Contextualization

Africa is a fascinating continent, full of natural riches, cultural diversity, and a history of resistance and resilience. It is also a continent marked by significant socioeconomic inequalities, environmental issues, and political conflicts that deserve our attention and analysis.

This project is focused on understanding the socioeconomic characteristics of Africa. Although the continent is often portrayed as a homogeneous region, it is actually a mosaic of nations and cultures with quite distinct socioeconomic realities. Therefore, understanding these nuances is essential for a more accurate and less stereotyped view of the African continent.

Understanding the geographical space and socioeconomic inequalities is fundamental to comprehend the world we live in. Not only to interpret the news we see about different regions, but also to understand the global economic and social relationships that shape our daily lives.

Why does the African continent, so rich in natural resources, still face significant challenges such as low GDP per capita, high poverty rates, and development issues? Why are some African countries more prosperous than others? What are the challenges for economic growth? How does the political situation of each country affect its economy? These are some questions that guided the construction of this project.

Practical Activity - 'Socioeconomic Africa: A Mosaic of Realities'

Project Objective

Develop an interactive map and a written report that presents an in-depth view of the socioeconomic characteristics of different African countries, focusing on the differences and similarities, the challenges and opportunities that each region presents, and how they relate in the global context.

Detailed Project Description

Each group of 3 to 5 students should choose 2 to 3 countries in the African continent for study and comparison. The goal is to conduct a socioeconomic analysis that brings a critical look at the realities of these countries, taking into account factors such as economy, population, politics, urbanization, inequalities, and the relationship with nature.

Students should conduct their research based on the suggested materials and other reliable sources, aiming to build a broad overview that considers the mentioned factors.

The final product of this research will be an interactive map and a written report.

Required Materials

• Computers with internet access
• Interactive map creation software (suggestion: Google Earth)
• Provided research materials and access to other reliable sources

Detailed Step-by-Step for Activity Execution

Initial Research and Analysis

1. Form working groups with 3 to 5 students.
2. Each group should select 2 to 3 African countries for study.
3. Conduct initial research on the chosen countries, pointing out the main socioeconomic characteristics.

Development of the Interactive Map

4. Using the chosen software, each group should create an interactive map that presents the selected countries and their main socioeconomic characteristics.

5. The map should contain information such as: population, GDP, urbanization rate, main economic sectors, etc.

6. In addition, students can include additional information, such as photos, audio or video clips, etc., to enrich the map.

Report Elaboration

7. Based on the collected information and the interactive map, students must produce a written report that synthesizes their findings.

8. The report should include: Introduction, Development, Conclusions, and Bibliography used.

9. The Introduction should contextualize the chosen countries, talk about their relevance, and why the group made that choice.

10. The Development should present the socioeconomic characteristics of the countries, describing the findings and discussing the reasons behind these results.

11. The Conclusions should address the main learnings, the similarities and differences found between the studied countries, and future perspectives.

12. In the Bibliography, students should list all sources used during the research.

The project should last for one month, with an estimated execution time of five to ten hours per participating student. The final delivery consists of the interactive map and the written report, which must be submitted simultaneously.