A few people might know that Amsterdam is in the USA. Believe me I am not kidding you. If you give a look at Wikipedia you will find out that Amsterdam is an eighteen thousand something people town in Montgomery County, New York.
After all you should not be surprised that you can find Naples in Florida, Berlin in New Hampshire, multiple places are also are also found to be in the USA with the names Paris. Milan is both in Michigan and Ohio. Is there anything strange here?
We all know that all these micro towns have copied and pasted their names from much more glorious and famous European cities (there is also a reason as most likely all these places have been set up by immigrants who wanted to give homage to their town of origin back in Europe).
Wait a minute; do we all know that the real cities are actually in Europe?
A few weeks ago I was talking with a young brilliant youth who recently completed his Bachelors in Development from a well-known college in Kathmandu.
We were talking about one organization headquartered in Amsterdam and then almost out of the blue he asked for confirmation, “Is Amsterdam in the USA?”
Well as you can see yes Amsterdam is in the USA but probably we are forgetting that Amsterdam is also one of the most cosmopolitan, charming European metropolises and most importantly the capital of the Netherlands at least constitutionally because the Dutch government and the parliament are based in The Hague, a much smaller city not too far from Amsterdam.
I believe we have a problem. Nepali students are really poor at geography. Nepali youth have no clue about the world.
Let’s be honest everybody knew that the football world cup was being played in Brazil but how many young people though that Brazil was in Africa?
I believe that geography is very important and it should be reintroduced into the academic curriculum. It does not only offer you a picture of the world but it offers insights on how the world works.
I am not referring to the “boring” geography but a much more active and attractive way of teaching about the world, how it works and how nations around the globe prosper and fall.
I am talking about proposing something attractive that also covers demographic, history and a bit of anthropology. Movies, documentaries, pictures should be used rather than expensive textbooks.
This is not just standard geography; I would call it “world education”, a blended subject that mixes traditional elements of geography with history, economy and local culture.
I would make it mandatory teaching ‘world education” from the primary level onwards.
It is important since the early ages that children understand few things about the world especially starting learning how Nepal’s location in the world does not relate only to its neighborhood in South Asia but also to the South East Asia and why not the Arab peninsula, Africa, Europe and the other incredible lands of Americas, Australia and the Pacific.
Let me be clear. I believe it is very important for Nepalese students to learn everything about their country, its seventy five districts, topography and local geography and differences existing between regions and people, teaching about Nepal as a pluralistic society.
An inclusive look at Nepal will surely help in building a new mindset that fits well within current changes the nation is facing.
That should be a priority but at the same time we need to instill in the youth a new sense of “discovery”, sheer curiosity about what lies beyond the national borders. It is of outmost importance that youth understand that the world goes well beyond India, USA and Australia.
How many Nepalese youth have ever considered studying, for example, in South Africa? It is the most advanced African country with first class infrastructure and prestigious universities. Yes South Africa is also a land of contrasts with huge divides, with extreme wealth and poverty. There is crime but if you think about it, you will find crime, often accompanied by discrimination and racism in Europe, in USA or Australia.
Knowing a bit about the world can offer new lenses through which looking and thinking about other people and cultures.
When I was child I was dreaming of flying to far remote corners of the world but I had to hold on for quite a few years before taking my first flight.
Yet while waiting I have been reading as much as possible about other countries and cultures. I did travel a lot with my fantasy and imagination. How can I remember how many “world tours” I did that way?
I used to read, watching TV and asking incessant questions about the trips my uncle and auntie used to do in quite a few far away countries.
Yes I was also dreaming to go to the USA but also dreaming about Africa and the wonderful Caribbean region (Though grown up I am still dreaming quite a lot about the latter). That helped me stimulating my sense of curiosity and imagination.
Since then I never ever stopped travelling. I was lucky enough to be able to experience a bit of the world with my real eyes and not just with my imagination but I still keep dreaming about other countries that I hope one day to visit.
Let’s introduce “world education” in the national education system. Surely we will need time to adequately prepare the curriculum and have in place knowledgeable teachers for this new subject all around the country.
The youth who are coming back to Nepal from long stays overseas either after completing their degrees in USA or Australia or after having spent tough times in the Gulf or in Malaysia all returned empowered and more confident.
Let’s equip youth with the right knowledge about the world before they embark on their trips. Teaching world geography would offer them the basic understandings about other countries so much admired but also so much misunderstood.
Let’s tell them that there is no paradise on earth where also the most developed nations have their problems, where also the poorest nations in Africa are not too dissimilar from Nepal: they all have their plagues but also their pride and outstanding beauties that people keep ignoring.
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