WHAT IS AT STAKE?
1. Economic Wellbeing
North Carolina must be prepared to participate and succeed in an international economy.
Economic globalization has had dual effects on North Carolina. Thousands of manufacturing jobs have been lost, while, at the same time, foreign investment has brought thousands of jobs to North Carolina. Whatever the case, one message is clear: North Carolina needs a workforce that is internationally literate. With more than 95% of the world's consumers living outside of the United States, global trade will play a critical role in the future of business. More and more North Carolinians will work for and supervise people from cultures different from those they've known. To be successful, workers will need greater knowledge and skills about the world.
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258,800 North Carolinian workers are employed by U.S. subsidiaries of foreign-owned companies, a 47% increase over ten years |
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More than 1,100 international firms are operating in North Carolina |
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North Carolina ranks 3rd in the nation in the percentage of workforce supported by U.S subsidiaries of foreign-owned companies |
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Exporters add jobs 18% faster and pay 13% to 18% higher wages than businesses that don't export |
2. National Security
Our national security depends on our ability to act intelligently on the world stage, whether in establishing strategic new partnerships, working for peace and security worldwide, providing assistance to others or defending the nation. Thomas Jefferson said that a democracy cannot perform without a well-informed citizenry. Being well-informed in today's world requires increased knowledge of other regions and other cultures. With an urgent call from our security and defense arenas for greater world language capabilities, our security also depends on our ability to communicate effectively with the world around us.
3. Shared Global Challenges
Solving global problems requires the ability to communicate and cooperate with people of other regions and cultures around the world. Working together, there is vast opportunity to wipe out disease, lessen environmental degradation and slow the health and social casualties of drug trafficking.
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Dreaded diseases like SARS and HIV/AIDS know no national borders |
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Environmental problems like rain forest destruction and air pollution know no national borders |
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Drug trafficking knows no national borders |
HOW WIDE IS THE INTERNATIONAL KNOWLEDGE GAP?
While 97% of US students strongly agree that they should learn more about the world, they, their parents, their neighbors and their teachers know that we are woefully behind citizens of other countries.
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25% of college-bound U.S. students cannot name the ocean that separates America from Asia |
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A majority of U.S. high school students don't know that India is the world's largest democracy |
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83% of young adults in the U.S. cannot find Afghanistan or Israel on a world map |
BRIDGING THE GAP
There are pockets of excellence in teaching about the world throughout our state. Much of the work ahead lies in finding and publicizing those efforts, connecting those with the knowledge to those who want to learn. | 
