Are there any great forums or sites out there for students wanting to get involved in global issues?

Students today–often referred to as a 21st Learners or better yet Global Citizens–are aware of their communities and the impact they have on within their community.  Students today also tend to want to get involved with making a difference not only their community but also reach out to make an impact on the world.  Below are four sites that might help them with this quest:

EARCOS Global Issues Network
This Ning was created by EARCOS for both students and teachers in Asia. Currently, It is mainly used to promote the Global Issues Conference 2010 which will be hosted by the Chinese International School in Hong Kong. Previously, the Western Academy of Beijing and the International School of Bangkok were the two previous hosts. Within this Ning, there are plenty of forums, issues, and members to connect and share with about global issues.

The Global Education Collaborative
The tagline of this Ning is “Helping Teachers and Students Reach the World.” By joining this community, you are encouraged as a teacher or student to contribute media, conversation, or project ideas. There are abundant resources to be found on this community including a this growing Google doc entitled “Global Education Bibliography.” Plus there are 34 varying groups to join determining your area of interest in global matters.

Global Issues
This site/blog is written by Anup Shah who was raised in the UK but currently lives in the United States. The purpose behind his writings is “to look into global issues that affect everyone and aims to show how most issues are inter-related.” There is an abundance of posts to browse through on this site. Because of the vastness of the site there are many resources to be found including related links and articles. The organization oif this site is clear and is easily searchable.

Teen Ink Blogs: Global Issues
Teen Ink encourages student writing; one of the forums in which Teen Ink does this is through Teen Ink Blogs. There are many different blog categories including “Global Issues.” Students are superb writers—especially when their subject matter is heartfelt. The articles found here are informative, and when you read a post by student writer Catherine N. you are sure to receive many links out to other resources.