What are Global Issues? 

A global issue incorporates the following three properties:

1. It has significance on a wide/large scale.

2. It is transnational.

3. Its impact is felt in everyday local contexts. 

Global Areas

Students may look to one or more of the following fields of inquiry for guidance on how to decide on a global issue to focus their orals on. These topics are not exhaustive and are intended as helpful starting points for students to generate ideas and derive a more specific global issue on which to base their individual oral. It should also be noted that there is the potential for significant overlap between the areas. 

PLEASE NOTE: THE FOLLOWING CATEGORIES ARE GLOBAL AREAS, NOT GLOBAL ISSUES.   

Global issues are found WITHIN Global Areas. 

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Culture, identity and community 

Students might focus on the way in which texts explore aspects of family, class, race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, gender and sexuality, and the way these impact on individuals and societies. They might also focus on issues concerning migration, colonialism and nationalism.   

Beliefs, values and education 

Students might focus on the way in which texts explore the beliefs and values nurtured in particular societies and the ways they shape individuals, communities and educational systems. They might also explore the tensions that arise when there are conflicts of beliefs and values, and ethics. 

Politics, power and justice 

​Students might focus on the ways in which texts explore aspects of rights and responsibilities, the workings and structures of governments and institutions. They might also investigate hierarchies of power, the distribution of wealth and resources, the limits of justice and the law, equality and inequality, human rights and peace and conflict. 

Art, creativity and the imagination 

Students might focus on the ways in which texts explore aspects of aesthetic inspiration, creation, craft, and beauty. They might also focus on the shaping and challenging of perceptions through art, and the function, value and effects of art in society. 

Science, technology and the environment 

Students might focus on the ways in which texts explore the relationship between humans and the environment and the implications of technology and media for society. They might also consider the idea of scientific development and progress. 

How to Select a Global Issue

DO NOT simply select from the broad fields of inquiry above, but determine a specific issue for discussion that can be reasonably explored.

​For example, 

Global Area: culture, identity and community, 

Theme: gender

Global Issue:  How gender bias manifests itself in the literary genres of the Middle East.