For our research project, we are researching how civic education is set up in Scandinavian countries. This includes Sweden, Norway, and Denmark. Civics is the study and understanding of governments, from their processes to their building blocks. It is also the study of how citizens should engage with their government to ensure they are being heard and respected.

 

This topic is close to make heart because for much of my senior year of high school, I did a senior thesis researching civic education in Oregon. I took a look at specific requirements that the state had to teach in schools, I looked at the curriculum of these standards and I spoke to many teachers and officials in the Oregon Department of Education to understand why civic education was not on the forefront of graduation standards. As a country that prides itself on democratic processes and free public education, one would think it’s important for schools to teach civics and how one should be engaged with our government. I found that there is only one requirement, in high school, for civics and it’s 0.5 a credit. This is not sufficient if you are trying to teach students and individuals to think critically and have the knowledge they need to succeed in this democracy. If civics were more widely taught then you might find that individuals actually have a voice and are empowered to fight for change in their communities and within society. Voting rights are a huge issue currently in the US, and even though there are systemic reasons why many are discriminated against and kept from voting, there is also a large portion of individuals, especially young adults, who do not wish to vote because they truly believe that their vote doesn’t matter. If they were to be taught civic education, I am sure they would have a different outlook on their privilege to vote. Voting is vital to a democracy, and if people have the option to vote, and don’t, then you’ll start to lose the reality of a democracy altogether. To put it simply, civic education empowers students and young adults to be active members of their community and shows them that they have the option to create the changes they want to see.

For this research project, I, along with Sierra Hawes and Meredith Triplett have decided to focus our attention on Scandinavia. As one of the seemly unproblematic regions of the world, we wanted to see how citizens are empowered to take charge in their democracies. We started by analyzing the forms of government of each country and then looking into how the systems of education are set up in each country. This counts as our preliminary research. We will then look further into the International Civic and Citizenship Education Study and the curriculum in each country to see the impacts of this education on students in this region. Finally, we continue to look further into how that education has impacted current adults and the communities and local governments of these countries, as well as the happiness index of these countries. This research will help us look to successful models of civic education in another part of the world to understand how other countries could possibly increase the civic awareness of their citizens. 

Food consumption and security is a huge issue across the globe. Many countries have too much food, and many have too little. In all there are 1 billion people who are malnourished and underfed, and 1 billion who are overfed, as I have learned in my Intro to Global Issues class. There are multiple reasons for this, like access to trade, and access to calories versus nutrients. I personally have been incredibly lucky to have warm meals every day for the extent of my life, I have never experienced hunger or the sense of being malnourished. I have the privilege of options, I can choose what types of food I get to consume, and when to consume them.

 

I think this has played a significant role in my life, my access to food is very important and promenade and I know that for my community back home it was much more of a struggle. As someone who attended public school in Portland, I had access to free breakfasts and lunches through the free and reduced lunches. I would always pack my lunch, even from age 5 because my parents didn’t believe the food offered at the schools was nourishing enough. I think this says a lot about the food security in the US. While there is access, it is access to calories more than true nourishing food that will help citizens grow and live healthy lives. I know in the US, it’s a huge issue that healthy food Is so expensive, I know there are many ingredients my household cannot afford and while we still eat quite healthy, many families cannot. I am grateful for the access to food that the US has but there are still barriers for so many people to gain the ingredients they need to live a healthy lifestyle.

 

An important aspect of food consumption in the US is the reality of food waste. Food waste is a huge problem, and because we have an increased amount of food, that also means we waste quite a lot of it. I grew up with the notation that if it’s on your plate, you eat it. While that’s not always healthy, because it can cause overeating, my parents were very aware of food waste and didn’t want to contribute a great deal of waste to the already growing problem. I know that my school didn’t have healthy ways to compost or recycle, everything went into the trash to be sent to the landfill. For a minute in middle school, a group of students advocated for composting in our dining hall but found that students wouldn’t take the time to compost and instead put all of their waste into the trash like they had always done. After that moment in middle school, I didn’t notice any other attempts to instate composting in public schools, and they continued to create food waste sent directly to the trash. Back at home, it was vital we compost and my parents made sure we compost our waste because we had a garden. So we took matters into our own hands to create a sustainable way to take care of our own waste.

 

In Scandinavia, the region of the world where I am doing a research project on education, their food consumption and food security are very healthy. As a Western region, each country is pretty well off in terms of access to food. According to multiple sources, Finland, Sweden, and Austria are among the most food-sustainable countries in the world. Some multiple methods and laws control food security in these countries, like an incentive to donate food instead of waste it, this includes grocery stores and individuals. On top of this, they also rank in the highest region of the world that prioritizes sustainable agricultural systems. Overall, this region of the world is quite advanced in its food consumption and waste which is quite inspiring.

 

Links Used: https://www.bing.com/search?q=food+secrity+in+scandinavia&qs=n&form=QBRE&sp=-1&lq=0&pq=food+secrity+in+scandinavia&sc=11-27&sk=&cvid=F1166BF5F85A4728AEA0919A35609624&ghsh=0&ghacc=0&ghpl= 

This past Wednesday the Global Engagement ARC had a guest speaker from Afghanistan. He talked to us about his immigration process from Afghanistan since the Taliban regained power in his country. There were many topics he covered that were immensely interesting. He shared many of his experiences and lent an eye to the ways that immigrants try to find a safe and warm home away from their home country.

 

Our speaker spoke for a while about how it was important for him to get out of his comfort zone, he didn’t have the option not to leave so he was forced out of his comfort zone. It was cool how he talked about moving around the world from multiple different countries, you don’t know where you’re going to land, or where the most resources will be available to you. For our guest speaker, it was here in Eugene, but it took him a while to get here in Eugene. He spoke on the fact that he spent months in Brazil, and some time in North Carolina, all before getting to Eugene. I also appreciated his short stories about the Pan-American highway. As someone who had commuted up from Brazil to the U.S., it was fascinating to hear a little bit about his travels. I think a lot of people don’t understand the length at which immigrants have traveled, and that most migrants don’t come to the U.S. at first.

 

It was heartbreaking to hear that he still has family in Afghanistan who have to deal with the Taliban and political turmoil. He shared about his sister who is unable to continue her education because of the laws that have been put in place. This goes to show how close to heart these policies and laws are for people we interact with on a day-to-day basis. 

 

Overall, this guest speaker was incredibly inspiring and I really enjoyed the little snippets of his life story he shared.

New Zealand is an island country located in Oceania off of Southeast Asia. The nation is comprised of two islands, the North and South Islands, and a couple of small islands. New Zealand is a common destination due to its wonderful nature and active biodiversity.

 

History

In 1840, New Zealand was annexed by Great Britain where it started to govern itself under British rule. It wasn’t until 1947 that New Zealand became fully independent. Even under British rule, the nation was able to control much of its own government and policies. While the nation has many exports, tourism plays a vital role in New Zealand’s financial stability.

 

The Māori

Prior to 1642, when the first European contact arrived off the coast of New Zealand, the island nation was inhabited by the Māori. This native group still heavily populates the main islands of New Zealand and continues to be a prominent group in New Zealand. It took until 1867 to ensure a seat in the New Zealand parliament, but the native peoples of the island were represented politically, and economically. In 1987 Māori was made an official language of New Zealand which was another huge step in the decolonization of this island nation.

 

In attempts to decolonize the island nation, there have been many efforts beyond political representation. The Māori have their own radio station and other news sources that are controlled by the local community. In an attempt to restore land, the government has been returning sections of land back to the Māori control. The islands of New Zealand have a lot of biodiversity and lots of natural resources that the Māori require to be protected. Not only are there multiple national parks and other protected territories which make up about one-third of the country. Out of all the population of New Zealand, only 5% are humans. The other 95% are animals.

 

Learn More about the Māori

Latest Māori News – Waatea News: Māori Radio Station

Te Ao Māori News (teaonews.co.nz)

Discover Māori culture in New Zealand | 100% Pure New Zealand (newzealand.com)

 

Links Used:

Maori | History, Traditions, Culture, Language, & Facts | Britannica