Option theme 6: Reimagining our future

In this theme, students reimagine the future of the world. Students consider the kind of future they foresee by considering pressing challenges such as climate change, social injustice, sustainability, global peace, and threats to public health. Students explore the current nature of problems, identify key causes, and critically evaluate systemic and conceptual problems that contribute to sustaining global challenges. Students think innovatively in order to rethink current political practices and find new solutions.

The four inquiry questions are:

1. What are the biggest global political concerns?
2. To what extent can political and economic institutions bring real change?
3. To what extent is collective action between countries a ‘game‑changer’?
4. Does the world need new solutions?

In addressing inquiry question 1: ‘What are the world’s biggest global political concerns?’, students may consider:

• managing peace and conflict
• climate change and environmental conservation
• inequalities and human rights
• public health and disease management.

Students seek to identify the biggest contemporary threats to global peace, sustainability, and humanitarian equality. They examine global concerns and reflect on the factors that contribute to perpetuating and escalating these problems. Students review the role, power, effectiveness, and actions of national, regional, and international agencies in their quests for peace. Students seek to provide solutions to the questions that arise from political, economic, geographic, and social inequalities. They assess the concept that climate change is an individual dilemma and a governmental dilemma, at both national and global levels. Students explore the current political action or inaction around tackling these challenges.

In addressing inquiry question 2: ‘To what extent can political and economic institutions bring real change?’, students may consider:

• global political institutions
• global economic institutions
• non‑government organisations
• case studies.

Students may, as members of the global community, recognise the need for meaningful, sustained action and global approaches. Students are encouraged to review such issues as international cooperation, solidarity, and the development of shared approaches to bring meaningful change. Students seek to understand the purposes and functions of political, economic, and non‑government institutions in tackling international problems. They reflect on specific case studies as examples of successful and failed actions and policies. They also consider the power and limitations of these entities.

In addressing inquiry question 3: ‘To what extent is collective action between countries a ‘game‑changer’?’ students may consider:

• powerful players/countries
• cooperation between countries and institutions
• mechanisms for collective action
• barriers to collective action.

Students may consider the action taken by countries to tackle world issues. Students explore cooperative efforts between nations and institutions to improve world problems, and also analyse the impact of the actions taken by individual influential countries and/or blocs of countries. Students use case studies to assess the impact of collective action and reflect on conflicting interests between nations, lack of governance, and limited access to resources. Students assess the claim that all countries should be free to govern with unimpeded national sovereignty.

In addressing inquiry question 4: ‘Does the world need new solutions?’, students may consider:

• limitations of the current solutions
• trailblazers who are finding workable solutions
• applying new solutions to global politics
• future issues and their prevention.

Students reimagine a future, focusing on new approaches and ways of thinking. They challenge their assumptions when finding new political approaches to tackle pervasive global problems. Students draw inspiration from innovators, from those who are leading progress, and from inspirational Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. Students look to the past for examples of success at both micro and macro levels and analyse the reasons for success. They reflect on the power of the individual to make positive change in a global world. Students develop an understanding of how governments and commercial entities have traditionally approached challenges, and then identify approaches that need to be reimagined on order to create new futures.