My Perfect Country - lesson One - EIO 2 TVWO

• European and International Orientation
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 2

Assignment Three (lesson 1)

My Perfect Country: 

In a world where a lot is going wrong there is also a lot going right. So what if you could build a country - with policies that actually worked? We are going to imagine your perfect country by homing in on policies from across the world that have been truly successful.

Idiom: To home in on

To focus or concentrate on something or someone

My Perfect Country

Which policies will work? 

We are on the hunt for solutions to the world’s problems. 

 The aim is to create the perfect country made up of the best global policies that actually work. In the next few lessons, you will hear some audio clips . Together, we will debate how the perfect country is shaping up.
The policies include: Rwanda reducing the gender pay gap, Norway’s prison system, Costa Rica's green policy,  People who have first-hand experience of these policies give their own personal reflection of living through them – and we will listen to their views and then think about how we could make our own perfect country. 

What do you think are THE most important
policies to consider for our Utopia?

Today we are going to take a look at sustainability and policies which may help protect our environment.

Useful language

Green energy

A green environment

Generating electricity

Deforestation

Carbon neutral

National Parks

A reversal of .......

Creation of ..........

According to the film clip, what sort of plastic does the most harm

1. large pieces
2. invisible pieces
3. plastic that gets imbedded in coral
4. small pieces

How much of the Earth's surface is covered by ocean?

1. a half
2. two thirds
3. three quarters
4. all of it

What is mentioned as a substitute for plastic

1. drinking straws
2. pineapple fibre
3. bottle tops
4. bamboo

What is meant by 'single use plastics'?

How Costa Rica became one of the greenest countries on Earth

In 2007 Costa Rica announced its intention to be the first carbon neutral country by 2021, a race that includes Iceland, Norway and New Zealand. But it became an ecological example for the rest of the world much earlier, in 1949, when the government committed to generating electricity from natural resources. Since then, a reversal of deforestation and the creation of national parks have also played a part

Image: Scarlet Macaw - one of the beneficiaries of Costa Rica's conservation policy.

Which countries have already switched to 100% renewable energy?

How many people live in Costa Rica? Why is this a relevant factor in how they have been able to save money and stop pollution?

What did Costa Rica announce in 2007?

Group Work: DISCUSS

Are you going to include any of the ideas we heard about from Costa Rica in our own Utopian Country? 

Form groups of four people and discuss what you would like to see in your perfect country

Why or Why not? 

EXTRA - On the next slide:

Is an audio link to a radio programme about what sort of policies could make the perfect country list! It is 26 mins long - listen to some or all of it and see how much you can understand.

https: