Browse the group activities below for great ways to introduce global issues. These activities are ideal for youth leaders looking for fun and interactive ways to explore important topics with their group. Each ready-to-use activity includes instructions and a list of required materials.
Our Inheritance, Their Inheritance
Time: 60 minutes
Group Size: 4 to 40
Each generation’s actions can improve life or lead to a deterioration in life quality for later generations. This activity helps participants understand how present actions affect future generations.
Land Mine Trust Walk
Time: 30 to 40 minutes
Group Size: 6 to 30
Long after brutal armed conflicts have ended, landmines continue the legacy of death and destruction. Children are often the ones who pay the price. This activity introduces participants to the experience of living in an area with landmines.
Waste Not, Want Not
Time: 45 minutes
Group Size: 4 to 35
This activity introduces participants to the idea that not everyone in the world has easy access to water. The little water they do have has to be used very carefully so that none goes to waste.
Poverty Perceptions
Time: 45 minutes
Group Size: Any
Discover how our perspectives about poor people determine our approach to fighting poverty.
Stones in a Pond
Time: 30-40 minutes
Group Size: Any
Exploring the impact of disaster and the concept of interdependence.
What do you think? Nine Views On Poverty
Time: 30 minutes
Group Size: Minimum 6
Challenging our views on poverty is important in developing a better understanding of the issue. This activity exposes participants to different viewpoints and provides a launching point for further discussion.
Joseph A, Joseph B
Time: 30 minutes
Group Size: Any
This activity will show how people living in poor countries have a difficult time achieving the same life goals that Canadians do because they face many obstacles beyond their control.
Village Planners
Time: 30 minutes
Group Size: Any
This exercise will help participants visualize how debt affects poor countries and how debt relief can free up money for essential services such as health care, education and infrastructure.
The Web of Life
Time: 20 minutes
Group Size: 5 to 25
In sustainable development there are many interconnected parts in any global system. This fun activity illustrates that concept in a visual and interactive way.
Stacked Snacks
Time: 45 minutes
Group Size: Any
This activity demonstrates to participants how unfairly distributing resources prevents some people around the world from getting their fair share. It examines how unequal distribution might affect people in the long run.
The Refugee Road
Time: 30 to 40 minutes
Group Size: Any
Every year, millions of people flee their homes in fear, often with just the clothes on their backs. This activity helps participants understand what life might be like as a refugee.
