Water

Guest Speakers

Write a blog post where you comment on the value of having visitors join our class and talk about different subjects, such as you have experinced this spring either via Zoom (refugee Kawthar Sheheda from Syria/psychologist Solfrid Raknes in Washington D.C.) or live (Fulbright Roving Scholar Renee Brekke Ebbot, who talked to about such diverse topics as water and identity).

What can we learn from such visits that is different than regular learning in the classroom? Would you like the school to invite more guest speakers, and do you have any thoughts on how the learning experience in different school subjects can be broadened and perceived as relevant by the students?

Ingunn

https://url12.mailanyone.net/scanner?m=1njLEA-00063G-3P&i=57e1b682&c=C1puZhj3MqHYE12hqJah9Bu6-mQ-BkAfEv6cloADQWDibRhL_0etBIkUDshvy1H6i06oGqodj9csazYM9Qkc-GJO7fLITtRRj70VYEN527KvAAws2x8BNvwWyj35A-lRqdfYWK_0LMnOGt2k6vOOW_xOqTvTOPjDinEpA-pX7WWXq3jaagpnP78guZJng5xBPk69FbdYTmoYnHjQon4iB6999a8PtgJgrN4FnwgCjyHeiGdjPzdcj1-u5idpfbc2

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: Watergrabbing

Read about the practice of watergrabbing and how it affects people in Palestine and other areas here:

http://watergrabbing.com/palestine.html

Also take a look at this video from Al-Jazeera: https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera/videos/473735126457245/UzpfSTE4MjA4MDU4NTE3MjY4NzoxOTA1MTQzMjA2MTk5NzQx/

Day Zero

Day Zero– sounds like a sci-fi movie. Acopalypse now. But – what is it? Why is it happening? What can be done about it? Are there other places in the world that face the same problem? This will be the topic for our Tuesday class. You will be working in groups and use a padlet to share your findings about a water crisis. Answer the 5 ws: where, what, when, why, who.

Even the Rain

The film Even the Rain, or También la lluvia, is a Spanish film from 2010.

220px-EvenTheRain

The film is about a film crew travelling to Cochabamba, Bolivia to shoot a movie about Columbus and his conquest.

ciudad-de-cochabamba While there, the government decides to privatize the water in the Cochabamba area, and water prizes rise with about 300% only a few months. People are even forbidden to collect and use rain water. This leads to the Bolivian water war, with huge protests and demonstrations, and clashes between the people and its army. The film depicts both these stories brilliantly.

As we watch this, we are going to make use of FN-sambandets teaching material for this film. (http://www.fn.no/Undervisning/VGS/FN-film-fra-Soer-Even-the-rain?for=elever)

Start by watching this short film in pairs, and discuss why some countries are rich and some are poor.

After the film:

1. Find out more about the Bolivian water war – why was the water privatized? Why are the inhabitants protesting? What was the result after the protests?

bolivian-woman-confronts-police

2. See this film about sustainable development. The water war in Cochabamba is a multilayered challenged for society. How does the water war affect the people, the environment and the economy in the communtiy? What does that mean for a sustainable development in Bolivia? Which of the UN Sustainable Development Goals are relevant for the challenges Bolivia faces in this film?

3. Why are some countries poor? How is the world community, or economy, keeping these countries in poverty? What can we do to diminish the differences in the world?

Sources: Translated and adapted from FN-Sambandet. “Film fra Sør.” 27.10.2017. http://www.fn.no/Undervisning/VGS/FN-film-fra-Soer-Even-the-rain?for=elever. Accessed 10.11.2017.

Hanna’s class:

Goal no. 6 of the UN Sustainable Development Goal is “Clean Water and Sanitation.”

E_SDG-goals_Goal-06

This is the last goal we will look at.

Why is access to clean water and sanitation so important? Why can this issue cause conflicts, both between companies, ethnic groups and even nations?

Infographic-Facts-about-the-global-water-crisis

In pairs you will choose a water-related conflict and co-write a text about this conflict. You can do this by using Google Docs or Padlet – just remember that both of you need to have access to the document.

You will need to include:

what is the conflict about? Explain the issues, and what led to this conflict
where and for how long has this conflict taken place?
how is the conflict being handled? Protests, demonstrations, law suits, armed conflict, etc.
what kind of solution would you offer to this conflict?

On Wednesday, you will join another pair to talk about the conflict you have chosen, and to listen to the research they have done on another water-related conflict.

drought

You will find a good overview of the water crisis here.

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(Pictures taken from: http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/water-and-sanitation/, http://downtoearth.danone.com/2013/08/13/infographic-facts-about-the-global-water-crisis/, https://waterfilteranswers.com/water-shortages/ and https://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/cape-towns-water-crisis-5-things-you-should-know-20171019)