Why do we need Fairtrade products?

We need Fairtrade products to raise awareness, to raise money for improving health and education in LEDC's and to ensure the public buy products that meet agreed sustainable, labour and fair standards. I think the most important reason is to raise awareness, as many people take where there food and products come for granted, and with their awareness, we can get people educated to do something about the unfairness in trade that some farmers suffer.

Is development always a good thing?
I think there will always be less developed countries than some, and vice versa. There will always be development, and I think that's a good thing, because poverty is such an issue in the present day. However I'm not sure how far development will go, because just how really developed can a country get?

ELP Can we change the world?

GETTING STARTED

"A waterfall starts but with one drop, and look what becomes of that."

I really like this quote because it means "Big things start small." I totally agree on that statement, it summarizes how to complete success, which links to development. In one of his TED talks, Hans Rosling says that all MEDC's start off as LEDC's, well, where else would MEDC's start? That's how it links with the topic: A Fair World. It's saying how a small drop can develop in to a huge mass of water.

CHOOSING MY TOPIC:

I think I'll chose the "free range" topic, but bring in the second choice of ELP as well. I've chosen this because last term my level was ay a Level 7a, but has dropped down to a 6 this last term, I want to try and bring it back up again by choosing this level of ELP.

I'm choosing the problem (which is also a millennium development goal that links to the United Nations) of Maternal Health, which links to Child Health. 

ASSESSMENT INFO

Success Criteria

- I will hit Analayse and hopefully Link on the level ladder.

- I will make sure that I use STEEP to get to that level

- I will understand how to try and solve global issues

LINK

·      Make links in their knowledge and understanding

·      Select, organise and accurately use a wide range of skills and relevant information

·      Produce well-structured work

SYNTHISISE

·      Understand how the interaction between can result in complex and unintended changes

·      Show independence in identifying appropriate questions

·      Use terminology confidently, reflecting on the way in which terms can change meaning according to context

·      Analyse links between events and developments that took place in different locations and time periods

WRITTEN PIECE

The issue I have chosen is the Millenium Development Goal, Maternal Health, which links to Child Health, another key MDG. I decided t o focus on maternal health because there are so many women and infants who die from lack of maternal health, and a little effort can make the world of difference in this topic.

 The key questions I’m going to answer by researching this topic are…

-       Why is maternal health such an important goal?

-       Why does it happen and where, and why does it happen where it does?

-       Is it linked to any other MDG or issue other than Child Health?

I’ve recorded my research in the format of a spider diagram/mindmap, but presenting it in a Powerpoint. I’ve chosen where to get my research, so that the information is reliable, I’ve used sources like the UNICEF (United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, now United Children’s Fund) website and WHO’s (World Health Organisation) website, I know these are reliable sources that I can get correct evidence from because they are both linked to the United Nations and are both official websites.

HAVE I ACHIEVED MY CRITERIA?

STEP (STEEP)

Social – Obviously the need for maternal health is social in the emotional side of things, for example grief and loss from the family members.

Technology – I’ve stated in my presentation the need for medical technology to be advanced in order to prevent maternal morbidity

Economic – I’ve addressed the need for mothers and children to survive in order to produce and income for the family and basic needs in LEDC’s (because that’s where most maternal deaths occur).

Political – I briefly touched on the need for the government to have a balanced population in order for the country to produce economically and environmentally (resources etc).

·      Make links in their knowledge and understanding – I’ve made links between maternal and child health care and how maternal health care links to the successfulness of the country.

·      Select, organise and accurately use a wide range of skills and relevant information – I feel I’ve used relevant information and research to back up my opinions.

·      Produce well-structured work – I feel like my presentation is organised!

·      Understand how the interaction between can result in complex and unintended changes – I’ve identified an unexpected change and how it could impact the population, however I haven’t explained it in detail.

·      Show independence in identifying appropriate questions – For my planning, I wrote a document on what I wanted to include and the questions I wanted to answer (shown in written piece).

·      Use terminology confidently, reflecting on the way in which terms can change meaning according to context – I’m not sure if I’ve done this!

 

 

Definition of MEDC's and LEDC's

MEDC's - More Economically Developed Countries
Countries where there are rich families, food is provided, children go to school, buildings are made of strong, developed material.
LEDC's - Less Economically Developed Countries
Countries where there are lots of children in a family, the children have to work, they don't go to school, they have to work to grow food, buildings are made of natural resources.

MEDC's

I chose this picture for a number of reasons. One of them was because I like the way the man is just sitting on the world, thinking he can control everything. He has a computer and most likely internet connection, which MEDC's are lucky enough to have. He's staring at the computer screen, not really aware of what's going on around him, and I think people in MEDC's don't know what's really happening in the world. His arms a skinny, but his torso is fat, his complexion is pale, this is probably because he doesn't go out and exercise much and he doesn't have to work for food.

I chose this picture because I think it's the perfect analogy of an MEDC. It's of first class in an airplane. Firstly, he's on a plane, which extremely few people in LEDC's can afford. Secondly he's being brought huge amount of luxury food, he has huge amounts of space, and a TV is right in front of him. He looks comfortable, and life is comfortable in an MEDC.

LEDC's

I chose this picture because it's the complete opposite to the first picture for MEDC's. A man, wearing rags, is carrying the world on his shoulders. He looks physically fit, which means he probably has been involved in manual labour, which is what people in LEDC's have to do. What he is wearing signifies he probably doesn't have enough money to buy proper clothes. Carrying the world on his shoulders means he's really tough and strong, mentally and physically.

This is the second picture. It's showing a child, or a very short lady, picking rice in the rice/padi fields. It shows the lady working every day from very early in the evening to probably quite late at night, then doing everything to get the rice ready, and selling for not very much money at all. All the hard work for not much pay, and that's what people in LEDC's have to suffer. She's wearing ragged clothes and it's very dirty and muddy.

 

The Gap Between MEDC's and LEDC's

There is a huge difference between really rich countries, and amazingly poor countries. Before now, the gap between them has been ignored, now we know that there are countries called LEDC's and NICS (Newly Industrialized Countries). As time goes on, will these countries learn from MEDC's mistakes? Will they start using affordable, green technology? Will poverty disappear?  I think the key to an improved world is to use green technology, which doesn't affect the environment.  It's a link, if we use green technology and the population is less, then the environment won't get damaged, which makes the world last for a longer time. Hans Rosling suggested that child survival is key to lessening world population which, if you think about it, is true. People in LEDC's have to produce loads of children, because only a few will survive. If we know that child survival is at 100% in a country, we are less likely to have loads of children, which means that the population lessens. It's a cycle.

A Fair World?

I think this topic is going to be about how much some people take things for granted, for example, where do diamonds come from? How are they mined? They definitely don't appear from no-where, sometimes they're mined by children as young as 5 years old. I think it's to ask us, how much do you really know about what goes on in the world?
I think we're learning this to know how we can improve the state of the world, to figure out what it's going to be like in the future. Does it effect us? Why is it happening? How can we help?
I'm interested to know how aware we really are about our changing world. By the end of the topic I want to state if I think it's a fair world and justify WHY.

Natural Hazard Presenttion Reflection

The feedback that was given to us as a group I think will definitely help us in our Presentation in the real fair. The feedback was to have a key terms list, to slow down while speaking, and to practice what we were going to say before we said it. I think this is very important feedback that, if we apply properly, can make our presentation easier to understand. I tend to do nervous habits like comb my fingers through my hair or bite my nails. I think I need to overcome this in order to look confident, which makes it less awkward for the viewers.

ELP Fashion Show Reflection

REFLECTION HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUE

I was aiming for Analyse, and I’ve hit most of the semi-categories within that. I also wanted to heard towards LINK on the IDEAL mountain, and I've achieved SOME of them. I have achieved most things at the start of the ladder, but started only semi-achieving towards the end. 

I feel that I've hit Analyse, and definitely TRIED to move on to LINK.

Next time I would organise the media part of my outcome, the iMovie of pictures. It didn’t really work, and some of the pictures didn’t relate to my story. I think I rushed that bit. I liked writing and reading my story, so I think I would keep that the same.