What are global issues?

In your individual oral, you must address this prompt: "Examine the ways in which the global issue of your choice is presented through the content and form of one of the works and one of the bodies of work that you have studied."

Therefore, understanding what is and what is not a "global issue" is central to this assessment task. That is the first goal of this page: to define and explain what is a global issue. The second goal of this page is to support you in creating your own global issue for your own individual oral. Because students all around the world have studied different literary works and different non-literary bodies of work, specific conversations about your own global issues are best had with your own teacher. However, we will show you some do's and don'ts when it comes to constructing your own global issue. The third and final goal of this page is to give you a checklist you can use to ensure your global issue will allow you to succeed on this assessment task.

What are global issues?

The IB has defined global issues in the following manner:

(a) they have significance on a wide/large scale;

(b) they are transnational;

To break it down even further, and to use more student friendly language, a global issue has to be big, cross borders, but also be felt in someone's hometown. Keep this definition in the back of your head as you move to the next section of creating your own global issue.

Key tip from the Teacher Support Material: "It is important to note that the term global issue need not necessarily be understood as a problem, obstacle or threat; it may also refer to a social phenomenon that is internationally significant but manifests itself in
local contexts, such as living in a digital society" (21).

How do I create my own global issue?

There are two main avenues to figuring out your global issue. You can use the IB's "fields of inquiry." There are five of them and they are an excellent starting place to begin thinking about your own global issue. You might also consider the UN's 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Choosing one of them and narrowing it down from there is a possibility too. While there are other alternative pathways to creating a global issue, and these are not the only two ways to do it, they are the most common.

5 Fields of Inquiry

1. Culture, identity and community

2. Beliefs, values and education

3. Politics, power and justice

4. Art, creativity and the imagination

5. Science, technology and the environment

17 Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs

1. No poverty

2. Zero hunger

3. Good health and well-being

4. Quality education

5. Gender equality

6. Clean water and sanitation

7. Affordable and clean energy

8. Decent work and economic growth

9. Industry, innovation and infrastructure

10. Reduced inequalities

11. Sustainable cities and communities

12. Responsible consumption and production

13. Climate action

14. Life below water

15. Life on land

16. Peace, justice and strong institutions

17. Partnerships for the goals

Key tip: repeat the global issue over and over again in your individual oral. Why? The whole assessment task revolves around it!

How do I narrow myself down from one of these areas?

This is tough! You will want to pick one field of inquiry or one sustainable development goal. If you chose a field of inquiry, try to pick just one word from that field. But that one word isn't enough. You have to figure out what about the word is global and/or what aspect of that word do you want to explore. Think on a conceptual level and ask yourself a lot of questions. Let's take power, for example. What's interesting about power? Who's in power? How does that aspect of power influence others?

But global issues aren't created in isolation. You also have to think about your texts. What non-literary extract from a larger body of work will you use? What literary work and what specific extract will you focus on and why? Having an idea about your literary work and non-literary work from a body of work will help you in creating your global issue. So while the examples below don't give the literary work or non-literary body of work - to keep them universal for any student in any country - you have to be specific. Your global issue must connect to an extract from a literary work (and the larger work it comes from) and your global issue must connect to a non-literary extract (and larger body of work).

Example #1

I am interested in the first field of inquiry: culture, identity and community. More specifically, I am interested in this idea of identity. I love thinking about "who am I"? But identity is NOT a global issue. It's too broad. To narrow it down, I need to consider what about identity am I interested in exploring (in what I have studied) - in my case, fatherhood. If I narrow it down to what it means to be a father in Great Britain in World War One, it's no longer a global issue. That's too narrow. So now I need to combine the two in a way that still fits the definition of a global issue. I can start with a question: what does it mean to be a father? I can then add to the question since being a father during times of peace might be different from being a father in times of war. I now have a global issue that works: what it means to be a father in times of war.

Too broad: Culture, identity and community

Still too broad: Identity

And still too broad: Fatherhood

Too narrow: Fatherhood in Great Britain in World War One

Too wordy and convoluted: Fathers who take care of or abandon their children when they have to go to war or not go to war.

Just right: What it means to be a father in times of war

Key tip: When you tell your parent or guardian your global issue, can you say it in one breath and do they "get" it? If you have to explain it at all, or if you have to justify it, or if you have to do any other talking to make your global issue make sense, you need to fix it. Why? Your teacher and the moderator will not understand it either! The idea can be complex, but it should be easy to understand your global issue.

Can you give me some more examples of global issues?

Of course! Remember, the key to narrowing yourself down to a global issue is to start broad (from one of the fields of inquiry or SDGs) and then to ask yourself a bunch of questions. Those questions should reveal your interest and help you become more streamlined. Finally, don't forget to question whether your global issue is too broad, too narrow, too convoluted, or just right.

Example #2

I'm interested in SDG #4 - quality education (it's also one of the key words in the 2nd field of inquiry). But quality education is still a bit too broad; it's not a global issue yet. I need to ask myself some questions. What about education interests me? What makes a "good" or "quality" education? I believe children and teens have a right to education. But is it "rights" that I want to explore or is it something else about education that interests me? What have I studied in class that connects to education? I also think I want a positive individual oral. I live in Singapore and they regularly top the international league tables for educational outcomes and test scores. Wait, if I focus just on one country, that's too narrow. Well, in my school, my teachers keep talking about education as a force for good in the world. I think that's it!

Too broad: Education or quality education

Still too broad: Educational rights

Too narrow: Singaporean education system and why it's so good

Too long and convoluted: the ways in which education systems allow students to have agency and take action combatting problems they face in the world around them

Just right: education as a force for good

Example #3

I love technology. I want that to be my global issue! Wait, that's too broad. It's just one of the words in the fifth field of inquiry. What about technology is interesting to me (in what I have studied)? I'm interested in the ways in which governments are using facial recognition technology. But that's too narrow! I think it should be something about the intersection of ethics and technology. But that's too broad? How do I merge all my ideas together?

Too broad: Technology

Still too broad: Technology and ethics

Too narrow: How Facebook uses facial recognition technology for commercial means

Too long and convoluted: Governments controlling its citizens through technology and spying on them through this technology to keep them compliant or to jail them in the future

Just right: The use of technology to monitor protest movements

Key tip: keep the global issue as short as you can without compromising on the idea. That doesn't mean the global issue is one word! But if it takes you two sentences to state the global issue, that's too long!

Do you have a final checklist I can use for my global issue?

Yes! Answer the following questions to ensure that your global issue meets the requirements and will allow you to be successful on the assessment task.

1. Is your global issue "big" enough? Does it have large scale or wide significance?