Good 50x70: The Social Communication Project

Read between the lines, people!

This project aims to generate amazing visuals to support the work of NGO's and charities, calling upon artists and graphic designers to harness their creativity and make a social comment. It is a competition, but the great thing is that the 'winners' are the artists and also the issues, as people learn more about the topics highlighted each year and think about the deeper meaning behind the issue. College students and also school kids are invited to join. The project organizers say, "We also work with school kids as they own the purest, most inspiring creativity and ‘good sense’; we believe that, to start a real change, it is essential to engage and involve the next generation of creative talent."

That is a call out to YOU.

YOU matter.

YOU are creative and amazing thinkers.

YOU can make a change.

Take a look at the issues selected for this year's competition, click on the links to read more about the NGO's:

AFRICA (Endorsed by AMREF)

Play for Africa. Football can do a lot for Africa. A football match can reconcile ethnic groups, save young people from drug use and bring joy to suffering communities. Play and sport are an exceptional instrument through which younger generations may meet, socialize and evolve.

HIV+ DISCRIMINATION (Endorsed by LILA)

Freedom to travel The ban on entry and permanence for foreign nationals with HIV is a violation of human rights. Governments must review their discriminatory laws with regards to HIV positive people whether these are residents or foreigners.

LEGALITY (Endorsed by “LIBERA, Associations, names and numbers against mafias”)

Take action against mafias Mafias do favors and launder money. They practice extortion, and engage in the illegal traffic of weapons, drugs, counterfeit products, toxic waste and human beings. It is necessary to “be against” all mafias, but in order to beat them it is more important to “to be for” the creation of paths and spaces for freedom, memory and legality. It is a call each and every one of us should heed.

MEDITERRANEAN WHALE RESERVE (Endorsed by GREENPEACE)

Whale shortage: a sanctuary empties by the day Where are the whales of the Sanctuary of the Cetaceans? The fin whale, the second largest animal of the world in size, lives in the Mediterranean Sea. Today there is a progressive decrease in population of these cetaceans. In order to protect the sea and its ecosystem there is no other alternative but to build a network of marine reserves and of large areas to be preserved rigorously.

MIGRANTS HEALTHCARE (Endorsed by EMERGENCY)

The uncertainty of the cure The right of the Migrants to healthcare, independently of their legal status, is a question that concerns the human rights of each individual. In order to prevent the inequality that migrants face when it comes to accessing appropriate care, Emergency has opened an Outpatient clinic in Italy to guarantee free health assistance to migrants (with or without permits) and to residents in need.

POVERTY (Endorsed by AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL)

For a path out of poverty, take the human rights route. All over the world, people in poverty are demanding dignity. They want an end to the injustice and exclusion that keeps them trapped in deprivation. They want to have control over the decisions that affect their lives. They want their rights to be respected and their voices to count.

TIGER EXTINCTION (Endorsed by WWF)

Year of the Tiger 2010 is the year of the tiger in Chinese calendar; what better opportunity to raise attention to wild tiger populations decline? Given the chance – enough space, prey and protection – tigers, one of the greatest icons of conservation, can recover.

Lots of links to what we are considering in class, right?

Now - get in there and look at these amazing posters and social comments. They are really amazing. As you are exploring them, reflect upon the elements of VISUAL LITERACY that we have been focused on this year. Think about the connections between these issues, the UNMDG's, the work of NGO's we have studied, the links to action that you have taken this year. Ponder upon the beauty of word choice and imagery - minimalism, impact - WOW, these showcase excellent examples of how to get a complicated global message across simply, to each single viewer. Enjoy.

Good 50x70 - Click here and go to GALLERY to view

Choose one to add to your Global Issues electronic portfolio page and write about it, using the though prompts I have given you in this post. Take your thinking to exciting places - amaze me, as you always do :)

GIRL UP!

Read this TIME article, To Fight Poverty, Invest in Girls by clicking here.

Write a response to the article on your blog.

What kind of a revolution is it referring to?

What do you think about this article?

Make comparisons between your life and the situation here for a 12 year old girl.

Comment on this quote, "There are countless reasons rescuing girls is the right thing to do. It's also the smart thing to do."

Do some research into GIRL UP - what are their aims, how could we be involved, what do you think about the idea? Click here to go to their website and do some reading, you can even sign their pledge and there are some great videos to watch.

Remember to include a cited image with your blog response.

Haiti Mini Study and 'Cost of Life'

Part A: Haiti - Mini Study. Using the photo essays, articles, documentaries and movies. Write a report on the state of Haiti's children after the earthquake.

What human rights are being denied to them?

What action is being taken to address this lack of rights?

Discuss the difficulties faced by this country as it tries to recover from the earthquake.

Why can some countries rebuild faster than others, and what is it about Haiti that put it at a disadvantage?

Suggest how this country can cope in the forthcoming years.

Write your blog post as a paragraph. Include an image (source it please) and upload onto your blog. In the SAME blog post…

Part B: Reflecting after playing the game, ‘Ayiti- Cost of Life’.

Answer these questions. You may either cut and paste them into the blog posting, or write a paragraph that embeds the information.

1. What was it like playing the game?

2. What was the game about and how would you describe it to a friend?

3. Which ‘primary objective’ did you choose, and why?

4. What types of decisions did you have to make about the family members while playing the game and trying to achieve your objective?

5. What strategies did you use? For example, did you combine work and school, or did you send anyone to school? Which worked? Which did not?

6. Why would parents choose to devote so much effort sending their children to school?

7. What obstacles did you face in trying to keep the children in school?

8. How do the situations and options in the game compare with those in your own community / country?

9. Why is access to education a huge challenge as LEDC’s try to develop?

10.  Why is it vital to a country’s development to educate its people – especially women?

11.  Suggest some ways that countries could prioritize education, even for women, even in the countryside. How can they do this?

12.  Think back to the United Nations Millennium Development Goals. Look at the 8 targets. Look at how Haiti is doing so far. What will the targets be in the next 5 years for this country?  Look at the MDG ‘Progress So Far’ website and search for Haiti to get the latest information.

Look at some of these resources to help you:

Photos of Haiti

BBC Country Profile Haiti

NY Times Photo Essay

CBS Struggle To Recover - Photo Essay

Make sure that you consider the blog rubric as you write. 

Claim, Evidence, Interpret!

Great blogs go that 'extra mile' - what do you think? What have you learned? What connections have you made in your thinking?

3rd World Farmer

"Farming looks mighty easy when you're a thousand miles from the cornfield" President Eisenhower (1890 - 1969). Most people in less economically developed countries (L.E.D.C's) are farmers and most of these are SUBSISTENCE FARMERS. Subsistence farming means producing crops and rearing animals for the use of the farmer. Very little surplus produce is grown. Technology is minimal. It is hard, physical labour. Subsistence farmers are at risk from shock factors such as drought, violence, flooding and disease, to name but a few. If nothing is produced, there is nothing to feed the family, and nothing to replant for the future. You can see how the CYCLE OF POVERTY is a trap that many subsistence farmers fall into and cannot escape.

In ECONOMICS the cycle of poverty is the "set of factors or events by which poverty, once started, is likely to continue unless there is outside intervention." It is a situation where poor families become trapped in poverty for at least three generations. These families have either limited or no resources. This can mean that the poor remain poor throughout their lives. The poverty cycle is linked to something called a DEVELOPMENT TRAP when so many people living in a place are trapped in poverty and cannot get out, that the whole country is suffering.

We have discussed the importance of BASIC NEEDS (food, water, shelter) in allowing development to happen. A hungry person is not thinking about LONG-TERM goals such as educating their children or vaccinating them against disease. Building schools and improving communication systems is a dream when your stomach is rumbling. Life becomes a day-to-day battle, and SHORT-TERM reactions are a reality - how to get food, how to pay for it...Development has stopped and survival has taken over.

Consider this image - swirling in the cycle of poverty...  

On your blog, reflect on what you have read and seen in this post so far. What have you learned? How do you feel?

One way to get out of the cycle of poverty is through more efficient farming. It is not about being a 'lucky' farmer. It is about having the skills, education and resources to apply longer-term ideas and plans. Part of our goal this year in Global Issues was to raise money and invest through KIVA.org to help a farmer do just this. First we need to understand the situation. Obviously we can't take a field trip to a farm and live there for a year to experience it first-hand! However, we can get a glimpse of the complications involved in subsistence farming through playing the simulation game, "Third World Farmer" by clicking on the link at the bottom of this post.

First, look at the HUNGER MAP published by the F.A.O - notice the patterns and anomalies. How does this relate to the 'North-South Divide' map that we looked at previously? Secondly, read the article, G8 AGRICULTURE MINISTERS ADMIT FAILURE ON HUNGER What reasons are given for 1 billion people living with chronic hunger? What is happening with the UN MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOAL #1 to "end poverty and hunger" by 2015?

On your blog, respond to the maps and articles. 

What have you learned?

How do you feel?

Ok - you are almost ready to play the game!

The goal is: to better understand the link between FARMING, FOOD and DEVELOPMENT. 

You will be playing and noting all of the things that HELP improve your farm productivity and all of the things that HINDER your farming success. You will be thinking about the SHORT-TERM strategies that you have to apply in order to survive, and any LONG-TERM strategies that you can apply in order to develop.

Play the game: THIRD WORLD FARMER Make sure that you take notes in your book (a T chart is fine) on 'Things that helped my family's development' and 'Things that were barriers to my family's development'. Do this as you play - I know the game absorbs you, but take a moment every few minutes to write down your strategies / obstacles. (You will forget the details later).

Your final blog response will be:

What are the challenges faced by farmers in L.E.D.C's?

What are the barriers to development that they face?

In what ways are farming and poverty linked to development?
Which SLR does this link to and why?
What did I learn from the resources posted on the blog?
How will this affect me in the future?