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Girl Rising

“One girl with courage is a revolution”

As an introduction to the topic Global Challenges you are going to watch the film Girl Rising.

Girl Rising is a film about the benefits of educating girls. It introduces nine girls from around the world in their struggle to get an education and achieve their dreams.

The film was released in 2013 and is part of the Girl Rising campaign.

As we watch the film, take notes, as you are to to discuss the film in your groups afterwards. Also, note down all the global challenges that are dealt with in the film and see if you can group them together in a logical order.

Discussion questions:

  • Which girls’ stories made the greatest impression on you? Why? 
  • “One girl with courage is a revolution”. After watching the film, what does that phrase imply – do you agree or can you think of a better catchphrase?
  • Girl Rising is neither pure journalism, nor fiction. The filmmakers have tried to go beyond the facts into the human experience. Did you find yourself getting lost in the stories in a way that was interesting or effective? Why or why not?
  • The girls of Girl Rising live in very difficult circumstances. Yet they do not consider themselves as victims. Are you able, through the storytelling, to relate to their lives in a way that lets you empathize rather than sympathize? Why or why not?
  • What are the messages from the film that you think will resonate most strongly with people who are not already familiar with this issue?

 

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Ingunn and Hanna

Migration and Refugees

  1. Take a look at what the refugee situation is like in the world today: https://www.unhcr.org/figures-at-a-glance.html?fbclid=IwAR2v8SbIQQMRbPf66tUb8O60mcZm2ERhqGm9A5aqu7bguZY7at0Tcl263X4

2. Work in pairs. One person reads up on migration, the other on refugees. Take turns telling each other what you found out:

https://www.un.org/en/sections/issues-depth/migration/index.html

https://www.un.org/en/sections/issues-depth/refugees/

You should also check out The International Organization on Migration:: https://www.iom.int/

3. Read the two texts below:

View at Medium.com
Warsan Shire: “Home”: https://medium.com/poem-of-the-day/warsan-shire-home-46630fcc90ab
The Unaccompanied Minor’s Tale

Discuss what they tell you about the issues of migration and refugees. What thoughts do these texts provoke in you?

Warshan Shire has said it is important to her to “tell the stories of those people, especially refugees and immigrants, that otherwise wouldn’t be told, or told inaccurately.” What do you think she means by this? Does she succeed in doing so with her poem? Give examples from the text. Can you find similar examples from the other text you read?

4. Immigrant Posters: Discuss these posters and the message they send:

Erin Wright - Posters Without Borders - International Immigration Poster Exhibition
https://posterswithoutborders.com/Erin-Wright Immigration Posters | Redbubble

No human being is illegal Poster
Australian government's anti-immigrant poster shocks planet (VIDEO) | IrishCentral.com
Australia government poster from 2014

5. The situation in Moria

Read this article to find out more about the situation in Moria after the fire: https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/09/12/greeces-moria-camp-fire-whats-next

Watch this video:

  • Why are women and girls especially at risk?
  • What do you think Europe should do about the situation in this and other refugee camps? Discuss in your groups.

6. The artist Banksy has donated a lot of art and even a ship to the cause of helping refugees in the Mediterranean Sea.

https://www.myartbroker.com/blog/banksy-the-benevolent-10-times-banksy-has-done-something-for-charity/

What do you think about this kind of activism, combining art, creation of awareness and collecting money for a cause?

Climate Change

Fil:Sustainable Development Goal 13.png – Wikipedia
https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/climate-change/

First, take this quiz to see if you make good climate choices: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/08/30/climate/climate-footprint-quiz.html?campaign_id=54&emc=edit_clim_20200902&instance_id=21841&nl=climate-fwd%3A&regi_id=82938763&segment_id=37340&te=1&user_id=3f918cec3816c58d935d8b30ca3a78b9

https://insideclimatenews.org/news/31082020/candidate-profile-donald-trump-climate-change-election-2020

How, does the article above argue, has Trump’s administration been a set-back for climate ad environmental policies? Make a list and discuss. Then look at this article:

The US election is even more crucial with UN climate talks delayed to 2021

This article argues that Biden has a better climate platform. What are some of the things mentioned that he will do if he is elected president?

Listen to the speech above. What is DiCaprio’s message? What are some of the devices he uses to get his message across?

Watch the film Before the Flood:

https://archive.org/details/youtube-90CkXVF-Q8M

The film is from 2016. Do you think it is still relevant today? Have things gotten worse, or improved in some areas? Discuss in your groups. Use the film’s web site to get updates and see what can be done: https://www.beforetheflood.com/

Write a blog post about climate change and how it is affecting our environment, using the information you now has as your starting point.

Ingunn

In the news: US says it won’t join WHO-linked effort to develop and distribute corona vaccine

Discussion questions:

  • What is the WHO, and why has the Trump administration withdrawn its support for this organization?
  • What implications do you think it will have if the US does not cooperate with the WHO on developing a vaccine?

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/coronavirus-vaccine-trump/2020/09/01/b44b42be-e965-11ea-bf44-0d31c85838a5_story.html?utm_campaign=wp_main&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR2Ngev7feziafMX3l7UKmZxbeloZ06VAlv1BNpBblN8nZLTG8UvLxnaZNE

First post

Congratulations on having created your very own blog! Please remember to send the link to your blog to your English teacher.

Now it is time for you to write your very first blog post, in which you include the following:

  • a bit about you – who are you, your interests etc.
  • why you chose the subject International English
  • what expectations you have to this subject
  • and finally, look at the UN Sustainable Development goals and write a paragraph about which goal you would like to learn more about and why. Also include suggestions or thoughts on how to work with this goal.

Finishing this blog post and POSTING IT on your blog is homework for next week (week 36).

  • Hanna

Welcome!

Welcome to a new school year at Fagerlia!

In this class both you and us teachers will use blogs to share information, curriculum, assignments, and answers. At the end of the year we will host a Blog Awards, awarding the best blog, best layout, the blogger with the most posts etc.
Let’s get started!

The first order of business is for you to create your own blogs. Remember, this is an educational blog, which will be evaluated, so keep it tidy and professional. Use https://www.wordpress.com and choose a free account. When making your account you can choose whether to have a public, private or hidden blog, but no matter which you choose you have to share the link with your teacher.

You will receive assignments to publish on your blogs, and some of these will be graded with grades, others will be graded “approved” / “not approved”. This is a good way to practice and develop your writing skills. Feedback on the blog posts will be given directly to you on Skolearena.

So, get to it! Create your blog, and include links to other public blogs of your classmates, as well as our teacher blog, if you find other relevant sites you are free to link to these as well.  You might also include a map so you can see where your visitors are from.

We encourage you to read some of your fellow students blogs – both for inspiration and to support each other. Maybe also leave a comment?

After having created your blog, your first blog assignment  will be given by your teacher.

Good luck!

Ellen, Ingunn and Hanna

Poverty

According to Mahatma Ghandi, “poverty is the worst form of violence”.

  • What is poverty?
  • Try to make up your own definition of this term
  • Who are the poor?
  • Why does poverty exist?
  • Will we ever be able to eradicate poverty?

Take 10 minutes to write down your thoughts on these questions, and then discuss with a classmate.

Today we will discuss the documentary The End of Poverty  What is the main message of the documentary?

We will also look at this TedTalk. What new perspectives are essential in order to begin eradicating poverty, according to Efosa Omojo?

Finally, we will read the short story “Robert and the Dog” by Ken Saro-Wiwa and discuss how this story is relevant to the topic of poverty.

The Refugee Crisis

Today’s refugees

According to UNHCR, there are 70,8 million refugees in the world today. The biggest refugee camp is in Bangladesh and houses the approximately 630,000 Rohingyas who are considered one of the most persecuted people. A people with no future, little hope and a life in limbo.

In the “Ultimate Safari”, Nadine Gordimer tells a story of a group of people that has to flee because of war and conflict.

We have also heard about the people of West Sahara and their sufferings, being forced from their homes to live in refugee camps since the invasion of West Sahara by Morocco in 1975.

Write a blogpost in which you summarize the impressions you are left with after working with both fact and fiction.  What do you think the UN can do to solve/improve the situation for the refugees/the refugee challenge? What can the world do?

 

Sources: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ax5f9KsGfv8&feature=emb_title

“The Ultimate Safari” by Nadine Gordimer

https://www.un.org/en/sections/issues-depth/refugees/index.html

https://www.nrc.no/perspectives/2019/trapped-in-the-worlds-largest-refugee-camp/

https://podcasts.google.com/?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9wb2RjYXN0LnBvc3R0di5jb20vaXR1bmVzL3Bvc3QtcmVwb3J0cy54bWw&episode=NWRiMzJkMjVjOWU3N2MwMDA4NTMzYTc2&hl=no&ved=2ahUKEwjq29bE4IfnAhVklYsKHf74BJQQjrkEegQIBxAE&ep=6

 

 

Climate changes affect indigenous cultures

Watch this 15-minute video produced by the Guardian and read this article from the same news source detailing how some indigenous peoples experience changes to their culture due to effects of climate changes.

What challenges and benefits do the people on Greenland experience because of climate changes? And while Aboriginal Australians may have the same core problem, given their vastly different physiography the effects are even more devastating. Add governmental obstructions, for instance when it comes to infrastructure, into the equation, and it is hard to see any benefits from climate changes like the Greenlanders do. So what challenges do the people of Australia’s Northern Territory face because of climate changes?

Hilde

Sources:

In the news:  New species, some under threat even before they were discovered

Kew scientists have officially given 110 new species scientific names in the course of 2019, this Guardian article reveals. Among these 102 plants and eight fungi are species that can change medicine. One has the ability to trick our taste buds. Another has been used for centuries to treat arthritis. It has only this year been given a formal scientific name, and seems also to have abilities to combat cancer.

According to the article, “[t]here are almost 400,000 known species of plant, and about 2,000 new species are named every year”. Yet with their habitats being under threat due to a variety of dangers, the world is at risk of losing them before the species are even discovered, registered, named, or measures being taken to protect them.

Reflecting on all the undiscovered species still out there and all the potential they hold, particularly within medicine, should we not do more to protect them from becoming extinct? Should we not rage against the forest fires raging in several parts of the world, whether or not the destruction is deliberate? Should we not protest dam projects that could potentially wipe out an entire species? Should we not reflect around our own and our governments’ values and actions (or inaction), in the hopes of preserving nature?

In the news: Time Person of the Year 2019

Time Person of the Year is annually awarded to the person who “for better or worse […] has done the most to influence the events of the year.” Could there be a more deserving winner for 2019 than Greta Thunberg? Time Magazine’s editor-in-chief Edward Felsenthal said in his announcement: “She became the biggest voice on the biggest issue facing the planet this year, coming from essentially nowhere to lead a worldwide movement.”Time magazine cover with Greta Thunberg

Congratulations!