Last week, politicians and business leaders from around the world met in Switzerland to “improve the state of the world.”
The meeting is called The World Economic Forum and it happens once a year. It was held last week from Jan. 20 to 23, in Davos, Switzerland. People like Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the presidents of big companies like Facebook and Microsoft, and even celebrities like U2’s Bono were at the meeting.
The meeting is run by a not-for-profit organization that says (on its website) that it is “committed to improving the world in ways that are objective, measurable and sustainable.”
Some of the topics discussed included:
- how to help the worlds millions of refugees, who are fleeing their homes to find safer places to live;
- ensuring that women earn as much as men when they perform similar work and that they have equal rights to men;
- climate change;
- what the Internet will be like in the future;
- how to help people in poorer countries through better education as well as how to give them greater access to the Internet;
- the development of new types of cars, including cars that don’t need gasoline, and cars that can drive themselves, without a human behind the wheel;
- what jobs there will be in the year 2020; and
- how to ensure that the people in the poorest countries of the world have enough food to eat and have healthcare available to them.
On a Facebook post, Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau said, “at the World Economic Forum this week, we’re spreading the word that NOW is the time to invest in Canada. Today I met with General Motors CEO Mary Barra to discuss creating Canadian jobs, and talked about the benefits of doing business in Canada with Novartis CEO Joseph Jimenez. I’ve also had productive meetings with Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg, Microsoft’s Satya Nadella and other business leaders from around the world. Tomorrow, I’ll join Melinda Gates for a panel discussion on gender parity in the workforce. Through it all, the Canadian delegation here has one focus: To promote investment and innovation in our country – growing our middle class to create a stronger, more vibrant economy.”
Related links
On the World Economic Forum website are many great discussions including this one, about the way cars will look and function in the future.
http://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/01/the-next-revolution-in-the-car-industry
CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS
By Jonathan Tilly
Writing/Discussion Prompt
Eight issues are listed as discussion topics at the World Economic Forum. Rank them in order of importance to you. Compare your list to a friend’s. Discuss any similarities and differences.
Reading Prompt: Analysing Texts
Today’s article includes several “bullets.” These graphics are used by the author before each item being discussed at the Word Economic Forum.
Why do you think the author chose to use “bullets” instead of full sentences? Are there advantages and disadvantages to using “bullets?” What are they?
Junior
Analyse texts and explain how various elements in them contribute to meaning (OME, Reading: 1.7).
Intermediate
Analyse a variety of texts, both simple and complex, and explain how the different elements in them contribute to meaning and influence the reader’s reaction (OME, Reading: 1.7).
Language Feature: Proper Nouns
Proper nouns are words that tell of a specific person, place, or thing. For example, the word “car” is a noun, while “Ferrari” is a proper noun; the word “city” is a noun, while “Winnipeg” is a proper noun; the word “teacher” is a noun, while “Ms. Baptist” is a proper noun.
Today’s article includes many proper nouns referring to specific people, places, and things. Reread today’s article and underline every proper noun you can find.
