WORLD DEVELOPMENT AND INTERDEPENDENCE

The best site I've yet found for comparing countries and getting statistics about them is

This allows you to construct various diagrams and offers statistics for a range of countries. A good rival for YOUR NATION: featured lower down the page. Good graphics. Recommended.

• For several perspectives on development try ONE WORLD, or PLANET ARK and http://www.oxfam.org.uk/education/: (Cool Planet area..)
• Why not take a look at some POVERTY MAPS to get a feel for the uneven distribution of resources around the world.
• Relevant material courtesy of AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
• Give to charity by visiting GIVEWATER.ORG: water is vital after all.

We used to get the magazine GLOBAL EYE which is useful, with some glossy images: Issue 13 in Autumn 2000 for example had a good feature on Urbanisation, with a focus on Nairobi and Dhaka. They also link in to the DEVELOPMENT EDUCATION ASSOCIATION.

• For a starting point in your investigations, you need to go to the TIDEC site: TEACHERS IN DEVELOPMENT EDUCATION. This has a long list of LINKS, and also a good downloadable exercise called 'A City for People' (one of several) which investigates the important things a city needs for it to succeed as a place for people to live in with a decent quality of life.
• It suggests looking at CARTOON WEB: cartoonists are often able to put across critiques of economic and military situations using cartoons. For more comedy and development issues go to the COMIC RELIEF site.
• There are also some useful resources at the Centre for Global Development Education (GLADE)
• Try AFRICA ONLINE for African information. Thankfully my friend Phil, who was working for an aid charity, was airlifted out of Sierra Leone just a couple of weeks before things got really nasty.
• Our school took part in a casual wear day which was based on the UNICEF Day for Change campaign to help children in Brazil and Bangladesh. There is more information HERE on the UNICEF goals.
• For a game looking at the effect of tourism in developing countries, go to the GLOBALEYE site (links to free magazine which we receive from time to time) where you'll find a link to the GAME.
• NEW INTERNATIONALIST magazine has always been at the forefront of information on LEDCs and the impact of their relationships with MEDCs. For example, one of the ways is that the USA has bombed 22 different countries since the Second World War...which is nice.. Other issues relate to Jeans, Cocoa, Weather, Global Warming, AIDS, Dams, Globalisation and Fair Trade.
• There are some useful statistics on differences in development across the UK. These are now available for every LEA, and contain indices on deprivation across the UK. Go HERE for the statistics.
• One of the most important resources that both MEDCs and LEDCs need is WATER. This is discussed at the World Water Forum, and one was held in 2003. One of the reports that came out of this meeting was that certain countries were particularly wasteful of water with the USA (not surprisingly) top of the list. GOLF was also singled out as being particular wasteful of the precious resource.
• CHILD POVERTY TIMELINES available from Save the Children.

The top 5 water wasters in the world were: USA, Djibouti, Cape Verde, New Zealand and Italy.

• Give a man a fish and feed him for a day, teach a man to fish and.... well, you know the rest. CHRISTIAN AID WEEK builds on this idea. Give what you can !
• LEARNING AFRICA has some useful information and resources.

EDUCATIONAL SIMULATIONS

See GeoGAMES page for more on this area.

• Why not try a LIFE SWITCH ? The Christian Aid site has some excellent ideas. It puts you in the place of someone else in another country. Tony Cassidy has made available a worksheet which links through to the main ideas.
• Another useful site I discovered recently is that of FOOD FORCE. A game produced by the World Food Protection agency.
• And one of the best site I have discovered, with a free trial download of software is REAL LIVES.

• WORLDAWARE has also produced a booklet. It can be downloaded, with accompanying teachers' notes from WORLDAWARE.

• The WORLD BANK has a useful site, which includes free learning materials for schools including sustainable development, and a free online book: 'Beyond Economic growth' plus learning modules on population growth rates and life expectancy. Well worth working through some of these. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT is a big issue.

• ACTION AID have set up a new area called ACTION AID SPACE where you can investigate issues relating to poverty and elsewhere...

• An excellent recent addition to the BBC Scotland site has been a follow up to an earlier section on Limestone. This is DEVELOPMENT AND HEALTH at their Higher Still section. It needs Flash to make full use of the maps and exercises.

In the development section are details on:

Physical Factors: such as the relief of a country, and how it affects development

Human Factors, Social Factors & Economic Indicators.

Then goes on to look at Health: Malaria, Cholera, and health issues relating to developed lifestyles. An excellent resource. Recommended.

There is a well produced online Geography magazine called WORDWISE WORLDWIDE. This has regular issues: the most recent one had an article on the Peak District. They also have a Geofacts section which includes details on standard of living.

A recent article on the BBC website pointed out the extent to which we subsidise agriculture. The UNDP (UN Development Programme) has suggested that it could be the year 2165 until some countries are free from poverty.

Apparently the EU subsidies account to over $900 per year per cow, whereas each African receives $8 worth of aid a year.

Doing work on DISEASES ? There's a good FLASH based website at BBC SCOTLAND. There is more information in the Scottish Highers on disease than in GCSEs.

For work on CHILD LABOUR visit SCREAM MANCHESTER for an information and education pack on CHILD LABOUR produced by the ILO.

TERMS OF TRADE: FOOD PRODUCTION

• You can also products which offer a fairer deal for the producers in the LEDC's who would otherwise lose out by the 'terms of trade' between our economy and theirs, and the relative disparity between the value of raw materials and manufactured items. Companies such as FAIRTRADE (who have also developed the BANANA GAME for use in schools) are useful contacts, or CAFEDIRECT. Try also the school site UNFAIRTRADE.

• COFFEEKIDS is a useful site too: looks at the 'terms of trade' and general unfairness.

• The issue of LIFE IN THE GLOBAL VILLAGE, was also the theme of the 2001 GEOGRAPHY IN ACTION WEEK.

• You could visit the site of the Fairtrade chocolate bar: DUBBLE.

• Some useful information on Bananas at the website of the CARIBBEAN BANANA EXPORTING Association. It has some useful information on ethical trading.

• Another Business game is provided by Business Education group. Useful BUSINESS GAME.

• COCOA FARMING

New for 2005: Head over to this ACTION AID page to download an article. It's quite long, but it goes through the effects of allowing a few large companies to dominate food production as a result of free trade. Check it out...

THE IMPORTANCE OF EDUCATION

While you're teaching development, you'll perhaps get the odd moan from your students, but it's worth reminding them how fortunate they are to be receiving education at all. Nearly 120 million primary aged children worldwide have never been to school, according to report in the Guardian. A further 150 million who do start lessons will have to drop out before they have really started to learn anything of real value.

There have been some attempts to improve the situation, and 180 governments signed up to an agreement in Senegal in 2000. Population growth has outpaced the improvements that have been managed. There is also a gender gap: girls in particular have been missing out on their education.

In Asian countries, many poor girls marry young and live with their husband's families. Educating girls is often seen as a 'waste of money'. There are also seldom separate facilities for boys and girls. Some parents are wary of letting girls walk alone to school, or attend lessons where they will encounter boys or men. Girls are usually given jobs to do from an early age. In Rajasthan in India, 6 out of 10 girls have no schooling.

• A charity which is trying to address the problem is PLAN INTERNATIONAL.

• Also try the website of the GLOBAL PLAN FOR EDUCATION.

• Finally, charities like SAVE THE CHILDREN are concerned about this issue. Visit their excellent BACK TO SCHOOL resource pages.

• There's a whole lesson plan on the issue at LEARN.CO.UK. Recommended.

• If you want to develop links between your school and other schools, try LINK COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT.

Women are often targeted for education as it is important that they improve their educational standards. Reasons for targeting women include:

• the fact that women are not as well educated

• the fact that women

Coming up on the 8th of March 2003 is INTERNATIONAL WOMEN's DAY. This site has resources on the theme of equality which could be relevant to citizenship and geography lessons as well as other subjects.

You need to do the following in the next month or so once you get back to school following the Easter break!

THIRD WORLD DEBT

The DROP THE DEBT campaign has been running for 9 years. On 16th of May 1998, 70 000 people gathered in Birmingham to demonstrate to the G8 leaders that they felt that the debt burden on LEDCs was crippling their chances to develop. 9 years on, the debt continues. Visit the JUBILEE DEBT campaign website and get more details.

52 poor countries are in a debt crisis, and have to spend large amounts of money on debt repayments rather than on essential health and education for some of the world's poorest people. 90% of the debt remains to be cancelled.

BILL BRYSON'S AFRICAN DIARY

This volume was written to raise funds for the charity CARE. For more about the charity go to their website: CARE

AMAZON sells the audiobook (CD) version read by the author - this makes a very useful resource...

It describes a trip made in 2002. There are several sections which would make excellent CASE STUDIES. Add images by doing a search on Community Webshots.

BACK TO KEY STAGE 3 INDEX PAGE

RETURN TO KEY STAGE 4 INDEX PAGE