6.2 Global Issues

La vie contemporaine: Issues in Everyday Life

Everyday life brings about questions of what our economies, governments, and citizens can do better to fix modern plights. For example, what are some rudimentary issues in our school systems? What can we do to fix them? How can one person create enough change for a lasting impact? How are other issues such as homelessness, unemployment, housing, etc, addressed in differently developing countries?

L'Education

Access to education in differently developed parts of the world poses many issues, even today. Many children in Francophone countries, particularly in Africa, do not have access to education due to poverty, lack of infrastructure, and other factors.

When they do, the quality of education may be poor due to inadequate funding, lack of trained teachers, and other issues.

In some francophone countries, the official language of instruction is French, which can be a barrier for children who speak a different language at home, such as Arabic in Morocco.

Other issues include gender disparity, where certain countries prefer to enroll boys in school over girls; this can lead to lower literacy rates and higher dropout rates in accordance with other characteristics described above.

La Tradition

In a modern world, it's easy to find issue with long-lasting traditions that hold onto older and more conservative/old-fashioned virtues. Secularization (la secularization) is responsible for the eradication or disappearing of some of these traditions, as is the integration (l'integration) of immigrants, who bring more different customs to countries. Other holidays and traditions can be deemed controversial or against modern social standards; they may be discovered to be oppressive (oppressif), harmful (nuisible) or discriminatory (discriminatoire).

It is important to remember that every country is everchanging, as is its government, citizen body, and every other factor. As society modernizes, so do the pros and cons of every nation and the way it functions in the global scheme. Keep this in mind as you address the questions below.

Possible Prompts:

In your opinion, what is the most pressing modern issue in your contemporary life? How do you think this would differ from a teenager growing up in a Francophone environment?

What is the most effective way to create change in your community in your opinion?

What is our responsibility as citizens to fix issues in our modern lives?

Compare and contrast your community and a Francophone one regarding access to basic needs such as education and shelter, as well as those discussed above.

Strive for Five Vocab

• Le réchauffement climatique: Climate change
• La pollution: Pollution
• La crise économique: Economic crisis
• L'inégalité sociale: Social inequality
• Le chômage: Unemployment
• La pauvreté: Poverty
• La migration: Migration
• La sécurité alimentaire: Food security
• La santé globale: Global health
• La lutte contre le terrorisme: Counterterrorism
• La réfugiés: Refugees
• Le développement durable: Sustainable development
• La justice climatique: Climate justice
• La transition énergétique: Energy transition
• La biodiversité: Biodiversity
• La coopération internationale: International cooperation
• La diplomatie: Diplomacy
• Le genre: Gender
• L'égalité des sexes: Gender equality
• La diversité: Diversity
• La tolérance: Tolerance
• La non-discrimination: Non-discrimination