SOUTH AFRICA

 

What do you know about South Africa?

Do this game:
http://www.learnenglish.org.uk/drag_n_drop_games/files/south-african-english.html

Time line :
Read the chronology of key events:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14094918

  
Nelson Mandela spent most of his life fighting apartheid in South Africa. Apartheid was a system of laws created by the South African government to discriminate against its black citizen. 
Mandela was arrested for protesting the laws and was in prison for 27 years.
 He was released from prison in 1990. He  became president of South Africa in 1994.
In 1993 he received the Nobel Peace Prize.

Take this quiz to learn more about the life and work of Nelson Mandela.
 http://www.funtrivia.com/playquiz/quiz18305514f6410.html

Quick Facts:

• NAME: Nelson Mandela
• OCCUPATION: Civil Rights Activist, World Leader, Journalist
• BIRTH DATE: July 18, 1918 (Age: 94)
• EDUCATION: Clarkebury Boarding Institute, Wesleyan College, University College of Fort Hare, University of London, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg
• PLACE OF BIRTH: Transkei, South Africa
• Full Name: Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela
• AKA: Nelson Mandela
• AKA: Rolihlahla
• AKA: Madiba(clan name)
  
• Originally: Rolihlahla Mandela
• ZODIAC SIGN: Cancer

Nelson Mandela International Day (or Mandela Day) is an annual international day in honour of Nelson Mandela, celebrated each 18 July (on Mandela's birthday).The day was officially declared by the United Nations in November 2009, with the first UN Mandela Day held on 18 July 2010. However, other groups began celebrating Mandela Day on 18 July 2009.

 

AUSTRALIA

Australia and Europe compared

The Australian flag

Australian Flag Description:
The Australian flag has a dark royal blue base with a depiction of the British Union Jack in the upper left quarter. 
The Australian flag has a large white seven pointed star (the star of federation) under the middle of the Union Jack. 
The right half of the Australian flag consists of a constellation (the Southern Cross constellation) with one small white five pointed star and four larger white seven pointed stars that are equal in size.

Australian Flag Meaning:
The Union Jack depicts the first colonization of Australia by Europe was by the British, as Australia was a British penal colony. The seven pointed Star of Federation represents each of Australia's six states, one additional point represents Australia's territories. The Southern Cross is a constellation of stars that can be seen from all of Australia's states and territories.


Australia, nicknamed the "Land Down Under,", is a country, an island and a continent.
  It is the world's smallest continent and the sixth-largest country. It is located in the Southern Hemisphere, between the Indian Ocean and the Southern Pacific Ocean.. This continent-country-island has an area of 2,966,368 square miles (7,682,300 square kilometers).

Capital of Australia: Canberra 

Population: Australia has a population about 20 million people.
 Most of Australia's population lives on the fertile plains of the eastern and southeastern coasts. The interior of Australia (called the Outback) is dry with many deserts. 

Government and Economy: The Commonwealth of Australia is a democracy (leaders are elected by the adult population) but it recognizes the monarch of Great Britain as sovereign (the Queen of England has the title "Chief of State" and performs ceremonial duties).
 Australia has a strong, modern economy. Its monetary unit is the Australian dollar. 

Largest Cities: Sydney is the largest city in Australia; it has over 3,935,000 people. Other large cities include Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, and Newcastle. 

                                                                  Government in Australia:

The Commonwealth Government


Queen Elizabeth 2 of England is also Queen of Australia. She is the Head of State of Australia. Australians do not vote for her, because a queen or king gets that position from the king or queen before them, usually their parents or other relative.
The Queen lives in England, not Australia. The Governor-General does the job for her when she is not here.

This is the Queen with Sir William Deane, who was Governor-General of Australia when the photo was taken. He was Governor-General from 1996 to 2001.

The Head of State does not run the country, but has other jobs to do, such as sign a law to make it official, signing the paper that begins an election and being commander in chief of the army, navy and air force.


In Australia, an elected government runs the country. 
Every four years, Australians who are over 18 years old must vote in an election. They help choose the people who will be in Parliament.
People who are elected go to Parliament in Canberra. Parliament House is a huge building where parliament meets several times a year to discuss and make laws for the country. A law is a rule that affects how we live.
In the Australian Parliament there are 2 sections, called Houses. They are the House of Representatives and The Senate.
                                                                        THE ABORIGINALS

Aboriginal Australians, also referred to as Aboriginal people, are people whose ancestors were indigenous to the Australian continent— that is, to mainland Australia or to the island of Tasmania—before British colonisation of the continent began in 1788. 
Since 1995, the Australian Aboriginal Flag , designed in 1971 by the Aboriginal artist Harold Thomas, has been one of the official "Flags of Australia" under section 5 of the Flags Act 1953.
 About 20% of land in Northern Australia (Kimberley (Western Australia), Top End and Cape York) is now Aboriginal-owned.