you need to prepare a speech for the Commonwealth heads of government meeting, outlining your country’s position on whether Commonwealth countries should lead the way in reducing carbon emissions.

your speech will:





• The Australian government insists that negotiations on climate change issues should include all countries, including major carbon emitters, so as to ensure economic fairness.

• Australia is one of the founding members of the Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate (along with the United States, China, India, South Korea and Japan), indicating a willingness to join agreements between a range of countries.

• The Australian government believes that while not all countries are equally responsible for the problem of climate change, we do share a common responsibility for the solution.

• Australia has suffered from a range of environmental challenges, including increased drought, and the hole in the ozone layer (which may have been aggravated (made worse) by climate change but is a separate issue)

• The Australian government has committed to reduce emissions to 60 per cent below 2000 levels by 2050.

Your group represents: Australia


your speech will:





• Tuvalu has no industry, burns little petroleum, and creates less carbon pollution than a small town in the USA.

• As part of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), the government of Tuvalu is calling for further action to address climate change. Tuvalu has so far been the most outspoken of the Pacific Island countries, often as a lead voice for AOSIS.

• Tuvalu and other Pacific Island countries are low-lying and are already witnessing significant sea level rise and the impact of increased intensity of tropical weather.

• The islands are not going to disappear immediately - unless a large storm hits at a high tide.

• Tuvalu’s 11,000 people live on nine coral islands totalling 10 square miles. Tuvalu’s highest point is 4.6 metres above sea level but most of the country is no more than a metre above the sea.

• As the sea level rises the islanders will have less land to grow food, and damage to coral reefs will lead to decreasing fish catches. The population will become increasingly reliant on food imports, which are expensive.

• Tuvaluans face the possibility of being among the first climate refugees (although they do not usually use that term).

• As the average sea level rises, several times each year the regular cycle of tides brings the Pacific Ocean sloshing over onto roads and into neighbourhoods. Puddles bubble up that can cover part of the airport on the main island and even flood homes that are not along the coast.

You will speak first at the meeting, and should finish your speech by asking other Commonwealth countries to take the lead globally in reducing carbon emissions.

Your group represents: Tuvalu




your speech will:





• The Indian government has been vocal in stating that countries that are currently industrialising and developing quickly should not have to restrict economic growth by restricting emissions.

• India needs to maintain current rates of economic growth (8%) to support poverty alleviation programmes (programmes helping to reduce poverty), and the government argues that this must come before goals to reduce carbon emissions.

• The Indian government argues that India should be allowed to produce the same quantity of carbon emissions per person as wealthy countries. India’s population is predicted to reach 1.5 billion people by 2050. The carbon emissions per person in most wealthy countries are currently very high. Therefore, to meet the target of keeping global warming within the ‘safe limit’ of two degrees Celsius (set out by the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), it is the wealthy countries that should drastically reduce their emissions per person (much more than their current targets), to come into line with the lower carbon emissions per person of developing countries.

Your group represents: India


your speech will:





• The Global Climate Risk Index 2010 placed Bangladesh in top position, suggesting that it was the country most affected by climate change over two decades from 1990 to 2010.

• Bangladesh is in the low-lying Ganges-Brahmaputra river delta, which makes it vulnerable to flooding caused by cyclones and during the monsoons.

• In 2007, Cyclone Sidr brought flooding to Bangladesh which caused between 5 and 10 thousand deaths.

• Storm surges are created by winds and changes in the atmosphere caused by cyclones. In Bangladesh, storm surge heights in excess of 10m are not uncommon.

• Flooding and its consequences are making it more difficult for Bangladesh to meet the Millennium Development Goals.

Your group represents: Bangladesh





1 » what does it mean for a country to be democratic?2 » to what extent is democracy a good form of government?3 » what does the Commonwealth do to promote democracy?


Students will be able to:a » Define at least two key terms associated with democracy.b » analyse the key aims of the harare Declaration.c » Summarise the role played by the Commonwealth during apartheid in South africa.d » explain what is meant by election observation missions.e » identify at least one Commonwealth-related activity they themselves could take

part in to help take action around issues of diversity, development or democracy.Key processes: Research; communicating ideas; listening to others; understanding rights and responsibilities; feeling empowered to make a difference; active involvement in the community (local and global); an interest in global issues and current affairs.


Democracy | Commonwealth | election | parliament | government | media | citizen action | political integrity | equal rights | peaceful communities | election observation missions | apartheid.


activity 1 (starter): Democracy Dominoes (Defining Key terms) a »

activity 2: Commonwealth Advertising Campaign (Research) b » c » d »

activity 3: Time for an Advert Break (watching groups present their adverts and giving constructive feedback)

b » c » d »

activity 4 (plenary): Messages from Commonwealth Leaders (Preparing to take action)

e »


» activity 1 (starter) could be a group assessment (seeing which groups finish their dominoes chain first) or an individual peer- or teacher-assessment (students write out the entire paragraph).

» activity 3 could be a group assessment in which marks are given to students for the contents of their adverts and for the effort and innovation they have put into the task. this is a good opportunity for peer assessment using feedback sheets. the advertising Standards authority Critique Sheet (7r3) can also be collected in and individually marked.

» activity 4 could be finished for homework then collected in and individually assessed.

Differentiation » activity 1 (starter): this task can be designed as a task for smaller groups or for the whole class, depending on how confident students might be to call out in class. you can play a game of dominoes with the whole class in which they compete with others to call out the right definitions for the key terms. if you would prefer them to work in groups, you can divide the class into groups of around five students and give them a set of dominoes per group, which they have to put into the right order before you call out ‘stop!’.

» activity 2: the three briefing sheets (7r2)are of slightly different complexity, with the election observation sheet being most accessible and the apartheid and the Commonwealth Principles sheets being most challenging.

» Democracy and the Commonwealth



» Activity 1 (starter): Democracy Dominoes

each domino card (7r1) contains a key term and a definition that doesn’t match that term. the object is to form a chain of key terms and their definitions and therefore complete the whole paragraph about democracy. there are two ways to play the game:

» Either: (a) get students into groups of around five and give each group a cut-up set of dominoes (7r1).

they have to work out the term that matches each definition and get themselves into a line or a circle to read out the terms and definitions to you in order when you call out ‘stop!’.

if they have time they could write down the entire paragraph they have formed using the dominoes and this could be peer- or teacher- assessed.

» Or: (b) give out a different domino card (7r1) to each individual or pair of students around the classroom.

ask a student with the ‘Democracy’ domino to read out their word and get a student with the matching definition (‘where power is in the hands of the people…’) to read it out, then they have to give their domino key term and someone else supplies the definition, and so on until all the cards have been read out.

you may have to give some hints or prompts, such as the start of the definition, if students are unsure, particularly to get the ball rolling. » if you give out more than one set of dominoes, students can compete to call out the definitions before the other student(s) with that card. 7r1

0-10m



you could ask students to:» Compare the Commonwealth Principles to the united nations universal Declaration

of human Rights (information on the latter can be found on the un website: www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/index.shtml). what are the similarities and differences? which Declarations do they think might have the most impact and why?

» write a half-page reflection on the experience of constructing an advert for an organisation such as the Commonwealth; and a paragraph summary of each group’s advert identifying a range of different democratic processes in which the Commonwealth has been involved.

» Film or record their advert (if this has not been possible in class), or use an online tool to make their advert into a cartoon video.

» note down and finish answering the questions on the Commonwealth leader messages Powerpoint (7r4).

» Find and read autobiographical literature written by past and present Commonwealth heads of government, such as nelson mandela’s ‘long walk to Freedom’.

» Find out how to take part in one or more of the Royal Commonwealth Society’s Commonwealth youth programmes: for example, the essay or film-making competitions – and take part if they can!

Resources needed » activity 1 (starter): Democracy Dominoes cards (7r1) (one domino for each student in the class, or one set for each group of around five students)

» activity 2: Democratic Commonwealth Briefing Sheets (7r2) (one to each group of five-eight students); Recording (video / audio) equipment if available; computers and internet access for each group if available.

» activity 3: advertising Standards authority Critique Sheet (7r3) (one for each student); Stopwatch; Video/audio playback equipment if available.

» activity 4: Commonwealth leader messages Powerpoint (7r4)

1r2


» Democracy and the Commonwealth continued...



» Activity 2: Commonwealth Advertising Campaign

Divide the class into groups of around five-eight and give each group one of the Democratic Commonwealth Briefing Sheets (7r2).

each resource sheet has a slightly different focus around the Commonwealth’s involvement with democracy around the world: election observation missions, anti-apartheid and the Commonwealth Principles.

give groups 15-20 minutes to construct a television or radio advertisement presenting the main points in the resource in an interesting and fun way. each group will only have two minutes to present their advert so they need to make it very snappy with only important points covered. it would be useful if you could discuss with the class some basic standards you would expect from the adverts, which you could draw from the advertising Standards authority Critique Sheet (7r3).

» if you have recording and playback equipment you might be able to get groups to film or record their adverts and play them back during activity 3. if not, they can simply write the script and perform the advert to the rest of the class in ‘live action’ during activity 3. Students could also use an online tool such as Xtranormal (www.xtranormal.com) to make their advert into a cartoon video if they have computer and internet access.

» Activity 3: Time for an Advert Break

give out the advertising Standards authority Critique Sheet (7r3) to each student. explain that they are now representing the government’s advertising Standards authority and they have to make sure that the adverts are clear, understandable and relevant.

as they are watching each advert, they should use the advertising Standards authority Critique Sheet (7r3) to write down some constructive feedback for the makers of the advert.

then ask each group in turn to present their two minute advert. Be very strict about timing – do cut them off if they go over two minutes. at the end of each advert ask the advertising Standards authority to give a brief critique of the advert, using their advertising Standards authority Critique Sheets (7r3).

If there is time: Students from the groups could respond to the critiques and you could foster a dialogue or debate within the class about democracy in general or any of the topics in particular, using some of the prompt questions below (the first of which is on their sheet, 7r3):

» is democracy the best form of government? why/ why not?

» what do we mean by rights and responsibilities? how are the election observers, anti-apartheid activists and the people who drafted the Commonwealth Principles making use of their rights and responsibilities? how are these linked to human Rights? (information on the universal Declaration of human Rights can be found on the un website: www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/index.shtml)

» are the principles of democracy, diversity and development universal ideas or are they ‘western’ constructs imposed on others?

» what difference might it make if the Commonwealth suspends one of its members for breaching Commonwealth Principles?

10-30m

30-50m




7r37r2

7r3



» Activity 4: Messages from Commonwealth Leaders

Display the Commonwealth leader messages Powerpoint (7r4) and ask individual students to read each one out in turn. after each message there are a few questions that you could either ask students to write down quick answers to, or note down to answer for homework.

If you have time: you could have a class discussion around each question slide. if you run out of time, choose your favourite quote and focus only on that slide and the final slide.

ask students to consider their ideas for the final slide. they could think of an action that would make a difference to democracy, diversity and/or development. even very small actions such as using less electricity or taking fewer car journeys to reduce carbon emissions could make a big difference. encourage students to think in the long term: could they make a difference through their career choices? in the shorter term, they could begin by writing letters, joining internet campaigns and teaching others about the issues. if you are able to organise this, you could ask students to teach something they have learned in these lessons to a group of younger students. give students confidence that they can make a difference, even if it is through very small steps. Students might already know the following saying: ‘that’s one small step for man… one giant leap for mankind’.

if they are stuck for ideas you could point them to the un millennium Development goals ‘get involved’ website: www.un.org/millenniumgoals/getinvolved.shtml, which contains lots of ideas for actions and campaigns.

good luck!


7r4



50-60m


Democracy Dominoes » Resource 7r1


…where power is in the hands of the people. In a

representative democracy, citizens decide who they want to be their political

representatives through an… Ele

ctio

n …which is a process in which

people in an area (called a constituency) choose

their leader by voting for the person they want to

represent them in… Par

liam

ent

…which is an institution that decides on the rules that everyone in that area has to follow (laws), which are

then implemented (put into practice) by the…

Gov

ern

men

t

…which is the body that organises how the country or area is run, and is held

accountable by parliament, the courts and by the

journalists of the…

Med

ia

…which is the main way for people to find out

information about what is happening in society, and to advertise the ways in which

they are taking…

Cit

izen

ac

tion

…which is when people do things to try to change

society, for example writing letters to their political

representatives who they hope will act with… P

olit

ical

In

teg

rity

Ele

ctio

n

Ob

serv

ers …who are people sent by an

independent organisation to check that elections are run fairly, which in a democracy means the promotion of…E

qual

Rig

hts

…where laws give everyone the same opportunities, no matter what their gender,

sexuality, ethnicity, or faith, so everyone can live together

in… Pea

cefu

l co

mm

uniti

es

…which are communities (groups of people) who live

together without fighting.

Dem

ocra

cy

…which is when political representatives act according to principles of truth, justice and equality and make sure they

do not steal or cheat (which is called corruption)... in elections

this is inspected by…

» Democracy Dominoes - ANSWERS Democracy…where power is in the hands of the people. In a representative democracy, citizens decide who they want to be their political representatives through an…Election…which is a process in which people in an area (called a constituency) choose their leader by voting for the person they want to represent them in…Parliament…which is an institution that decides on the rules that everyone in that area has to follow (laws), which are then implemented (put into practice) by the…Government…which is the body that organises how the country or area is run, and is held accountable by parliament, the courts and by the journalists of the…Media…which is the main way for people to find out information about what is happening in society, and to advertise the ways in which they are taking…Citizen action…which is when people do things to try to change society, for example writing letters to their political representatives who they hope will act with…Political Integrity…which is when political representatives act according to principles of truth, justice and equality and make sure they do not steal or cheat (which is called corruption)... in elections this is inspected by…Election Observers…who are people sent by an independent organisation to check that elections are run fairly, which in a democracy means the promotion of…Equal Rights…where laws give everyone the same opportunities, no matter what their gender, sexuality, ethnicity, or faith, so everyone can live together in…Peaceful communities…which are communities (groups of people) who live together without fighting.


Democratic Commonwealth Briefing Sheets » Resource 7r2


» Election Observations

7r2

ELECTION OBSERVATIONS

it is important that elections are conducted fairly. a country cannot be a true democracy if its elections are plagued with corrupt practices such as bribery or voter or electoral fraud. Bribery is when someone in a position of power gives or takes money in order to give them an unfair advantage over someone else. Voter or electoral fraud is when the votes in an election have been tampered with in some way – for example, counting the same person twice on the list of voters (electoral roll); pretending to be someone else when voting; harassing or intimidating people during an election; or not counting the votes properly.

in order to strengthen democracy, the Commonwealth Secretariat is sometimes asked by a Commonwealth member state to send an independent panel called a Commonwealth observer group (Cog) to observe their elections. they are asked to report on how credible the elections were (for example, whether any corruption seemed to be happening; whether people of voting age were all allowed to vote freely; and whether the result seemed to go against the strong wishes of the people). the Cog report also contains practical recommendations to help improve the election arrangements for the future.

here are two quotes from a Cog report relating to elections in tanzania:

“During the election period political parties campaigned in both urban and rural areasaround the country and enjoyed freedom of movement, speech and assembly. The campaign was generally peaceful and rallies were conducted in a festive and jubilant manner.Women and youth were highly visible during the campaign but played a vital, but moresupportive role during the elections.”

“While the application of procedures was largely adhered to, there were also inconsistencies. But it was felt that in most instances practices were within the spirit of the law. Some of the general issues raised by the observers were:• The layout of the voting booths, with the front of the booth facing the room, could

compromise the secrecy of the vote.• In some polling stations pregnant women and less-abled voters were specifically assisted,

but in others they were not.• In many instances staff did not appear to check the fingers of voters for ink prior to voting.”

Notes about Commonwealth Observer Groups (COGs):1. Cogs are never forced on countries against their will – they only go to elections where

they have been invited by the government or the election management body and where they have the broad support of political parties and the people of the country.

2. the Cogs and their advisors spend some time in the country and make sure they report on the election as part of the whole democratic process and not just as a one day event.

3. Cogs don’t interfere in the processes of elections – they are only there to observe.4. Cogs are made up of “eminent and highly experienced Commonwealth citizens drawn

from countries familiar with democratic processes and institutions”.

information from Commonwealth Secretariat website(www.thecommonwealth.org/internal/39079/election_observation and www.thecommonwealth.org/files/232431/Filename/FinalRe-

port-tanzaniaCog.pdf)

Your task: pick out the key

points from this briefing sheet

and make them into a two-minute advert regarding

the Commonwealth’s commitment to democracy.



» Fighting Against Apartheid


FIGHTING AGAINST APARTHEID

South africa was colonised for a long time by the Dutch and British and its people were divided into three ‘races’: white, coloured (mixed race) and black, based mainly on their skin colour. each of these groups were given different rights and restrictions. after South africa gained independence in 1931, it was still ruled by the white minority: the majority of people in the country were black but they were not given the right to vote in elections. in 1948, the national Party were elected and they took the segregation and discrimination (mainly against black people) a step further, calling it ‘apartheid’ (which means ‘apartness’). they passed new laws which said black people had to live in separate neighbourhoods, and often forced people to move. they separated out schools, universities, hospitals and other public facilities, giving the ones for white people much more funding than the ones for black people. they made it illegal for black and white people to get married or have intimate relationships. they made it almost impossible for black people to get a South african passport. there were signs all around saying ‘whites only’.

People started to rebel against the apartheid system and to call for international action against the racist government of South africa. in 1961 when South africa became a Republic (removing the Queen as head of State), the Commonwealth countries had to decide whether it could still remain a member. it became clear that most of the african and asian member states would vote against South africa because of the government’s racist policies, so it withdrew from the Commonwealth. in 1963 nelson mandela, one of the leaders of the black resistance movement, was sent to prison on a life sentence.

an international boycott began against South african goods (people refused to buy things that came from South africa to encourage the government to change its policies). the anti-apartheid movement used Commonwealth meetings during the 1960s and 1970s to lobby Commonwealth heads of government to impose sanctions (financial punishments) on South africa. By the 1980s the international anti-apartheid actions included the cutting of sporting and cultural ties and a ban (embargo) on selling weapons and materials that could be made into weapons to South africa. these sanctions were opposed by the British Prime minister, margaret thatcher, who felt that the black resistance against the white government’s policies was a form of terrorism.

in the late 1980s the South african government started to rethink its apartheid policies and, with the support of a ‘Commonwealth eminent Persons group’, finally released nelson mandela from prison in 1990. through intense negotiations, they decided to hold an election where black people would be allowed to vote for the first time. nelson mandela won the nobel Peace Prize in 1993 and was voted President of South africa in 1994. the country rejoined the Commonwealth as a new democracy. nelson mandela said “The Commonwealth makes the world safe for diversity”. South africa became known as the ‘rainbow nation’ and continues to work to resolve the inequalities and cultural divisions caused by apartheid.





information from Commonwealth Secretariat website (http://www.thecommonwealth.org/yearbookinternal/145185/history/)

and ‘your world your Commonwealth’(www.thecommonwealth.org/files/167596/

FilenameyourworldyourCommonwealth.pdf)

117© Royal Commonwealth SoCiety | www.theRCS.oRg/youth


» Commonwealth Principles


COMMONWEALTH PRINCIPLES

in 1971 Commonwealth heads of government meeting in Singapore made an agreement about the main principles the Commonwealth should follow. this was called the ‘Singapore Declaration’. twenty years later, in 1991, Commonwealth heads of government meeting in harare, Zimbabwe (which was then a member of the Commonwealth), reaffirmed and restated the principles of the Singapore Declaration and agreed in the ‘harare Declaration’ to concentrate on some key themes.

“We believe in the liberty of the individual under the law, in equal rights for all citizens regardless of gender, race, colour, creed or political belief”“We recognise racial prejudice and intolerance as a dangerous sickness and a threat to healthy development, and racial discrimination as an unmitigated evil”“We oppose all forms of racial oppression, and we are committed to the principles of human dignity and equality”

Extract from the Singapore Declaration, 1971

in 2009, the Commonwealth’s core beliefs from these two main Declarations were brought together into one document, the ‘trinidad and tobago affirmation of Commonwealth Values and Principles’.

“We reaffirm that the special strength of the Commonwealth lies in the diversity of its membership, bound together not only by shared history and tradition but also by an ethos of respect for all states and peoples, of shared values and principles, and of concern for the vulnerable.”

Extract from the Trinidad and Tobago Affirmation of Commonwealth Values and Principles, 2009

OUR VALUES AND PRINCIPLES We solemnly reiterate our commitment to the Commonwealth’s core values:International peace and security (expressing commitment to a system based on inclusiveness, equity and international law for achieving consensus and progress on major global challenges)Democracy: (reaffirming the right of the individual to participate by means of free and democratic political processes in shaping the society in which they live) Human rights (recalling that these are universal, indivisible, interdependent and interrelated)Tolerance, respect and understanding (recognising that these strengthen democracy and development)Separation of powers (recognising the importance of maintaining the separation of the roles of the executive (government), legislature (parliament) and Judiciary (courts))Rule of law (emphasising that access to justice and an independent judiciary (judges) are fundamental) Freedom of expression (emphasising that peaceful, open dialogue and the free flow of information, including through a free media, enhance democratic traditions and strengthen democratic processes) Development (stressing the importance of economic and social transformation to eliminate poverty and meet the basic needs of the vast majority of the people of the world, guided by the millennium Development goals)Gender equality (reaffirming gender equality and empowerment as an essential component of human development)Access to health and education (reaffirming our commitment to health and education for all citizens, both as human rights and as instruments for poverty alleviation (reduction) and sustainable development)Good governance (reiterating our commitment to promote transparency and accountability and root out corruption) Civil society (acknowledging the important role that civil society plays in our communities and nations)

material from Commonwealth Secretariat website(www.thecommonwealth.org/templates/internal.asp?nodeiD=32987 and

www.thecommonwealth.org/document/181889/34293/35468/216908/ commonwealth_values_and_principles.htm)

and from the Commonwealth Foundation’s booklet ‘Commonground: a practical guide to the Commonwealth’

(www.commonwealthfoundation.com)






General Advertising Standards


(a) Adverts should be clear and concise

(b) Adverts should keep to the allocated time

(c) Adverts should not mislead people (give them

the wrong impression about something) by

telling lies; making exaggerated claims;

putting things in writing too small to read;

or omitting (not mentioning) important details.

(d) Adverts must not harm any person or animal

(e) Adverts must not offend a reasonable

person and should be suitable for children

if presented before 9pm.

Advert What was good about the

advert? Which advertising standards did

it meet?

How could the advert be

improved? Which advertising standards does

it need to work to meet?

1

2

3

4

5

6

Further notes:

•what was the most interesting thing you learned while making or watching the adverts?

•Whatdoesdemocracymeantoyou?

•Isdemocracythebestformofgovernment?Why/whynot?

» Use this sheet to critique the adverts you have seen today and to give some constructive feedback.


name:

group:

advertising Standards authority Critique Sheet 7r3





Commonwealth leader messages powerpoint » Resource 7r4

» Commonwealth Leader Messages powerpoint presentation

rcs high school teacher resources

Documents