December 12, 2001

NOBEL PEACEKEEPING
Examining the Goals Outlined in the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize Lecture

Grades:  6-8,9-12

Subjects:  Geography, Global History, Journalism, Current Events, Social Studies

Related New York Times Article
"In Nobel Talk, Annan Sees Each Human Life as the Prize, By SARAH LYALL", December 12, 2001

Overview of Lesson Plan:: In this lesson, students will examine the goals of eradicating poverty, preventing conflict and promoting democracy -- outlined in Kofi Annan's 2001 Nobel Peace Prize lecture -- as they apply to today's news.

SUGGESTED TIME ALLOWANCE:   1 hour

OBJECTIVES:
Students will:

  1. Think critically about the notions of poverty and prosperity in the year 2001.
  2. Discuss the future goals of Kofi Annan and the United Nations, the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize recipients, by reading and discussing "In Nobel Talk, Annan Sees Each Human Life as the Prize."
  3. Investigate the three key issues of poverty, conflict, and democracy highlighted by the United Nations in current news stories; create "Nobel Goals" charts analyzing examples of each.
  4. Maintain "Nobel Goals" journals tracking these three issues in current events over the course of one week.

RESOURCES / MATERIALS:

ACTIVITIES / PROCEDURES:

  1. WARM-UP/DO-NOW: Present each student with a copy of Kofi Annan's 2001 Nobel Speech in Oslo upon entering class (http://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/11/international/10KOFI-TEXT.html). Ask students to read the introductory paragraphs on the first page. While students are reading, create two columns on the board: "Child Born into Poverty in 2001" and "Child Born into Prosperity in 2001." After students have read the paragraphs, engage them in a brief discussion of Annan's statement that "to be born a girl in today's Afghanistan is to begin life centuries away from the prosperity that one small part of humanity has achieved." Then, in the columns on the board, have students brainstorm differences in basic resources, educational opportunities, family lives, freedoms and rights, and security in the future lives of babies born in this year, focusing both on your country or around the world. You may wish to elaborate on Annan's key points as students contribute ideas to the chart (e.g., poverty can also be found in countries with high standards of living, and wealthy elites can live in impoverished countries, etc.) Allow students to keep their copies of Annan's speech and invite them to finish reading it after class.
  2. As a class, read and discuss the article "In Nobel Talk, Annan Sees Each Human Life as the Prize," focusing on the following questions:
    1. Who are the winners of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize?
    2. Who is Kofi Annan?
    3. To what was Mr. Annan referring when he stated that the world "entered the third millennium through a gate of fire"?
    4. How did he describe the 20th century?
    5. According to the article, what types of security measures were taken in Oslo, Norway during the events surrounding the Nobel Prize?
    6. How did Mr. Annan respond to questions about the United States' proposal to establish closed military tribunals to try suspected terrorists?
    7. What does Mr. Annan mean by "almost a loss of innocence for the American people"?
    8. How could one describe the recent relationship between the United States and the United Nations, according to the article?
    9. How is this relationship changing?
    10. How much money is awarded to a winner of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize?
    11. What do Mr. Annan and the United Nations plan to do with these funds?
    12. What are the "old problems that existed on Sept. 10, before the attack, (which) are still with us"?
    13. What are some examples of disputes regarding or among some of the previous Nobel laureates?
    14. To what might former Peace Prize recipient Esquivel be referring when he states that the United States' thinking on current conflict "reminds (him) of cowboy films"?
    15. Why might the 2001 Nobel Prize be considered special?
    16. What are the United Nations' key priorities for the future?
  3. Reminding students of the United Nations' three key priorities of "eradicating poverty, preventing conflict and promoting democracy" (written on the board for easier student reference), direct students to search for examples of these topics in current news sources to create "Nobel Goals" charts. Give each group a piece of poster board, markers, scissors, glue and access to numerous current magazines and newspapers. Each group should identify one example of each of the three priorities and then mount these articles on the poster board, noting the following for each:
    • date of article
    • location of event
    • description of event
    • what might be done to eradicate, prevent, or promote the key points in this case
    To highlight Annan's use of the "Butterfly Effect" analogy, you may wish to have students find international, national, and local examples of these priorities. Completed charts can be displayed and presented in a later class. WRAP-UP/HOMEWORK: Using the "Nobel Goals" charts as examples, each students keeps a "Nobel Goals" journal, tracking daily news coverage of poverty, conflict, and democracy for a one-week period. Journals can be used to foster future class discussions.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

EVALUATION / ASSESSMENT:
Students will be evaluated based on participation in class discussions, thoughtful participation and creation of group "Nobel Goals" chart, and well-developed follow-up journal assignment.

VOCABULARY:
impassioned, eradicating, idealistic, millennium, epoch, tainted, interconnected, surveillance, perimeter, quintessentially, contentious, intimating, traumatic, delaying, dues, entreaties, skeptical, daunting, condition, criteria, compound, pooled, centenary, elusive, laureates, rancor, nuances

EXTENSION ACTIVITIES:

  1. As 2001 marks the centenary year of the Nobel Prize, trace the past one hundred years of Peace Prizes in an illustrated guide or timeline to display in your classroom.
  2. Do you agree or disagree with 1980 Nobel Prize winner Adolfo Perez Esquivel, mentioned in the article, for criticizing the United States for "that kind of black-and-white thinking, where good is set against evil"? Write a persuasive essay supporting or refuting Esquivel's remarks.
  3. The Norwegian capital of Oslo was also home to the "Oslo accords," an agreement signed in Washington, D.C. in September, 1993. Research the history of this agreement, and trace the events that have taken place since 1993 from Israeli, Palestinian and other perspectives.
  4. Some have criticized the awarding of the 2001 Peace Prize to Annan and the United Nations. Research and report on some of the "voices of dissent," including Rwandan and Bosnian communities.

INTERDISCIPLINARY CONNECTIONS:
Economics- According to Nobel Prize authority Irwin Adams, Alfred Nobel originally intended the Peace Price to reward youthful idealism and to "give the award to dreamers who wouldn't be making money." Has Nobel's wish been violated? Research the net values of the past decade's Peace Prize recipients to answer this question.

Language Arts- Choose one of the past century's Peace Prize winners you admire the most, and write a poem or short story inspired by this person's work or life.

Technology- Using various search engines, investigate the countries that belong to the United Nations. How many are there? Create a map showing your findings. You might also create a United Nations of Nobel Prize "scavenger hunt" for your classmates, challenging them to find the answers to your questions on different Web sites.

Copyright 2001
The New York Times Company

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