Hi, you alright? I hope you're well.

My name's Mrs. Tomassi, and I'm gonna be working through a review on your Citizenship lesson today.

Hopefully you've got everything you need, you're settled, you're all good to go, and we'll make a start.

The title of today's lesson is Do All Nations Work With International Organisations? This forms part of the unit on How Do Democratic Systems Work Around the World? Hopefully by the end of the lesson today, you'll be able to explain some international organisations and why some countries are not involved in them.

Today we'll have five key words and we're gonna have a look at them now.

If you ever need to, and you can't remember them, especially in this lesson because they're all different names of organisations, you might want to refer back to here so that you can just check which organisation we are talking about.

The first one is United Nations.

That's the UN.

This is an international organisation comprising of most countries in the world, and it aims to promote peace, security, and international cooperation.

Then you've got the World Trade Organisation.

This is an international organisation which deals with global rules of trade between nations.

Next, you've got the European Union, the EU, and that is an economic and political union between a number of European countries who work closely together.

Now, we'll have a look at the other two as well.

So you've got the Commonwealth, which is an international association between the UK and other countries, which were previously part of the British Empire.

And then finally, we've got the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, which is NATO.

NATO is an international military defence organisation, comprising of different countries who work together to try and settle disputes among nations.

So that leads us nicely into our first learning cycle, which is, what international organisations exist? So Jun says, "What are international organisations?" Now, I've given you a little bit of a hint there with some of the key words and going through them.

Can you think what an international organisation might be about? Hopefully you've got this idea of different countries working together.

So why might they work together? What might they need to or want to achieve? So they might work together to solve global problems. So maybe things like climate change, promote peace, encourage cooperation between nations, so building those relationships positively, and protecting human rights, the environment, supporting fair trade and development.

So there are lots of different reasons why countries might want to work together.

So now can you think why might countries choose to work together as part of an international organisation? A, to encourage corporation, B, to protect human rights, C, to solve global problems. Did you realise there? It is actually all three of them.

Different countries will choose to work with other countries for different reasons.

So Jun now says, "How many international organisations exist?" What do you think? Any ideas? I mean, again, a little bit of a clue at the start with some that were mentioned, but any idea how many it actually goes up to? There is a wide variety of different organisations.

There isn't a specific number because there are so many different types.

You have intergovernmental organisations, non-governmental organisations such as NGOs.

But some of the major ones include the United Nations, the World Trade Organisation, the EU, the European Union, the NATO, and the Commonwealth.

Now you might see the abbreviations in brackets and they might be spoken about interchangeably, especially the more well-known organisations tend to be known by their abbreviations.

So you might hear just NATO or the UN, instead of the full word, and it means the same thing.

So the UN is an intergovernmental organisation.

Can we think what it means if it's intergovernmental? So it's the idea the governments there in those countries are working together.

So as of May, 2025, the UN has 193 member states and two observer states.

When we say observer states, this is countries that maybe have not committed to be a full member, I suppose think of it like, you know, in a match of football, they're on that sideline.

So they're still there, but they're not fully involved in what they're doing.

So the UN works to ensure that all countries respect the agreements they make with each other and under international law.

It was started after World War II and it's this idea of bringing countries together.

So one of their key roles is peacekeeping.

This is this idea of maintaining peace and security, solving global problems. So things like climate change, things like poverty, human rights.

And to give you an example of something that they do.

So in 2023, they helped provide emergency aid to people in Turkey and Syria after a huge earthquake.

They sent food, clean water, medical supplies and rescue teams. They also have peacekeepers that go into countries and help to maintain the peace there as well.

There is so much, there's a huge variety of what they're doing.

You could always have a look into them a little bit more if you wanted to find out some more about them.

Next, we have the World Trade Organisation, sometimes known as the WTO.

This, can you think what they might be about 'cause in the name? So they are there to help countries trade goods and services fairly and smoothly.

Now, as of May, 2025, they have 166 member states.

Was that more or less than the UN? So they've got a little bit less, but actually in comparison, that's still quite a large number of member states involved.

So what do they do? They're creating the rules for international trade and help to solve disputes between countries.

To give you a bit an example to show you what they do, the WTO supported a dispute between South Africa and the EU.

So South Africa said the EU is making it hard to sell its citrus fruits in Europe.

And what the WTO does when they get involved is they set up panels to review the dispute and help to come to some form of agreement there.

Next we've got the European Union, which we just mentioned was in one of them disputes.

So the EU is a political and economic partnership between 27 European countries.

So think about this in comparison to the UN and the WTO.

It's a lot smaller concentrated group.

Why? Because it's only focusing on the groups in Europe.

Now what happens when you're part of the EU is it allows free trade, movement, so that's travel between the countries, and it makes joint laws that the members agree and adhere to.

So to give you an example of some of the stuff that EU does, they passed a law in 2023 to make phone chargers the same across all member states.

So from 2024, most new phones, tablets, and cameras sold in the EU must use a USB-C charger.

And why have they done that is to help reduce electronic waste and make things easier for consumers.

So this is just one of the small little things to give you an idea of what they do.

Now, we've had a look at some organisations.

Can you match the organisation to their main purpose? So down that one side, we've got the United Nations, the World Trade Organisation, the European Union, then the other side, we've got to regulate international trade, to promote political and economic integration among countries.

And then the bottom one is to promote international peace, security, and human rights among nations.

Can you match the correct ones? How did you get on? So that bottom one there, the international peace, security, and human rights among nations is the UN, the World Trade Organisation is to regulate international trade, and that leaves the European Union is the political and economic integration amongst countries.

So now you should have a better idea of those three.

We're gonna look at two more organisations.

These are NATO, so the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.

Have you heard of them before? Maybe if you do history as well, you might have heard of them or come across them.

So it's a military alliance that aims to protect its member states.

It's made up of 32 member states, mainly across Europe and North America.

So thinking about size-wise, this is on kind of par with just a little bit bigger than the EU.

The differences here, it is working across different continents.

The idea is if one member state is attacked, then other members agree to defend it, which is known as collective defence.

NATO aims to promote peace, security, and cooperation.

So in 2024, NATO leaders pledged to provide Ukraine with at least 40 billion in military aid to support Ukraine.

And now the reason they've done this is they've said that they've got a right to self-defense.

So this is what they might do.

They might provide financial support also for their own member states, they'll ensure that member state is defended.

Now finally, can you remember our last international organisation? That's the Commonwealth.

So the Commonwealth, again a little bit bigger, is a group of 56 countries that work together to support democracy, development, and cooperation.

You might have heard of the Commonwealth because many of those countries were part of the British Empire.

And it is the British monarch who serves as the symbolic head.

So to show you a bit more about what it does, in 2024, the Commonwealth launched the Commonwealth Investment Action Plan.

And this helps to smaller countries attract investment to build better infrastructure, improve education, and tackle climate change.

The aim is to support all the members of the Commonwealth to grow and become more economically-resistant.

So it's that idea of supporting each other to grow and to develop.

Which organization's main purpose is to provide military support and defend member states? A, the Commonwealth, B, the EU, C, NATO, D, the UN.

Did you get it? It is NATO, which is the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.

This moves us onto the first task.

Can you identify the correct international organisation for each example? So I'll read through them, you can then pause and then unpause when you've worked out which organisation it is, and we'll go through the feedback together and move on to the second part of the task.

A, "I help countries trade fairly by setting rules and solving disputes when they happen." B, "I bring 56 countries together, many with a shared history, to support democracy and development." C, "I'm a military alliance of 32 countries that promises to protect each other if attacked." D, "I work with 193 member states and two observer states to keep peace, protect human rights, and respond to global problems." And E, "I set common laws and allow people to move freely across borders." How did you get on? Did you manage to work them out? So that first one was the World Trade Organisation that's trading fairly, the 56 countries is the Commonwealth, C is NATO, D, the UN, and E is the EU.

Now hopefully, because you've got a better idea of which organisation is which, that should be able to move on to the second task.

So Aisha says here, "This is quite confusing.

It sounds like to me that the UN and NATO do the same thing.

They both help with peace and security.

So why do you need two organisations?" Aisha is confused about the differences between the UN and NATO.

Can you explain to Aisha the difference between them to help her understand why they are both important? So take some time now so that you can structure it to make sure it's a clear explanation and that you've got the differences of exactly what the UN does and what NATO does.

Once you've got your response, if you unpause, and we can have a look through some feedback together.

So how did you get on? Now your response could have looked like this.

So the UN is focused on promoting global peace, resolving conflicts and addressing a wide range of international issues like human rights, poverty, and climate change.

It works on long-term solutions and is involved in peacekeeping missions.

NATO on the other hand, is a military alliance focus specifically on defence.

It exists to protect its member states if they are attacked.

And it's primarily concerned with military security rather than broader global issues.

How did that go? Hopefully you manage to get those differences that exist.

And that idea that NATO is a military alliance, whereas the UN is focused on bringing those countries together to address those global issues.

So now we know a little bit about those organisations.

We're gonna find out, are international organisations available to all? So Jun says here, "why are some international organisations so big and others have few members? Why isn't every country part of all of them?" Why do you think? Why would they have differences in numbers? Why aren't they part of all of them? Now, not all nations are part of every international organisation, and it could be for a variety of different reasons.

Maybe you managed to get some of these.

So things like political reasons, they reject their principles, they might not agree actually with what that organisation is doing and don't wanna be part of it.

Remember, if you wanna be part of a group, the majority of time it's a choice.

So if you don't agree with it or you don't like it, you are probably not gonna join.

And that also leads to ideological differences, a lack of eligibility.

Some of these organisations will have criteria that you have to fit into.

Think about the European Union.

It was specifically countries in Europe, so other countries wouldn't be eligible to join.

Voluntary withdrawal.

So some countries have chosen and maybe have been part of an organisation and then gone, "Actually, it's not for us." Or they've said when it's being set up, "No, thank you.

We don't wanna be part of it." And then you've got sanctions or suspensions.

So some organisations might have been part of a different, an international organisation and they could have been sanctioned or they could have been suspended from that if they have not followed the rules within that organisation.

So Jun says, now how do countries decide which international organisations are right for them? Well again, if you think back to you, if you was gonna join a group, how are you gonna decide whether it's right for you and whether what works? It's the same way with international organisations.

So they would have to think carefully about, does it agree with their national values? So does the goals match their beliefs? What about needs and priorities? Will joining help the country? Eligibility and rules like we were talking about earlier, does the country meet the requirements? Are they able to join? And political strategy, will joining support or hinder relationships with other countries? Because if it's more likely to hinder, you're probably less likely to join.

Hopefully you managed to get some of them 'cause as I said, it'd be the same kind of principles.

If you were gonna go and join a group, you might be thinking about, does it align with your values, your needs, priorities? Are you eligible? And in terms of strategy, is it gonna help or hinder? So how might a country decide which international organisations to join? A, by choosing whichever one has the most members, B, seeing if the organisation aligns with its values and needs, C, by joining all of them automatically and as many as possible.

It's B.

I mean of course, yes, they might want to choose which everyone has the most members or join all of them automatically.

However, that wouldn't so much benefit that country.

So the countries base their decisions based on, like we saw earlier, the values, needs, the strategy, what is gonna support, and what is gonna benefit that country.

So now, can you remember which international organisation had the most members? It was the United Nations if you managed to get that.

And it is the largest one with 193 members and two observer states.

Now, not every country in the world is a full member.

Some countries choose not to join or involve in a limited way.

To give you an example, so the Holy See, which is in Vatican City, is an observer state.

You know what I was saying earlier, the idea of sitting on the sideline? It chooses to stay neutral in political matters due to its religious role.

It's a centre of the Roman Catholic Church and prefers to remain independent and not take sides in international disputes.

So this is why it's seen as an observer state rather than becoming a full member.

Gonna have a look at why some countries might not be involved.

So now if you look at the WTO, remember it was the second largest with 164 member states as of 2025.

Now, not all countries have chosen to become members.

Some countries are in conflict, so this can make it harder for them to meet all the requirements around trade.

For example, Eritrea in East Africa is not part of the WTO.

It hasn't applied to join and it manages its trade independently.

So in that case, can you think back to why it might not join? In this case, if they're managing trade independently, the country might not feel like it's necessary to need to join.

Then you've got the European Union, which is 27 members mainly in Europe.

To join countries must follow strict rules on democracy, human rights, and the economy.

And they must accept EU laws and share policies and topics such as trades and borders.

Can you think of an example of a country that has voluntarily withdrawn from the European Union? So you might have heard of the term Brexit and how the UK chose to leave the EU.

This is an example of when countries aren't part of all international organisations.

Another example of the EU is Norway.

It is not a member.

It chose not to join after a referendum, but it does cooperate closely through other agreements.

So Norway is still part of the Schengen Area even though it is not part of the European Union.

Additionally, you've also got Turkey.

Now Turkey has wanted to be part of the EU for years, but hasn't been accepted yet 'cause it doesn't meet all the required conditions.

So you have, again, with international organisations, some countries that might want to leave and some countries that might want to join.

And again, those different ideas so why they might want to join and leave.

True false, the European Union is the largest international organisation in the world.

That's false.

Why is it false? Can you Remember which one is? It is the UN that's the largest international organisation in the world with a 193 full members.

Now we move on to NATO.

Now NATO has 32 member countries, mainly from Europe and North America.

Now, not every country is a member, and some might want to stay neutral or they want to avoid military commitments.

So as it is a military alliance, countries must agree to defend each other if attacked.

To give you an example, Russia is not a member as its political and military goals conflict with NATO's principles of collective defence and democratic values.

Now finally, we look at the Commonwealth.

So the Commonwealth has 56 members, most were part of the British Empire.

Not all former colonies joined it, so some countries have left or they've rejoined, depending on political values or reasons.

Again, give you an example of this one.

So Zimbabwe left in 2003 following sanctions and suspensions based on human rights violations.

Now, Zimbabwe did reapply to join in 2018 and their application is still ongoing today.

So it might be a case in the future.

It could rejoin and come part of the Commonwealth, or it might not.

Can you identify one country and the reason it is not part of a specific international organisation? And that's your choice of which one you choose.

Did you manage to come up with one? There's lots of different ones there.

And again, you might have had a different country and why it is not part of an organisation.

So we've got the Holy See, Vatican City, is an observer state of the UN as it remains independent due to religious reasons.

Eritrea has closed economy and not part of the WTO.

Turkey does not meet all the requirements to be part of the EU.

Russia is not part of NATO due to ideological differences.

Zimbabwe left the Commonwealth after political disagreements.

As I said, you might have some other examples as well.

So well done if you've managed to link in some different examples.

Now we're gonna move on to the final task for today.

So you are the founder of a brand new country.

Your government is looking for guidance on which international organisation or organisations to join to help your country grow and thrive.

Design a proposal that suggests which international organisation or organisations your new country should join.

Include in your response reasons why the chosen organisations meet your country's values and goals, the benefits the organisations will bring to your country.

Take some time.

Obviously you can design this in any way you like.

If you'd like to do it more creatively, if you'd like to do a written proposal, that's up to you.

You might even want to fully design your new country and give some more background to it.

That could give some guidance of why you were then choosing certain international organisations.

That's up to you how you choose to go about this.

But if you unpause, when you're finished, we can go through some feedback.

So how did you get on? It'd be really exciting if you did actually design your country what it looks like.

Have you made it? Have you made a model of it? Have you shown the different organisations? I've given you here a written response so you could see the ideas that we're looking to include, but obviously you could have produced this in any way that you like.

So we'll go through the ideas together.

Now, as the founder of our new country, I believe our nation is built on core values of peace, sustainability, and economic growth.

Our country is dedicated to ensuring human rights, environmental protection, and global cooperation in all aspects of our development.

We aim to create a society that thrives both domestically and on the international stage, contributing to the global community while promoting sustainable development and peace.

After careful consideration, I propose that we should join the following two international organisations, the United Nations, and the World Trade Organisation.

By joining both the UN and the WTO, we will have the opportunity to align ourselves with the global community while achieving our nation's goals of peace, human rights, and economic prosperity.

The UN provides essential frameworks for promoting peace, human welfare, and sustainable development.

While the WTO offers vital economic benefits through improved trade access and help in settling disputes.

Both organisations will support our growth as a peaceful, economically-vibrant nation on the global stage.

What did you think of that? So this shows you quite clearly why the new country wants to be part of the UN and the WTO.

Now, you might have picked these organisations.

You could have picked any of the others, like the EU, the Commonwealth, and NATO.

You might have even thought of a different international organisation as well.

And maybe we wanted to be part of all five, maybe you only wanted to be part of one.

It's just showing clearly why that organisation aligned with your country's values.

So brilliant work for getting that done.

We are now going to summarise today's lesson.

So international organisations exist for many reasons, including promoting peace and improving cooperation.

Some of the major international organisations include the UN, NATO, the WTO, the EU, and the Commonwealth.

Each organisation has different goals and values, 'cause of this, not all countries are part of all international organisations.

Countries will decide what organisations are in the best interest for their country, whether they meet the requirements for the organisation.

For example, Turkey wants to be part of the EU, but is not a member as it does not meet the eligibility criteria.

And as that's said, that brings us to the end.

So hopefully you've managed to learn about those five different international organisations 'cause they do pop up in the GCSE so it's good to know about 'em as well, and to know about the differences of each one and why some countries do or do not take part in them.

Thank you for working with me today and enjoy the rest of your day.