P–2 Introducing G20
Teaching and learning activities

Using G20 as a context for teaching and learning

The Group of Twenty (G20) Leaders Summit will be held in Brisbane, Queensland on 15 and 16 November 2014. At the summit, leaders of the world’s most economically developed countries discuss and make decisions about important economic and financial issues. The 2014 G20 summit is based on the themes of stronger economic growth and employment outcomes, and protecting the global economy from future shocks.

The G20 summit provides an opportunity to connect student learning with this event.

The suite of resources that teachers may access includes:

  • Introducing G20 ( which contains introductory information and activities
  • Exploring G20( which contains teaching and learning linked to curriculum areas
  • Literacy and Numeracy G20( which provides opportunities to embed literacy and numeracy learning related to G20.

Introducing G20

TheIntroducing G20 Teaching and learningactivities can be implemented as a stand-alone program or as part of theExploring G20Teaching and learningpackage.

This package provides suggested teaching and learning activities for children based on four questions:

  • What is the G20 summit?
  • Why is the G20 summit important?
  • How can we showcase Queensland to G20 countries?
  • What can we learn about the countries participating in the G20 summit?

This package provides opportunities to work towards the Australian Curriculum, general capabilities and cross-curriculum priorities, and Queensland Essential Learnings.

P–2 Introducing G20
Teaching and learning activities / Queensland Curriculum & Assessment Authority
July 2014
Page1of 9

Teacher information about G20

The Group of Twenty (G20) is a group of 20 representatives from the major advanced and emerging economies.

The group was formed in 1999 as a meeting of Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors in the aftermath of the Asian financial crisis.

The first G20 Leaders Summit was held in 2008 to addressthe Global Financial Crisis (GFC). There is now a G20 Leaders Summit held each year.

In 2014, Australia is the president of the G20. Australia’s G20 presidency runs from 1 December 2013 to 30 November 2014. Hosting the G20 in 2014 gives Australia a valuable opportunity to influence the global economic agenda and to strengthen engagement with the world’s major economies.

The G20 member countries represent:

  • approximately 85% of global gross domestic product (GDP)
  • more than 75% of global trade
  • two thirds of the world’s population.

The G20 members include representatives from:

  • Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, United Kingdom and United States
  • the European Union[1], which includesAustria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungry, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and United Kingdom.

The 2014 G20 guest countries include:

  • Spain (as an agreed permanent guest)
  • Myanmar (asthe Chair of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN))
  • Mauritania (as the Chair of the African Union)
  • Senegal (as a representative of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD))
  • New Zealand and Singapore (countries invited by the 2014 G20 President, Australia, reflecting its regional relationships).

The role of the G20 is to:

  • discuss international economic cooperation, focusing on ways to strengthen the global economy, reform international financial institutions and improve financial regulation.

The 2014 G20 Leaders Summit will be held:

  • on 15 and 16 November
  • in Brisbane, Queensland
  • at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre
  • withas many as 4000 delegates and 3000 media representatives expected to attend.

The 2014 G20 events include:

  • Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting on 20 and 21 September in Cairns, Queensland
  • G20 Leaders Summit on 15 and 16 November in Brisbane, Queensland.

Hosting the 2014 G20 represents an opportunity for Australia to:

  • influence the global economic agenda and strengthen itsinternational engagement with the major economies of the world
  • showcaseAustralia, and in particular Queensland, as world-class destinations for tourism, education and business
  • build international networks.

Teaching and learning experiences

The following activities are based on the four previously listed questions.Teachers may use the P–2 Introducing G20activities before, during and after the G20 summit.

The activities can be adjusted to suit a specific school or classroom context.Teachers are encouraged to peruse the Introducing G20 resource( which identifies all P–12 activities.

What is the G20 summit?

This question orients children to the purpose of the G20 summit and G20 membership. It also encourages children to investigate the notion of leadership and to view Australia as an important contributor to world affairs.

Note: It is recommended that these activities be implemented prior to the G20 summit to help students to understand its role and purpose.

Teaching and learning activities
Activity 1 / The G20
View theWhat is the G20? (Dr Matthew Burke) video (
Discuss the purpose of the G20 summit by considering the following questions:
  • What is the G20 summit?
  • Where is the G20 summit being held in Australia?
  • Which countries’ leaders are attending the 2014 G20 summit?
  • How often is the G20 summit held?
  • Why is the G20 summit important?
Locate information in Appendix 1:About the G20, to answer questions about the G20 in Appendix 2:G20 Q&A.
View the Primary G20 virtual field trip( to explore the characteristics of the Brisbane G20 precinct.
View the Story of the G20 Australia 2014 logo video ( Discuss the logo, which was designed by Torres Strait Islander artist Riki Salam.
Activity 2 / G20 members and their locations
View the InteractiveG20 map (Basic)( to locate the:
  • G20 member countries
  • 2014 G20 guest countries
  • European Union.
Discuss the location of the G20 members and guest countries in relation to Australia.
Activity 3 / Leaders and leadership
Discuss that a leader from each country will be attending the summit. Explore ideas aroundleadership, such as:
  • all people can be leaders
  • all children can demonstrate leadership at school
  • some people want to lead
  • some leaders are elected, some are given a job to lead and some choose to lead.
Read and view a range of stories about leadership and discuss:
  • Which character is the leader? How do you know?
  • How could this character lead others?
Play games where a leader is chosen, e.g. Follow the leader.

Why is the G20 summit important?

This question orients children to the importance of the G20 summit from three perspectives, namely the:

  • importance of leaders from many countries meeting to share ideas and listen to others’ views
  • important role media play in reporting, commenting and prompting discussion in Australia and other G20 countries about the G20 summit
  • importanceof hosting the G20 to Australia and Queensland.

Teaching and learning activities
Activity 4 / The importance of leaders
Display an image of a meeting, e.g. an image of a previous G20 Leaders Summit.
Discuss:
  • What are these people doing?
  • Is there a leader in the meeting? How do you know?
  • What might the leader be talking about?
  • Why do people have meetings?
  • What might the G20 leaders discuss at their meeting?

Activity 5 / The role of media
View examples of G20 summit-related news on television, in newspapers, on radio and/or online.Discuss:
  • Why is the news important?
  • Why do people view or listen to the news?
  • What does the news tell us about the G20 summit?

Activity 6 / The importance of hosting the G20 to Queensland and Australia
Identify children’s connections with G20 countries, e.g. through relatives, friends, things people buy or obtain, holidays, sport, family origin, food or language.
Discuss how a visitor from a G20 country will connect with Australia and Queensland through travel, things people buy or obtain, e.g. souvenirs, foods and languages. Draw images of these connections.

How can we showcase Queensland to G20 countries?

This question has two parts.

Part 1 focuses on showcasing Queensland to the G20 countries. It encourages children to investigate and consider the potential and importance of showcasing Queensland’s people, places, skills and knowledge to G20 countries.

Part 2 focuses on the responsibility of hosting an event. A host has a responsibility to make visitors feel welcome. They will explain the features and significance of local places and sites. Through their actions, a good host encourages visitors to spread messages of goodwill when they return to their home country.

The teaching and learning activities in this section explore the richness and diversity of Queensland’s culture that G20 visitors may have the opportunity to experience.

Part 1: Showcasing Queensland to G20 countries

Teaching and learning activities
Activity 7 / Queensland’s diversity
Ask children to identify the country of origin (if known) of themselves, their parents, grandparents or great grandparents. Locate these countries (including Australia) on a world map. Identify which of these countries are participating in the G20 summit.
Discuss the concept of diversity, and how we all contribute to it. Refer to the Indigenous languages map of Queensland( and highlight the diversity of Aboriginal language groups and Torres Strait Islander language groups within Queensland.Other Aboriginal language and Torres Strait Islander language maps are listed in the Resources.
How would you explain the diversity of Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander peoples to a G20 visitor?
Activity 8 / Queensland’s artforms
View a range of Queensland art, including art by Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander peoples.If needed, refer to the website of the Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) and Queensland Art Gallery (QAG) (
Discuss the features (e.g. colour, texture and pattern) of the selected artforms, e.g.sculpture, painting. Choose an artwork that you would like to give as a gift to a visitor from a G20 country. Explain how the significant features of the artwork showcase Queensland.
Activity 9 / Queensland’s economy
Explore a range of goods that Queensland sells to other countries, e.g. minerals, wheat, cotton, wool and food products.

Part 2: Hosting an event

Teaching and learning activities
Activity 10 / Welcome to and Acknowledgement of Country
Delegates attending the G20 summit will be welcomed to Country by traditional owner groups at the different meetings and events.
Discuss Welcome to Country and Acknowledgement of Country. Invite a member of the local traditional owner group or representative to talk about the meaning behind and importance of Welcome to and Acknowledgement of Country. Identify why, when and by whom each should be done.
If needed, refer to the Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority’s (QCAA) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives support materials(
Activity 11 / Plan a morning or afternoon tea
Plan and/or prepare a morning or afternoon tea for G20 guests. Choose recipes that showcase Queensland produce. Compare the Queensland produce with the produce from another G20 country. Discuss the similarities and differences.
Prepare a ‘big book’ to display images of Queensland produce and food that could be used at the morning or afternoon tea.
Activity 12 / My region
View images of the local area and discuss how these images encourage tourists to visit. Create a poster or slideshow promoting the local area to a visitor from a G20 country.
Activity 13 / My state
View Queensland tourism images, e.g. from the Tourism and Events Queensland website. Discuss how these images encourage tourists to visit Queensland.
Design and create a bookmark, a postcard or a stickerto present to a visitor from a G20 country. The bookmark should showcase Queensland and include images of Queensland.

What can we learn about the countries participating in the 2014 G20 summit?

This question fosters an understanding of G20 member and guest countries. While most children will recognise that we interact with G20 countries in various ways (e.g. through business, industry, science, sport), it is important for children to respectfully learn about other countries.

Teaching and learning activities
Activity 14 / G20 countries
View images and/or read stories about people from other G20 countries.
Compare the lifestyle of people in various G20 countries (e.g. climate, clothing, and recreational activities) with the lifestyle of people in Queensland.
Create a painting or drawing of a person living in a G20 country. Describe the painting/drawing.
Activity 15 / Games
Investigate children’s games from G20 countries, e.g. Dominoes from China,Queimada from Brazil, Ting a Ling from Russia. Explore the history of the game and the rules. Play the game.
Activity 16 / Language
Using an online translator, create a list of age-appropriate words/terms or a phrase (e.g.my name is … hello, goodbye) from a G20 country where English is not the official language.

Appendix 1:About the G20

G20 members

The Group of Twenty (G20) is a group of 19 countries and the European Union.

The G20 member countries are:
Argentina / France / Japan / South Africa
Australia / Germany / Republic of Korea / Turkey
Brazil / India / Mexico / United Kingdom
Canada / Indonesia / Russia / United States
China / Italy / Saudi Arabia / [2]European Union

G20 facts

The G20 leaders meet each year. They meet to discuss ways to improve the lives of people in their countries, including children. / Australia is hosting the 2014 G20 summit and has invited some neighbour countries, including New Zealand. / The Leaders Summit will be held in Brisbane on 15 and 16November 2014.
Brisbane is the capital city of Queensland. Brisbane is the host city of the G20 Leaders Summit. / Queensland will benefit from hosting the summit by showing the rest of the world that Queensland is an ideal place for people to visit. / Cairns will also host the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting.

The G20 leaders discuss many things. They will discuss how to:

  • create jobs for people in their communities
/
  • buy and sell goods with other countries that are members of the G20.

Appendix2:G20 Q&A

UseAppendix 1:About the G20(orthe What is the G20? (Dr Matthew Burke) video ( the Interactive G20 map ( to answer the following questions:

Question / Response
  1. What does ‘G20’ stand for?

  1. List five G20 member countries.

  1. What does the G20 do?

  1. How is Queensland involved in the 2014 G20?

Resources

Below is a list of resources to support the Introducing G20 Teaching and learning activities.

G20 Resources and links

  • Interactive G20 map(
    An interactive world map providing information (including resources)for teachers and students about the G20 countries.
  • Primary G20 virtual field trip(
    An interactive field trip of the Brisbane G20 precinct.
  • What is the G20? (Dr Matthew Burke) video (
    A short video of G20 expert Dr Matthew Burkeintroducing the G20 summit.
  • G20 website (
    A website about the G20, its members, priorities, past summits, event schedule as well as the Queensland 20 (Q20) and the benefits it presents Queensland’s business, community and government sectors from Australia’s presidency in 2014.
  • Queensland Government G20 website (
    The Queensland Government’s information on the G20 via the events page. This website provides background information, events that are planned to coincide with the G20 and links to further educational resources for schools.
  • Why the G20 is important factsheet (
    A factsheet outlining why the G20 is important, available under Quick Links.

Spatial online tools

  • Google Earth(
    A spatial online tool, which provides up-to-date maps, imagery, and other spatial data.
  • Queensland Globe(
    A spatial online tool, developed by the Department of Natural Resources and Mines, which provides up-to-date Queensland maps, imagery and other spatial data.

Additional online information and resources

  • QCAA’sAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives support materials (
    A range of materials to support the inclusion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives into the school curriculum.
  • State Library of Queensland’sIndigenous languages map of Queensland (
    A map outlining the Aboriginal languages and Torres Strait Islander languages in Queensland where you can select a marker on the map for more information about a particular language.
  • Australian Broadcasting Corporation’sIndigenous Language Map(
    Amap of the Aboriginal languages and Torres Strait Islander languages of Australia where you can hover over the map to reveal detail.
  • Tourism and Events Queensland website(
    A website that provides images for industry, media and anyone seeking images to promote Queensland.

P–2 Introducing G20
Teaching and learning activities / Queensland Curriculum & Assessment Authority
July 2014
Page1of 9

[1] The European Union is represented by the President of the European Council and President of the European Commission.

[2]European Union: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungry, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and United Kingdom.