iNet Conference Topic 2: Poverty

The iNet student online conference on our second global citizenship topic, ‘Global equality. We are the first generation who can eradicate poverty. How can we make this happen?' starts next Monday 5 February 2007 at 12.01am (UK time).

The conference will be ‘live’ 24/7 until midnight on Sunday 11 February (UK time). You can participate from school or from home, as a group or individually. If you have any friends (aged between 5-18 years) who you think would like to join in, please tell them about this student-only e-vent and ask them to register first at: http://www.cybertext.net.au/studentreg2.htm

Remember to share your reflections on this blog and contribute to that of your classmates' too!

- Miss Dawn Ng

How do we provide support for "deep learner"?

Ryan wong wei jiat 06S16

How do we provide support for "deep learner"?

The working definition of deep support is this:
‘Deep support demands that schools and teachers should collaborate with other institutions, agencies and people to secure deep learning for students’. Hence I believe that it is highly essential for the schools and students to intermix and thus learn from each and other therfore enable them to learn from different aspect and point of views of other people.

Also, I believe that schools need to focus on learning, rather than teaching, and beyond that to deep learning. This is because the current method of teaching is not quite rationale. The reason is because when we are learning, we tend to do it base on an examination technique that I guess is the ultimate wrongdoing and the wrong purpose. This is so because we are learning all because of examination and nothing else. I think that what the educational system is trying to do is simply forcing us to memorise the subjects that we are learning now and apply it to the examination. This I believe do not warrent any credits to the student because what he can get out from so many years of education is only information and knowledge.

I think that what the students need most is how they can apply to the current situation they are situated in. This I think can be done only through the "Deep learning". there are three main conditions for deep learning: learning conversations, meta-cognitive control and growing learner autonomy. Deep support conversations is needed to be learning conversations, involving students as active participants in shaping the support for their learning. Hence the students will know how to react when they are in a conversation. Besides that, students need the ability to think about their own thinking, they are in a better position to engage in conversations about their needs and the type of support they require when they are face with tough question.

Through the deep learning gateways of student voice, assessment for learning and learning to learn, combined with the deep support gateways of mentoring and coaching, and advice and guidance, schools are developing peer tutoring and peer mentoring as a means of students supporting, thus able to provide more students for the deep learning rather than the usual touch and go learning. I think that it is good that people now are aware of this situation and are finding ways to enforce on this vital issues.

What is Global Citizenship? Is it Important?

†ChRiS†™ aka TiGeR

What is global citizenship? In my own point of view I believe that a global citizenship is given to a person who looks upon every other race, or people in the world as the same, equality to all around the world, a person who cares for people around them whether they are strangers or friends, a person who does not discriminate other people for whatever bad or good points they have. Only when a person thinks this way, I believe that the person has truly achieved global citizenship.

In our world now, it is sad to say not many have achieve global citizenship. In our society there are still some sort of racism though not as bad as in the past when you see a different color skin person, you think he is an enemy. Compared to in the past, racism has dropped by a fairly big amount and discriminations among each other have dropped. However there are still some who are very racists and likes to discriminate others.

I believe that should be programs or talks held to educate and encourage about global citizenship. Through this online net conference we have gained a fair amount of knowledge about how to be a global citizenship and what is good about being a global citizen. However, I believe not a lot of people attended this online net conference. Only a minority of us in the world bothered to go online and participate in the online net conference. This is probably because nowadays, youths like me are often busy doing our own stuff and neglect about our surroundings. In order to be a good global citizen, I believe that the person should take not to their surroundings and the happenings around the world. This way, we will know whether people around us would need our help and encouragement. By doing this not only can we bond better we the people around us, it makes us more like global citizens taking care of one another.

We must also lend a helping hand to people in need. Many of us in our current society are fortunate to be able to live with proper housing, supplies. However there are others in the world who are not as fortunate as us. Take for instance in Africa, many of them do not even have proper housing and most of the people living in the poor poverty states there sometimes do not even have food to feel their appetite. Often they will starve for days and when this happens their body begins to grow weaker. This will cause them to be easily infected with diseases and viruses as they do not have the food which they require to have a strong immune system and a strong body like most of us have. We, who are fortunate enough to have proper food and housing, should lend a helping hand to them. Provide them with aid or stuff that are still working fine but not used anymore. I believe only by helping one another and caring for each other can we be good global citizens.

Global Citizens and Racism

Wei Jie


We wonder, what is a global citizen? In my opinion, I feel that a global citizen is one who does not discriminate. They should judge others not based on their skin colour, religion or beliefs. Also, they should respect other countries and their citizens. Everyone is living in harmony. That is what I think it is.


As it is the era of globalisation, technology is becoming more advanced, communication and transport are becoming better. The world is becoming integrated and its people are getting closer. Very soon, the world may just unite and we may all be living under the same ruler.


Everyone will have to know more about the world, learn more languages, get information about others' cultures and last but not least, interact with others. I think that the key to living in harmony together is to erase off all the racism in the world. This is the basics of creating a happier world for everyone, don't you agree?


As we know, racism has been a persistent problem since long past. From the Blacks being slaved by Americans, the Jews being tortured in the Holocaust, and till now, we have the Dalits in India and the Burakumins in Japan. These innocent people of the world have been suffering all the unfair treatments, dicrimination and humiliation. They are viewed as the lower class in the society, or rather, the parasites. We can see that this disturbing issue is there for a very very long time and we can never undo the harm done on the innocent parties.


Governments can actually start giving free education to third-world countries to prevent racism from arising. In richer countries, we should constantly remind not only ourselves, but also those around us- please don't be a racist. If karma exists, racists are going to be discriminated! We will not want ourselves, our family and friends, and our generations and generations to come to be discriminated because of our race.


With globalisation, there is no doubt that one day we will all become global citizens. Can we live up to it and totally eradicate racism? The answer is probably a no. If everyone can let go of some of their prejudice or hatred, we may stop seeing racism in some parts of the world. And that is, if only......

Importance of Being A Global Citizen

xinee

Global citizens are global-minded people who want to live a meaningful life. They are internationally oriented people who derive satisfaction from life by discovering the world. To attain a global citizenship, we have to think globally instead of locally, and are committed to improve lives of all people on Earth instead of just our little neighborhood.

Everyone has a part to play in the world, which is why all people should be a global citizen. That is when people will find life more fulfilling. On the other hand, it is important for everyone to attain a global citizenship. There are still people from the developing countries are suffering from poverty despite rapid globalizations. There are also countries which are facing the problems of racism and discrimination. These problems will eventually lead to global instability.

Looking into the problems as stated above, such as poverty. It is natural for one, who is concern about the world, to come up with a solution to remove people from their plight. This is when one can exercise global citizenship by bringing up this problem to the world for people to spare some thoughts about it. Then, it will be even better if someone could offer help to these people suffering from poverty. It could just be donating money, food, and clothes to these people. It could even be setting up a group to go down to the place to help them out physically. It is of little use if one identifies the problem and not finding a solution to it, that is why to attain a global citizenship, we have to continue what we are doing till the end.

Another problem is discrimination that is increasingly recognized by people in the world. Discrimination is the practice of treating a different group in the society in an unfair way. It can be of different races, sex and class status. It would be catastrophic if nothing was done to eradicate discrimination. Form past experiences, discrimination lead to endless bloodshed. Such example is the class discrimination in India, of the Dalits. Being a global citizen, we are concern about these problems as it may affect countries globally, especially economically. We are always emphasizing on the importance of eradicating these discriminations, and have come up with plans to improve the situation.

We should educate people on the consequences of these discriminations and poverty. This is to teach them and their future generations that these are the problems face by humans. They ought to help people from around the world who are in need, regardless of race language or religion. The reason: we are of the same kind: we are all humans. There should be no difference between us. We should be concern about problems faced globally.

In conclusion, if one is considered a global citizen, it means that he/she is matured enough to think and make correct and important decisions that are beneficial to the world. This is because global citizenship is found in no single country nor enforced by any law; it is instead embodied in international traditions, practices, and laws.

Little Thoughts of Being a Global Citizen

Shang

Being a global citizen is to be more aware of the wider world and has a sense of role as a global citizen. I feel that global citizens should respect and understand diversity and have the will to make the world to become a better place for everyone to live in. We should take full responsibilities of our actions and should strive to make the world better.

Over the years, I have been reading on the touchy issue about racism. What exactly is racism? Well, it is a belief or doctrine that inherent differences among the various human races determine cultural or individual achievement, usually involving the idea that one's own race is superior and has the right to rule others. The whites have always been considered the superior ones and even I have to admit that sometimes i really admire of their achievements. Why do we have such thoughts that the whites must be the better ones and the rest being more inferior?

Personally, I feel that it could due to the portrayal of what the mass media shows. Well, some of you might ask why do I say mass media is the blacksheep. I suppose most of us have watched many movies in our lives and I have found patterns that usually show that the whites are the good guys, and who are the bad guys? Of course we all know the answer. Therefore, it has been instilled in our mind that the whites are always the good people. Actually, the whites have been living rather off well, but do you know that many races of other colours are actually suffering? The whites discriminate the other races as other races are not as superior and rich like them.

I have seen news coverage of desolate places like Africa whereby the living condition is worse and so dirty that even our rubbish chute is cleaner than their area. Recently, i saw some celebrites from American making efforts to even go down to Africa and witness the conditions of the Africans. I could see the shock written all over their face, and i felt that the celebrities must be thinking that they were actually in hell. At that time, i could hard believe at what i saw. I could not even imagine that there is a place like that in the world.

I feel that everyone should fully appreciate what they have and not be too demanding at all. Aren't you plagued by guilt that you are living off so well yet someone else in the world is actually living in a condition worse than hell? In my opinion, a little effort goes a long way. I feel that everyone can just fork out a little sum of money and donate to those really in need. If we really have no money to spare, why not we save the money to spend on luxury like having an expensive meal at a restaurant and go to a food court to eat so that the sum of money can be donated. If financially we are not able to support, we can always help physically. We can use our free time in the holidays to volunteer to go around and collect funds to send to Africa instead of wasting our time playing computer games?

To end off, being a global citizen doesn't mean that you just understand what some people in the world is suffering. Action speaks louder than words. If we were able to come out and make a little effort to help the needys, I think each and everyone one of us fulfil the conditions of being a thoughtful global citizen.

Are you a global citizen?

Marcus Soh

What does being a global citizen means?
In my opinion, one who treats everyone the same, not by the languange they speak, the colour of their skin, their religion and works with one another in making the world a better place to live in can be considered a global citizen.

With the technology of the present day, one can easily travel from one end of the world to another end in less than a day. Current communication devices also allows us to communicate even if we are in a different country. We are also easily updated about the current happenings in other countries through mediums such as newspapers and television. We are pretty much a global state already, for instance, the World Cup where people from all over the world come together to cheer for their favourite team or some environmental campaign where countries work together to make the world a better place to live in. We might not be a global state now, but we are definitely moving towards being one in the future.

However, there are still some issues separating people from one another.

One such issue would be the discrimination between races and religions. To become a global state. eradicating of racism would be most neccessary. To make the world a place without borders and barriers separating people, one would have to put aside their differences and to show the respect they want people to show them. Such racism could also reduce the productivity of people and thus the economy. If everyone could treat one another with more respect, it could remove the barrier between people and make the world a much better place to live in.

Another way of reducing racism would be through education. Through education, people could understand more about the other different races and religions from all over the world. With better understanding of the others, it reduces conflicts and friction between people.

Some of the common viewpoints would be claims that says social problems such as poverty would not exist in 50 years time. Personally, i do not agree with the statement. I believe that it would take more than 50 years to totally remove poverty in people as it is not a simple task. people would have to be educated to be able to get out of the poverty cycle. However, these people usually would not have the money for their children to go to school and thus they will most probably follow in their parents' footstep. Free education could be given to these third-world countires. However, the government would need to be able to fund such activity.

Life in a global state

Joseph Siew


If the borders of all countries were taken away and all of us live in one global state,how would our lives change?

Personally, I feel that if such an event would happen, we might be living under a one-world government, a better understanding among different people and also a better affluence for our lives because it is a one-world economy.

If all the countries have unite together to form a global state, it is possible to elect a government that will rule all the nations of the world and also to lead and make decisions to where the world should head to. Such a government is powerful and the members have to be elected with caution. If we have a good government, all decisions could be made at the benefits of others,provided that the government understands the problems of every race,religion and culture. On the other hand, a poorly elected government might cause problems like a discrimination against a certain race, corruption and poor appointment of future members. This might result in social upheavals,riots and nothing can be done about it since the government is still too powerful.

Therefore, the prospect of a one-world government should be planned properly so that everyone would be able to cooperate with them.

It is also possible to gain a better understanding among different people, like different races and religion. It is because the world has become one. Therefore, it is possible that campaigns and activities will be made to attempt to solve to problem of racial discrimination and such campaigns will help to increase exposure to the understanding of the problems and culture of other races. It might not help to relieve the discrimination problem because discrimination is based on a person's doing, and it is still up to the person's decision whether to discriminate or not. Therefore, it is highly possible that there will be a better understanding of different races.

Our lives might also be affected by a one world economy, this prospect can be risky and beneficial. Beneficial because when the economy is well, everyone will earn a much higher income and there is no separation of the economy of any country. So every country benefits from a one world economy. Likewise, the risk occurs that if there should be an economy crisis, all countries will fail together, if a certain number of countries should be uncooperative and start to fight among each other, it is possible that a world war may break out and this global state might collapse as countries split up because of disagreements. Everyone suffers and everywhere is insecure.

Such prospects can only be thought of when the problems of setting up a one world government and a one world economy is settled and the setting up of a global state can be done in the first place. This is too futuristic and it is difficult to know what will happen for now.


That's what I think for now I guess....

What does a global citizen really mean?

Bernard

Imagine that you're a citizen in your own country, and you try to think, "What does it mean to be a citizen of your own country?" The first few things that would come to mind would be that "I must be someone who contributes to my country." or "I must be loyal to my country and must not betray my country." The same actually applies to being a global citizen.

For me, I think that being a global citizen involves contribution not only to his or her own country, but also to the world. Global means international, and being global citizens may mean everybody living under one roof. So, being a global citizen has a lot of meaning to it. Everyone respecting each other's religion, race, country and so much more, living in peace and prosperity, the world growing as one, that is what I think being a global citizen mean.

To add on to what my friend has said, I think that not only youths can bring about more global citizens. Everyone living in this globe has the ability to be global citizens. However, in my personal opinion, I think that it will be an uphill task in nurturing global citizens.

For example, in our country, we have people who are patriotic and love their country. At the same time, you would have people who is the direct opposite of these people, people who do not like their country and does not have a sense of belonging to their country. The government is having a hard time to make people who do not like their country do the opposite. We do have special days like National Day to showcase what Singapore can do as a nation, to let people to be amazed at how we, as a nation, grew from a fishing village, to a thriving cosmopolis. We also have museums reserved to display the milestones that we went through before our country became successful. The government has done much, however we still have quite a handful of people who do not feel that they are a part of the country. Similarly, if we have these people all over the world, I do not think that the concept of being global citizens would be applicable. To implement ways to curb this would be finding a needle in the haystack.

Yes, we can say that the world is changing rapidly, and our thoughts and ideas are also going through metamorphosis. But can we say for sure that everyone is becoming a global citizen? For me, I think that it is highly impossible for this to happen, because there is also the possibility that the opposite may happen. There is this possibility that more and more grow to abhor the idea of being a global citizen. Many reasons may account for this reason. One of the reasons that I can think of is that they may be ill-treated when they visit other places. This may make them intolerable of people from other countries, and would thus feel that it is not possible for them to become global citizens.

No matter how people may think, it is how they treat one another that make them have good impressions of one another. For me, I think that the concept of what it means to be a global citizen actually refers to how people interact with one another, across boundaries, all over the world. It does not concern where you are from and your family background. As long as you are part of the world population, being a global citizen is a choice.

Global citizenship - How can we achieve it?

Benjamin Loh

Attaining global citizenship - a phrase that seems easy to understand, but yet hard to achieve.
What exactly is global citizenship and how can we achieve it?

Global citizenship empowers individual human beings to participate in decisions concerning their lives, including the political, economic, social, cultural and environmental conditions in which they live. It includes the right to vote, to express opinions and associate with others, and to enjoy a decent and dignified quality of life. It is expressed through engagement in the various communities of which the individual is a part, at the local, national and global level. And it includes the right to challenge authority and existing power structures-to think, argue and act-with the intent of changing the world.

The world is quickly becoming more and more integrated. Technology, communication, transport and trade have advanced so quickly that none of us can escape the fact that we will one day become a global citizen. They have equipped us with the ability to interact with the rest of the world, no matter where we are. Slowly but surely, we are becoming global citizens.

As a global citizen, we have to respect others no matter where they are from. Because for us to call ourselves a global citizen, we have to integrate ourselves in the vast world. Regardless of any differences in religion, culture or race, a common ground has to be achieved. There must be equality among everyone and active participation in issues that may concern the world.

However, for the majority of the world to become global citizens, it might have to take a long time. So how can we speed up this process? The answer lies in youths.

In every generation, youths hold a secret to success.

Youths know of no hesitation; youths know no retreat; youths know no fear. As Daisaku Ikeda puts it," the power of youth will overcome and surmount whatever steep mountains, whatever barriers it encounters, never ceasing to advance single-mindedly."

As youths, they should be concerned about the future because they will have to spend the rest of their lives there. Youths should see the world in a bigger picture, a picture where they will have a say in it.

Firstly, they can participate in forums where their future will be discussed. Forums tapping the advantages of the Internet can help bring students and youths from many countries together to discuss issues concerning the world. Through this, youths can also understand the world they are living in better. To be a global citizen, one has to argue and act - with the intent of changing the world.

Also, youths can take time off their schedules to travel the world, to see what other countries are all about. Who knows after some time, differences between countries can be reduced to the point where there will be "invisible borders". Many have argued that global citizenship is a world without borders and that is why youths have the power to achieve this.

Youths should also try to help other countries in need. They have the energy and the desire to change things for the better. Youths should set their sights on eradicating poverty, to make the world a place where everyone has equal opportunities to live in. Engaging in community work can bring many people from around the world together for a purpose. To understand the world, that is what is required to be a global citizen.

Youths can bring about more global citizens by integrating the world even more.
That can be a way we achieve global citizenship.

And to youths: be the change you want to see in the world.

*your comments are greatly appreciated =)

Achieving Global citizenship

Yee G. H.

I wished I am a global citizen. However, I am sad to admit that I had not reached the standard to be a global citizen. First of all I would like to define my ideal requirement one must achieve in order to attain the global citizenship.
What defines a global citizen?

In my opinion, a global citizen should be one that is no longer bounded by race, color or religion. The only race that a global citizen should regard them as is mankind. They should provide aid to other fellow humans indiscriminately within their capability, just like how the Chinese, Malays and other races are lending a helping hand to their own race through their respective self-help organization.

They should know about people of other race, religion, and culture. They must overcome the differences between them be it skin color, language or other features and accept the differences.

How do we achieve global citizenship?

With globalization taking place rapidly throughout every corner of the earth, human mobility are also increasing at a fast pace and the wider use of internet where the world is undivided by borders. This will lead more interaction between different types of people. Through this interaction, they will get to learn more about each other and thus, reducing the gap between them. Eventually, everyone will know about almost every type of race, religion, and culture on earth and thus promoting global citizenship.

One can also easily have access to information of other countries through multimedia like books, television shows on local channels and on cable vision, the internet. Countries are also advertising their tourism spots and unique cultures on foreign channels in order to attract more tourists. This will help others to learn more about their countries.

Currently, there had been a few international events that had managed to draw attention from people around the globe. A few examples are the FIFA World Cup, The Olympics, Ms. And Mr. Universe and also the few international summits and conferences like the recent international monetary fund Annual Meeting. These events had captured attention of viewers from all over the world and they are good evidences of the world being united as one. Hence, this showed that the global citizenship can be achieved. All the people need are chances and leaders that are capable to bring them together to achieve a world with no strangers.

Obstacles to achieving Global citizenship.

No doubt with the improvement of technology and guidance from a capable leaders, we can all become global citizens. However, I would like to highlight the fact that human are not perfect. Most of us, or in fact all of us are overwhelmed by greed and power at some time of our life. As the Chinese saying goes, : “人不为己， 天朱地灭.” All human will fend for themselves and protect their own interest first before considering about others. Therefore, it is difficult to persuade one to provide aid to others of the same type, so I foresee that it will take more effort to convince one to help others that is totally unrelated to them. Hence, in order to achieve global citizenship, each individual must be able to support themselves first.

In conclusion, the best possible way for global citizenship to be spread is for each country to accomplish a degree of economic growth so that their citizen will get prosperous and have enough to help others.

Global citizenship on racism and poverty

Jingfeng

What exactly is a global citizen? While reading through some of the students’ work, I came across many different definitions. Someone described it as one who is aware of others’ cultures, practices, beliefs and understanding their way of life while another feels that a global citizen should promote and contribute to global peace and prosperity. Does global citizenship eradicates poverty thus leading to global equality where there is no poor country and no need for aid and welfare? Does being a global citizen gives you the right to have a say as to what goes on in the world?

One particular description caught my attention -being a global citizen is not a slogan but a commitment to a safe and pleasant abode for our race. Indeed, irregardless of background or religion, everyone is entitled to the citizenship. With the world as home and humans as equal members of the family, each and every one of us has the responsibility for the world. To me, only when you are able to respect others and their values as well as promote social equality then did you fulfill your responsibility as a global citizen.

Amongst the many threads in the online forum is that of the link between racism and global citizenship. One student describes racism as damaging the individuals by destroying their self-confidence. He goes on to say that racism also causes social injustice thereby resulting in a less productive country but a more divided community. I could not agree more. Racism as we all know could go to the extent of denying educational opportunities thus preventing people from realizing their full potential. From The Burakumins in Japan to The Dalits in India as well as The Holocaust in World War II, racism only proves that it is disruptive to our peaceful life.

Sure we all know that to attain global equality, we have to eradicate racism. The question is how many of us are actually willing to put these empty talks into action? As I had mentioned earlier, to promote social equality is part of the responsibility of a global citizen. I believe if everyone is willing to do their part by treating every being on Earth as an equal member of the family, the Earth would be a much better place to live in.

The issue of poverty was also widely discussed in the forum. In the discussions, the causes of poverty were debated in great lengths and some of these include corruption, social backwardness and religious and cultural beliefs.

There were also several points raised that I thought was worth thinking about. Firstly, with the world focusing on terrorism and nuclear threats issues, is the problem of poverty being overlooked? Secondly, is exploitation the main cause of the poor being trapped in the vicious cycle and thus arriving at the dog-eat-dog situation? Lastly, are the other countries saying everything and not doing anything or even simply ignoring the problem so as to save them the hassle to solve it?

My answer to all the questions is probably. I believe that the problem of poverty, be it the cause, the effects or the way to tackle it varies from country to country. The point is Man has to abandon his selfish nature and join forces to fight for a better life for their fellow kind. To achieve that, education on the graveness of the problem of poverty has to be conducted at a global level. In addition, experienced countries should also share their knowledge of development with the suffering countries. However, as the saying goes –give a man a fish, he can live for a day. Teach the man to fish; he can live for a lifetime. Aid and advice should only be given at an adequate level for the main point is to have the suffering countries to be independent and not dependent on others.

A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step. If everyone is willing to take these many tiny steps forward, it will constitute to a huge step in providing a better life for the world.

Views on "Changes if Earth becomes a Global State" plus response to 2 common views

MAO

First of all, I would see no major changes that might happen even if the Earth wasn’t divided by country borders. The Earth, even without borders, still covers a very large land area. Thus it would be impossible and unnecessary for a single person to trek around within a very short time.

Furthermore, we are already able to travel all around the Earth. Thus, it makes little difference to the average person whether there are borders or not. Thus it would not really change our understanding of Earth. What we know of Earth, will still be there. Even if there weren’t any borders, people are still scattered all around the huge planet Earth. The language will definitely still differ among each other.

It wouldn’t change anything about our understanding of Earth. Far away continents are still far away continents. Despite the absence of a border specified by leaders of nations, borders will still be present in the people’s minds. The Sea and the massive land area is the physical border that will persist.

It is too difficult to govern the Earth with only one set government, one jurisdiction. In the end, individual leaders will still need to be assigned to each populated area. Due to the subjective nature of humans, the way of governing will differ. Thus derived a new way of defining a country and a border. Inevitably, whether the border of countries are defined or not, Earth will still be too large to be governed by a single system.

Even within a single country, civil war can break out. The same goes for a single planet under one jurisdiction. The issues faced in Earth will remain similar, even when we live in Earth as one global state. The Earth was never divided or split, she still exists as one whole planet. It is the subjective nature of the people that caused such a divergence. It is the nature of the people that divided themselves into factions, guilds, Nations.

Maybe the only difference is, assuming national borders disappeared, the ability for the people to visit other continents and places on Earth more freely and less expensive, as they are excused to apply for VISA to travel to certain places. A boost in the Tourism sector perhaps. But it still wouldn’t be that of a major change as people are still restricted by their wealth, and of course their desire to travel in the first place. The border of countries disappearing doesn’t mean the travel time disappeared as well.

A global state doesn’t mean that migrating to another continent on Earth would be cheaper. The necessary considerations will still be present.


Responding to common viewpoints brought up by various students on the topic of “What the World would be like in 50 years”.

It is commonly been claimed that social problems such as poverty would be a problem no more in the years to come. However, I highly doubt that claim. I believe that such prevalent problems will need more than just 50 years to completely be resolved. Yes, there might be improvements to the conditions of poverty in some countries after the stretch of 50 years. But I doubt it will be sufficient to wipe out such a widespread problem.

The fight against poverty has been on- going for as long as the Earth has revolved. It has slowly moved from smaller scale operations to international organizations to tackle the problem in countries such as Africa. Despite the massive amounts of donation and aid, the organizations are still unable to break the poverty cycle completely. This proves that it takes time and continual donations to solve the problem. However, after years of providing aid, many of the donors are getting reluctant to donate as generously as they previously did. Thus slowing down the process to delete poverty.

The people are too poor to do anything. They lack the knowledge for self-subsistence due to both natural causes and pro-longed poverty. First, the people need to be fed. This alone takes up unlimited amounts of donations and resources.

They then need to be taught on how to feed themselves. Equipping them with the knowledge and skills for self-subsistence requires time and large amounts of capital. Especially when natural disasters strike often which cause a bad harvest for farmers. High-Tech Farming needs to be introduced to the people.

Next, schools need to be built to educate the young so that they can find other methods of sustaining their life besides farming. This alone would take more than 30 years estimate, for the time needed to construct the schools, and for the young to learn useful skills.

This would be the basis for their development of their country and the move away from poverty. The government needs to generate capital by encouraging foreign investment. Attracting investors with means like cheap workforce, and ready constructed infrastructures. Then would there be chance for the poor to break off from the poverty cycle. All this is assuming that aid from other countries is constantly been renewed. With minor delays once in a while, could easily delay the process for more than 50 years. Delays include lack of funds and unpredictable conditions.

Another common viewpoint is that in 50 years time, technological advancements would lead to vaccines for currently incurable diseases. I totally agree with this point, as continual medical research are on-going every day, definitely there might be new vaccines and cures for currently incurable diseases such as AIDS, and Cancer.

As technological advancement over the years have proven that nothing is must be ruled out as impossible. The impossible today might be overcome tomorrow. As we have proven with inventions like the aeroplane which enabled us to travel in the air. Cures for previously incurable diseases like Small Pox. Even overcoming the sky and reached outer space. All were previously thought to be impossible. But with the advancement of technology today, nothing can be overruled as a possibility.

Especially the recent years, technological advancements have fastened its pace. Therefore, I highly believe that incurable diseases today might be cured within the next 50 years. However, there will always be new diseases and viruses being discovered as such bacteria mutate and become immune to certain cures.

Therefore, to end off, yes I believe that within the next 50 years cures might be discovered for some currently incurable diseases. However, it’s definitely not all incurable diseases. Or else the term “incurable” and all its other synonyms would become obsolete.

Comment on "What Will The World Be Like in 50 Years"

Alvin

I've read this discussion in the students online conferences and there were many view points raised in the discussion. What I will be posting would be come comment on some of the points.

Firstly, the Europeans, Canadians, Australians are saying that electricity and oil will be depleted, discussing alternative sources of electricity, while the Indians are blaming the Europeans for the poverty they are suffering now because they said that "Europeans colonized them and took away everything from them and made them barren". Other than that, there are some people who said there will be hovering cars, living on the moon, living under water. Actually, what they are discussing do have a point. Electricity may run out, but it has nothing to do with oil. Hydrogen can be used for cars in future, and there are other sources of electricity like what they say. So why do they worry about these two issues. Moreover, scientists are also doing research for better technology, therefore these two issues will not really pose a problem in 50 years time.

Secondly, there are people who think a nuclear war will break out with the technological advancements, where they think more nuclear weapons will be developed and will be used in warfare. In my opinion, this is quite possible, because countries are one by one being granted use of nuclear, for electricity purposes for now, but i feel their ambitions will grow. Moreover with the current North Korean threat, more countries around them will demand to have nuclear weapons as a form of self defence against North Korea. Although America claims that if N.K even fires one missle, U.S will launch their full force on North Korea. However, can the countries really trust U.S to do the right thing? This is said by Bush. So what if (though likely) Bush gets ousted in the next Presidential election, and a so call Democrat takes over the office, will this assurance still be existent? In addition, there are already countries who sees another country as an eyesore and cannot wait to eliminate them (probably China-Japan?) . Militant groups will also exploit this opportunity to create chaos, worse still if they gain access to nuclear weapons, but because there is North Korea around, countries will still feel threatened until the day Kim Jong Il is gone, and is confirmed that the nuclear weapons are well stored. Once counties gain access to nuclear weapons, there is no telling what they would do, because in the end, the worse will be the total annihilation of both parties.

However, i feel that for them to be thinking of these issues is still not really time yet, because many of those who are supposed to be the "pillars of the future" are still not ready. Those issues they are looking at are big issues, the environmental issues. However, they might have forgotten about the social issues in 50 years time.

Currently, there are probably still alot of youths of our age still wandering around, not knowing what they want in future, and worse still, there are youths on the streets who are the "gangsters", going around behaving rowdily and creating trouble. We have our "Ah Bengs" going around smoking, spitting on the streets, vandalizing and littering. They talk about pollution in the discussion, but this is where some of the pollution came from. They talk about diseases, new and old, curable and uncurable, but these are the potential lung cancer patients. How can we depend on these youths, who are not going on the right path, to change the world into a better place in the next 50 years? Not saying that smoking is bad, but what about the spitting...? Furthermore, smoking contribute some extent to pollution don't they...? There were someone in the forum saying "doing small little things can amount to a big difference in the future". So, these are the small little things that needed some attention, where they did not really paid to...

So my conclusion is, before they even look into big issues, take care of the small yet important ones...

Just my two cents worth...

Welcome, class of 06S16

Hello my little babies...

Time to grow up and feed yourself! I'm sure that you have gained alot from the online student conference, having read papers and viewpoints submitted by students from different parts of our planet.

Now it's your turn to share. Write an entry, sharing your personal view on the topic of the current conference topic and also reflect on two other viewpoints that you have read. You may choose to comment/evaluate/argue against the viewpoints you have read. There is no word limit, but in order to even have a decent discussion, you should have at least 500 words.

Do visit the blog often to read what your classmates have written too!


With hugs and kisses,
Your Mother Hen, Miss Dawn Ng (I do feel like a naggy old hen sometimes...)