Bangkok Pilot Event 2027 • Student Preparation

2027 Theme: A Changing World

Pilot Theme: A Changing World

These materials are designed to help students build knowledge, examples, and confidence before the Bangkok Pilot Event. Students are not expected to memorise everything. The aim is to understand major ideas, discuss them thoughtfully, and practise using evidence in written and spoken responses.

How to Use This Page

1. Build Background Knowledge

Read and watch a small number of resources across the theme. Focus on useful examples, not memorising facts.

2. Discuss Key Questions

Use the guiding questions to practise explaining your views, listening to others, and developing stronger arguments.

3. Prepare Examples

Collect examples from history, geography, economics, politics, society, and current affairs that could support your ideas.

Theme Overview

The theme “A Changing World” explores how societies, economies, environments, technologies, and cultures have evolved over time. Students should consider the causes and consequences of change, and whether change has been positive, negative, or uneven.

Technological Change

How technology has transformed communication, work, education, politics, and daily life.

Economic Change

Development, globalisation, inequality, trade, work, and changing economic systems.

Environmental Change

Climate change, sustainability, resource use, human impact, and responses to environmental challenges.

Social & Cultural Change

Changing identities, migration, urbanisation, cultural exchange, rights, and social movements.

Resource Library

Technological Change

Technology, communication, work, AI, digital society, media, and innovation.

Key Questions

How is technology changing the way we live?
Who benefits most from technological change?
What problems can new technologies create?
How should societies respond to new technologies?

Articles / Readings

To educate and empower women, we must close the digital divide
Gender inequality in online access is negatively impacting women and costing countries billions in lost GDP.
Why Does M-PESA Lift Kenyans Out of Poverty?
Learn how Kenya's M-Pesa mobile payment system expanded financial access and helped transform millions of lives.
Robotaxi pioneer Waymo gets $16 billion injection to accelerate its expansion plans
Discover how driverless taxis are becoming part of everyday life, raising important questions about safety, jobs and the future of transport.
Could 3D printing help solve America's housing crisis?
Explore how 3D-printed homes could change the future of construction by reducing costs, waste and building time.
Rwanda's Drone Revolution
Discover how drones are delivering life-saving blood and medical supplies to remote communities, transforming healthcare across Rwanda.
Deepfakes and the crisis of knowing
Explore how AI-generated images and videos are challenging our ability to distinguish fact from fiction, raising important questions about trust and truth.
Submarine Cable Map
Discover the hidden network of undersea cables that powers the global internet and connects billions of people every day.

Videos

The Rise of Estonia’s Economy (The First Digital Republic)
See how Estonia reinvented itself through technology, becoming one of the world's most digitally connected and innovative societies.
Inside Waymo’s New Robotaxi
Discover how driverless taxis are becoming a reality, raising important questions about safety, jobs and the future of transport.
How The Internet Travels Across Oceans
See how thousands of kilometres of undersea cables quietly power the global internet and keep the modern world connected

Economic Change

Globalisation, development, inequality, poverty, trade, labour, and economic opportunity.

Key Questions

Why do some countries benefit more from globalisation than others?
Can economic growth reduce inequality?
What are the risks and rewards of rapid economic change?
Can countries reinvent their economies?

Articles / Readings

Shenzhen – from rural village to the world's largest megalopolis
From fishing village to global megacity. Shenzhen's story shows how economic decisions, migration, technology, and urban growth can transform a place within a single generation.
What’s happening in Bangladesh’s garment industry?
Discover how Bangladesh's garment industry has driven economic growth while raising difficult questions about workers' rights, inequality and global trade.
Vietnam records dramatic growth
See how Vietnam transformed its economy through market reforms, manufacturing and global trade to become one of Asia's fastest-growing economies.
Botswana discovers diamonds are not forever
Learn how Botswana used its diamond wealth to transform the country—and why it now faces the challenge of building an economy beyond mining.
The Box that Changed the Shipping World
Malcolm McLean's simple idea transformed global trade, making international shipping faster, cheaper and more reliable.
How did semiconductors become so central to Taiwan’s economic progress?
How Taiwan became the global leader in semiconductor manufacturing, powering everything from smartphones to artificial intelligence.
Why did Venezuela’s economy collapse?
Economic collapse transformed daily life in Venezuela; explore the factors behind one of the world's biggest economic crises.

Videos

How containerization shaped the modern world
Discover how the shipping container became one of the most influential inventions in modern economic history.
Shenzhen Transformed
See how Shenzhen transformed from a small fishing village into one of the world's leading centres of technology and innovation.

Environmental Change

Climate change, sustainability, cities, resources, disasters, and environmental decision-making.

Key Questions

How should societies respond to environmental challenges?
Can economic growth and environmental protection coexist?
Who wins and who loses from environmental change?
Can environmental challenges drive positive change?

Articles / Readings

The Aral Sea Crisis
The Aral Sea was once one of the world's largest lakes, but Soviet irrigation projects caused it to shrink dramatically, creating one of the greatest human-made environmental disasters in history.
Why the Aral Sea’s Restoration Matters
An exploration of recent efforts to restore parts of the Aral Sea and the wider significance of environmental recovery in Central Asia.
The Return of the Wolf
An examination of whether reintroducing wolves can help restore damaged ecosystems, and why scientists continue to debate the scale of their impact.
Singapore’s water story
An exploration of how Singapore transformed water scarcity into a source of resilience through long-term planning, innovation and sustainable resource management.
Scientists can’t agree about Chernobyl’s impact on wildlife
A of why scientists disagree about the recovery of wildlife in Chernobyl, highlighting the complex relationship between radiation, ecosystems and human activity.
The Regreening of Costa Rica
Discover how Costa Rica became a global model for restoring forests while supporting sustainable economic development.
Greenland isn’t in a rush to fight climate change
Discover why climate change presents Greenland with both economic opportunities and environmental challenges, raising difficult questions about the future of the Arctic.

Videos

The Great Green Wall
A documentary exploring Africa's Great Green Wall project, an ambitious effort to restore degraded land, support communities, and combat desertification across the Sahel region.
Bold Ideas to cool the planet
In this video, astrophysicist Josie Peters explains how techniques like marine cloud brightening and stratospheric aerosol injection could work — and the potential risks and ethical questions they raise.
Inside the hidden carbon plant pulling CO2 from thin air
Engineers in Iceland are removing carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere, raising important questions about the future of climate technology.
Can Boyan Slat Stop Plastic Pollution at its Source?
Follow inventor Boyan Slat as he develops new technologies to tackle plastic pollution in rivers and oceans around the world.
Living Below Sea Level: How the Dutch Mastered Water
See how the Netherlands has spent centuries adapting to life below sea level, offering lessons for a changing climate.

Social & Cultural Change

Migration, identity, culture, demographic change, social change, and global connections.

Key Questions

Why do people move between places?
How do societies change as populations change?
Why can change create tension in societies?
How can societies balance unity and diversity?

Articles / Readings

The Year that Changed the World
Why do historians consider 1989 a turning point? Explore a year of revolutions, protests, and political transformation that reshaped the modern world.
Two Indigenous Languages, Two Stories of Revival
A comparison of how Māori and Welsh communities have worked to revive endangered languages and strengthen cultural identity.
K-everything: the rise and rise of Korean culture
An exploration of how South Korea transformed its music, film, fashion and culture into a global phenomenon through the Korean Wave.
Why Women in Asia Are Having Fewer Babies
An examination of why birth rates have fallen across parts of East Asia and the wider social changes behind the trend.
Britain’s 1947 Radcliffe Line
An examination of how a border drawn in 1947 continues to influence politics, identity and everyday life along the India–Bangladesh frontier.
A Community that Nurtures and Inspires
An interview exploring the identity, traditions and future of Thailand's Sikh community through the experiences of one of its leaders
Helpers' Bedtime Stories
An interactive story exploring how overseas work has transformed the lives of Filipino families, connecting opportunity with sacrifice and separation.

Videos

Japan's population crisis reaches tipping point
A documentary exploring how Japan's shrinking population is reshaping society, the economy and public services, and what the rest of the world can learn.
What declining birth rates mean for the world
An exploration of why birth rates are falling across many countries and the social and economic challenges this creates.
Why was India split into two countries?
A short introduction explaining the events leading to the Partition of India, the creation of India and Pakistan, and one of the largest migrations in history.
China's left-behind children
A short documentary exploring how rural-to-urban migration in China has transformed family life, leaving millions of children growing up apart from their parents.

Guiding Questions

These questions are designed to help students think across the theme and prepare for discussion, writing, and presentation tasks.

What are the main forces shaping our world today?
Who benefits—and who is left behind—when the world changes?
Can innovation solve the world's biggest challenges?
How should societies respond to rapid change?
How do ideas, people and technology spread across the world?
Can change create both opportunities and challenges at the same time?
Who should shape the future: individuals, governments, businesses, or international organisations?

Preparation Checklist

Before the event, students should aim to feel confident with the following:

Examples: I can use examples from more than one country or region.
Arguments: I can explain both sides of a question before reaching a judgement.
Evidence: I can support my ideas with specific information rather than vague opinions.
Teamwork: I can discuss ideas clearly and listen to other students.
Communication: I can present a short response in a confident and organised way.