Global+challenges+in+the+next+25+years

Global Challenges in the next 25 years

The major global trends likely to have a significant impact on the lives of people during the next 25 years are economy, politics, environment, religion, language, values, technology, and culture. Three of these that I will focus on are language, technology and culture. Languages are changing daily and in the next 25 years we are likely to see more countries becoming multilingual and more dialects developing. Regardless of the number of languages, language education is important. Language education is already changing and will increase in the next 25 years as K-12 offers more variety of languages. No longer are the choices only Spanish and French with a few schools also offering Latin, German, and possibly Italian. Now there are schools offering Japanese, Chinese and African dialects. As the world prepares for a global culture I think in the next 25 years we will see all major countries offering multiple languages. Technology is also going to continue to change in the next 25 years. This will affect the world as more countries become Internet connected. Technology is changing the way we communicate, the way we learn news or what the weather will be, the way we interact with friends and the way we teach. Countries that are not technology connected will be further and further removed from global communication and interaction. Culture is shaped by all of these issues: economy, politics, environment, religion, language, values, technology and culture. Language and technology in the next 25 years will shape how cultures communication and share with one another.

The characteristics required of individuals in order to cope with and manage these trends are strength of character, work ethic, family values and morals, value of education and religious faith. Citizens of the world, regardless of which country they live in, over the next 25 years will need these characteristics in order to interact globally with others through business, political, economic, religious, and educational venues. These characteristics will become essential skills for open communication and collaboration between individuals in different cultures in different parts of the world. Understanding and knowing about these differences are essential to creating a way of global collaboration.

Since understanding and knowing about individuals characteristics and global competence education will be necessary for learning. These characteristics might be developed by new curriculum in K-12 education, through education in religious faiths, or through home life. The approaches, strategies or innovations which might best implement these characteristics are through inquiry projects that connect different cultures globally in educational or religious settings. Another approach may be for parents to be educated in global awareness and model open mindedness and model acceptance of other cultures to their children. One strategy may be for educators to teach using global learning techniques where students are given a chance to learn more about other cultures. Another idea is for leaders of religious faiths to interact more globally with other religions. K-12 curriculum should include global awareness in all content areas. One thing seems essential for the next 25 years, which is that the world is changing and our challenge is to be prepared.