Biodiversity/Environmental Degradation (Room 312)

The rate of extinction has been increasing. The main reason this is happening is due to loss of habitats. Habitat loss is due to the growth of the human population which brings increased agriculture, pollution, deforestation, hunting, fishing, trade, etc.

 

Pollution (Room 313)

Pollution is all around us, affecting the food we eat, the water we drink, and the air we breathe. The effect of pollution on our environment and the people of the world can be catastrophic. There are many ways to limit pollution to help improve the quality of life on earth.

 

Racial Discrimination (Room 314)

Racial discrimination is when a person is treated less favourably than another person in a similar situation because of their race, colour, descent, national or ethnic origin or immigrant status. More and more cases of racial discrimination are coming to light due to globalization as people immigrate to other countries.

​

Digital Divide (Room 111)

The gap between those with access to technology and those without is growing. Just as education can equalize or divide countries and people, information and communications technologies can go either way. New technologies have become one of the most potent ways to accelerate development and reduce poverty.

 

Global Infectious Diseases (Room 112)

Infectious diseases have become one of the world’s most urgent issues. We are in a race against time to control the spread of the most dangerous diseases, before the diseases become resistant to the drugs used to treat them.

​

Education for All (Room 113)

Education is one of the most powerful instruments for reducing poverty and inequality and for laying the basis for sustainable growth. Improved education is strongly linked to productivity growth, improved health, the ability to understand the need to care for the natural environment, and even to population stabilization.

​

Conflict Prevention (Room 114)

In today’s complex world, new wars will continue to erupt unless efforts are made to prevent them. Global dynamics may lead to new tensions and to escalating conflict over power and resources. It is important that we develop strategies to prevent such conflicts from becoming wars.

​

Women’s Rights and Coercion (Room 322)

Every year, violence in the home and the community devastates the lives of millions of women. Violence against women is rooted in a global culture of discrimination which denies women equal rights with men and which legitimizes the appropriation of women's bodies for individual gratification or political ends.

 

International Migration and Labour Rules (Room 323)

As countries are developing and globalizing, citizens of the world are finding it more convenient, and in some instances necessary, to move to other countries. However, governments are not adapting to their new populations and their policies do not accommodate those not represented as their citizens. Many have been trafficked, even more are exploited.

 

Access to Health Care (Room 324)

According to the World Health Organization, 400 million people around the world do not have access to health care services. Many countries do not have universal access to health care and the prohibitive costs further limit access. The lack of basic, affordable health care perpetuates the cycle of poverty in many countries.

Descriptions of these issues have been paraphrased from Jean Francois Rischard’s book High Noon: 20 Global Problems, 20 Years to Solve Them and from the internet sources listed below.