Saturday, 23 October 2010
MTV Exit and Muse against Human traffic
Saturday, 16 October 2010
As you all know I am a big fan of MTV’s commercials. Not only are they fun as they also have a very strong message about a lot of important social issues such as discrimination, human traffic, poverty, sex, war, disease, environment, politics and education. This time MUSE and MTV Exit get together to produce this amazing awareness music video.
"Some things cost more than you realise"
I hope you like it :)
Daniela
Discovering Ghana
Thursday, 14 October 2010
Searching for an English speaking country is, indeed, a very hard task. I could have never imagined in how many countries English is an official language. In the end I chose Ghana. The Republic of Ghana is a West African country. It caught my attention because the word Ghana means “Warrior King”.
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| Independence Arch |
Ghana was one of the British colonies but the country asserted its complete independence in 1960. The Portuguese people came to Ghana in the 15th century because of the extensive availability of gold.
Its flag has the colors red, gold, green and a black star. The red represents the blood that was shed towards independence, the gold represents the mineral wealth of Ghana, the green symbolizes the rich agriculture and the black star is the symbol of African emancipation.
Although Ghana has twice the per capita output of the poorer countries in West Africa, it remains dependent on trade and international assistance and its population lives below the international poverty line. This kind of phenomenon only happens because the economic growth doesn’t necessarily means human development. Nevertheless Ghana has amazing landscapes.
Ghana is an ethnically diverse country which is evident through its cuisine, arts and clothing. Ghana is also well-known by its sports. While men’s football is the most widely followed sport, the national women’s team, the Black Queens, is gaining exposure.
I hope you have learnt something about this country :)
Daniela
Nigeria
Nigeria
The Federal Republic of Nigeria, mostly known as Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising thirty-six states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. There are three large and influential ethnic groups in Nigeria: the Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba and in terms of religion Nigeria is roughly split half and half between Muslims and Christians with a very small minority who practices traditional religion.(what is this traditional religion?)Portuguese explorers were the first Europeans to begin trade in Nigeria; the Europeans traded with the ethnicities of the coast and also negotiated a trade in slaves, to the detriment and profit of many Nigerian ethnicities. Slavery was finally outlawed in northern Nigeria in 1936.
On January 1, 1901 Nigeria became part of the British Empire; many wars against subjugation had been fought by the states of what later became Nigeria against the British Empire in the late 19th and early 20th century.
In 1914, the Niger area was formally united as the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria. Administratively, Nigeria remained divided into the northern and southern provinces and Lagos colony. Western education and the development of a modern economy proceeded more rapidly in the south than in the north, with consequences felt in Nigeria's political life ever since. The unification became the beginning of Nigeria’s independence which was declared and recognized on October the 1st of 1960 and on its third anniversary it became a republic.
Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa, the eighth most populous country in the world and the most populous country in the world in which the majority of the population is black. It is listed among the "Next Eleven" economies (the “Nest Eleven” economies consists of 11 countries that are considered to have the high potential of becoming the world's largest economies in the 21st century) and is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. Nigeria as only one official language: English, even though it is estimated that there are more that 500 languages spoken in the country. It’s also the third country with more native speakers of English.
Andreia Pinto
The Bahamas
Wednesday, 13 October 2010
Search of one country with english as a foreign language?.
Country: The Bahamas
The Bahamas is an North American country, where the official language is English.
In 1942 Christopher Columbus set out to explore the New World. That’s when he arrived to San Salvador, one of the islands of the Bahamas. After he observed how plain the ocean was in there he said “baja mar”, and that’s when the islands where called “The Bahamas”.
The Bahamas have more than 700 islands, so it become a great place to hide treasures. A lot of ships full of gold sink ? around there.
Many histories about pirates and their adventures give some mystic to the Bahamas.
One of the most interesting traditions of these islands is that the crowd /people from the Bahamas still use plants as a cure for many diseases. It’s a tradition that African slavers bring to this (plural) people.
By Cláudia Carvalho 12ºA
The Commonwealth
The Commonwealth of Nations,, is an intergovernmental organization of fifty-five independent member states. The Commonwealth was first officially formed in 1931.
The member states co-operate within a framework of common values and goals as outlined in the Singapore Declaration.
These include the promotion of democracy, human rights, good governance, the rule of law, individual liberty, egalitarianism, free trade, multilateralism and world peace.
The symbol of their free association is the Head of the Commonwealth, which is a ceremonial position currently held by Queen Elizabeth II.
Some members; United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Jamaica...
These countries have in common are all former colonies of the British Empire.
These countries have in common are all former colonies of the British Empire.
I hope you all enjoy!
Hugo Queiros
Australia....
Australia ,officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
On 1 January 1901, the six colonies became a federation and the Commonwealth of Australia. Australia ranks highly in many international comparisons of national performance such as human development, quality of life, health care, life expectancy, public education, economic freedom and the protection of civil liberties and political rights.
Australia continued to recognize the monarch of United Kingdom as head of state. Because of the continent's great age, extremely variable weather patterns, and long-term geographic isolation, much of Australia's biota is unique and diverse. About 85% of flowering plants, 84% of mammals, more than 45% of birds, and 89% of in-shore, temperate-zone fish are endemic. Australia has the greatest number of reptiles of any country, with 755 species. 
Hugo Queiros