From the World to Mexico
Incomming Preparation Seminar
A (relatively) small reflection of the world's problems, their correlations, their effects in Mexico, and how to solve them.
Premises for the Session
- The importance of cross-cultural understanding to ensure peace.
- The relevance and necessity of world citizens to face current local, regional, and global issues.
Global Issues: A Context of the XXIst Century
7 ½ billion people ~ 266 Births per minute
- 40% of people living under $2 per day
- 1 in 9 people don't have access to enough food
- 1 in 3 people suffer from malnourishment
- Measurements of World Hunger - FAO
World Hunger
Instead of attacking the structural causes of World Hunger, the importance of the problem has tried to be reduced.
Corporate interests generally overlook the population's health, focusing on the maximization of revenue.
| Global Priority | $ USD bn | Global priority | $ USD bn (additional) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cosmetics in US | 9 | Basic education for all | 6 |
| Ice cream in Europe | 11 | Water and sanitation for all | 9 |
| Pet food in US | 17 | Basic health and nutrition | 13 |
| Cigarrettes in Europe | 50 | ||
| Military spending worldwide | 780 |
Conflict and Violence
- Conflicts have sharply increased since 2010.
- Record numbers in forced displacements since WWII.
- 19.5 million refugees
- 38 million IDPs
-
Interpersonal and gang violence
- Half a million people are killed each year. That's 1300 people a day, 9 times the number of lives lost in open warfare.
Interpersonal violence and political violence tend to be increasingly interrelated, particularly where institutions are weak and social norms have become tolerant of violence.
Prolonged conflict keeps countries poor
Governance and Institutions
- Corruption is regarded as the #1 barrier impeding growth in developing countries.
- Moral, economic, and social implications
- The weakest and most vulnerable are the ones most affected
- Inefficient use of public resources = misallocated investments = lag in education and healthcare.
- Corruption corrodes public trust, undermines the rule of law and ultimately delegitimises the state
Costs of corruption worldwide:
2.6
trillion
The Mexican Situation
Poverty
As long as poverty, injustice and gross inequality persist in our world, none of us can truly rest.
-Nelson Mandela
- About half the population lives in poverty (20 million children); about 10% of the population lives in extreme poverty (5 million children).
- There is an abysmal wealth gap between rich and poor.
- 1% of the population owns 43% of the wealth.
- A quarter of the workforce is underemployed.
Education
Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world
- 10% of children between the ages of 3 and 14 years without attending school.
- Almost 40% of teenagers aged between 15 and 19 don't attend school.
- Lack of economic resources, the necessity of working at a young age, and the lack of motivation are the main reasons for early dropouts.
- Understaffed and under-maintained public schools.
- Constant discords between unions and government --> "Paro"
Drug Trafficking
- Since 2006, the "War Against Drugs" began.
- 150,000 killings, 30,000 disappeared
- Threat to government control
- Sharp increases of violence, lack of security; a welfare state now becomes a dream. Social inequality has increased. Drug consumption hasn't decreased.
- Military abuse on civilians.
- Lack of political will from the government to confront the issue.
- Narco-investments
Video
What has the World Done?
Sustainable Development Goals
- Education for the XXIst century
- Innovation is imperative
- Time = Change = Education
- Different arguments for learning: how knowledge is generated and applied
- Fast changing world
- Conventional education vs quality education
- Essential to achieve a real welfare state
- We cannot talk about a successful/modern world, as long as social inequalities continue to exist