Geography

Tackling climate change; food riots in Haiti; global pandemics; the rise of populist leaders in politics; deforestation in Amazonia; human trafficking; industrialisation in China; the San bushmen of the Kalahari; bottle Banks; Europe's refugee crisis; the growth of megacities; the legacy of the London Olympics; the Parque Natural de Sintra-Cascais; gender inequality; McDonalds; sex tourism; forest fires in Portugal; the Make Poverty History campaign; bush fires in Australia; globalisation; Extinction Rebellion; the U.N.; HIV/AIDS; conflicts over water and oil; the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals; poverty reduction and the rise of the New Global Middle Class.

The answer is that, one way or another, they all come into the IB’s excellent Geography syllabus – ensuring that no other subject is more relevant to the IB student’s personal perspective on life than Geography. In fact, if you don’t have anything to say for yourself in an IB geography lesson, then one would have to wonder where on earth you’ve been for the past 16 years!

Detailed copies of the syllabus can be accessed via this link. 

Part 1 Core theme (SL/HL) Global Change

• Changing population

• Global climate—vulnerability and resilience

• Global resource consumption and security

Part 2 Optional Themes (SL)

• Freshwater issues/conflicts

• Leisure, Sport and Tourism 

Part 2 Optional Themes (HL)

• Freshwater issues/conflicts

• Leisure, Sport and Tourism 

• The Geography of Food and Health

Part 3 Extension Theme (HL) Global interactions

• Power, places and networks

• Human development and diversity

• Global risks and resilience