The Challenge of a Global World -- and the Need to Understand It

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1 The Challenge of a Global World -- and the Need to Understand It World Views Community College Forum Clark Plexico November 15, 2007

2 Our safety and prosperity depend on our knowledge of the world around us. Colin Powell

3 Our future is inextricably linked to the complex challenges of the global community. And for our children to be prepared to take their place in that world, they must first understand it. Rod Paige Former U.S. Secretary of Education

4 Did you know? In a poll of 18 to 24 year-old Americans conducted by National Geographic Roper Public Affairs: Nearly two-thirds still cannot find Iraq on a map Nearly half could not find the India subcontinent On a map of Asia 75% were unable to locate Israel On a map of the Middle East 88% could not find Afghanistan On a map of Asia

5 Why Does this Matter?

6 1. New York 2. London 3. Tokyo 4. Moscow 5. Paris Largest Cities in 1950

7 The population swing is away from Europe and North America. In 1950 just under 30% of the world s population was in Europe and North America, almost 1 out of 3 people. Now it is only 17%!

8 By the middle of the century -- the working lifetime of your students the percentage of the world s population living in Europe and North America is projected to fall to 11%. Approximately 1 out of 10

9 Write down the five largest cities 10 years from now.

10 Largest Cities in 2015 (Projected) 1. Tokyo, Japan 2. Mumbai (Bombay), India 3. Lagos, Nigeria 4. Dhaka, Bangladesh 5. Sao Paulo, Brazil

11 Included in the Top 30 Projected Largest Cities are: Karachi, Pakistan Jakarta, Indonesia Cairo, Egypt Istanbul, Turkey Tehran, Iran areas in which Americans are not wellliked, and areas that Americans know very little about the culture

12 One has to understand religion today in order to make correct investment decisions. --Joseph Quinlan Managing Director, Bank of America Capital Management

13 One-third of the Arab population is under the age of 15! For every person in Saudi Arabia between the ages of 45 and 60 there are 8 Saudis under the age of 15

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17 List the 10 largest countries by population.

18 The World s Ten Largest Countries: 1. China 2. India 3. United States 4. Indonesia 5. Brazil 6. Pakistan 7. Russia 8. Bangladesh 9. Japan 10. Nigeria

19 How much do we teach our students today about the 10 most populous countries in the world?

20 If you are 1 in a million In China there are another 1,300 people just like you. In India there are another 1,100 people just like you.

21 The 25% of the population in China with the highest I.Q. is greater than the total population of North America. In India it s the top 28%. What does this mean for educators? They have more honor students than we have students.

22 Now you are going to tell me it doesn t really matter where the people are, what really matters is where the economic growth is! Europe and North America Wrong!

23 For the past five years, GNP per head has grown by an annual 1.9% in the developed world. During that same time GNP per head in the emerging economies has grown by an annual average of 5.6%!

24 Reordering of the Big Ten Economies China will overtake the United States for the #1 spot. India, a country not even on the list today will jump to the #3 spot. Mexico, again a country not on the list today, will be the 5 th largest economy. Russia will move up to #6.

25 Bottom line? Rich countries no longer dominate the world economy. It is the emerging economies that are driving global growth.

26 What Does All this Mean?

27 The places we know and understand the least are the ones growing the fastest. It also means that our future economic prosperity and our national security depend on closing the international knowledge gap.

28 While the rest of the world is changing, is America staying the same? Immigration into the U.S. Mexico India China Philippines Cuba Vietnam Dominican Republics Korea Columbia Ukraine only 1 western European country in the top 20

29 BRIC Brazil Russia India China These four countries account for two-fifths of the total GDP of all emerging economies.

30 Languages of BRIC Brazil Russia India China Portuguese Russian Hindi Mandarin Chinese French, a language spoken by less than 80 million people, is being studied by 1 million American students. Mandarin Chinese, spoken by 1.6 billion people, is being studied by only 40,000 American students.

31 Do we speak the same language? As long as everyone can speak English, we ll have no problems

32 German I don t agree

33 British Hmm, that s a very interesting idea

34 American You gotta be kidding

35 French I don t see the logic in your argument

36 Italian Let s go and have a Campari and talk about it tomorrow

37 British Coded Speech 101 What is said What is meant Hm interesting idea You could say that We must have a meeting about your idea We shall certainly consider it I m not quite with you on that one I m with you up to a point What a stupid suggestion I wouldn t Forget it We won t do it That is totally unacceptable I disagree

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39 Richest in the world Center of world business and finance Strongest education system Name this country! World center of innovation and invention Currency is the worlds standard of value Has highest standard of living in the world That country is England In 1900

40 Since 1970 there has been more innovation, more inventions than at any time before the history of mankind before that. how much have our schools changed since 1970?

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42 Preparing our students The question is not are we preparing our students for the world of 2007.

43 The real question is are we preparing our students for the world as it is going to be.

44 What are other key questions we need to answer?

45 How do schools, community colleges and universities best prepare our children to be productive citizens in the world s most powerful country at the beginning of the 21 st century? What is our role and responsibility in producing experts in languages and area studies essential to national security? How do we best prepare our students in order that industries and businesses have the best prepared work force for successfully competing in the global economy?

46 Tom Friedman s The World is Flat In the 21 st century flat world, when conducting business it no longer matters where you are. So does it matter where you come from?

47 Markets are global. Customers and suppliers can be anywhere. Talent is distributed we have to work in increasingly multinational teams. We need to communicate and build trust with culturally divere partners.

48 All of which means that as the globalized economy becomes more inter-connected, culture becomes more important, not less.

49 Understanding New Cultures Just the tip of the iceberg Culture shock shock shock

50 The new challenge to educators and policy makers How to equip students to function in teams with colleagues who: Live in another country Speak another language Hold different cultural values And approach business problems differently than most Americans

51 If we don t prepare our students for the new international world we live in, every child will be left behind. --Patricia Shroeder Former U.S. Congresswoman