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1. Do regional pacts promote peace? (30:15)

Date:
1956
Main contributors:
National Educational Television
Summary:
Presents members of the New York Herald Tribune World Forum and forum director Helen Hiett Waller. Reveals that the Indian and the Yugoslav forum members oppose any type of international military pact, while Norwegian delegate defend the North Atlantic Treaty organization. The Iranian delegate appraises the pros and cons of the argument.

2. How can the U.N. be more effective (30:19)

Date:
1956
Main contributors:
National Educational Television
Summary:
Delegates from India, Korea, Norway and the United Kingdom thrash out the controversial question of U.N. membership for Red China in a lively discussion during this program. "Actually it is not a question of whether we like a country or its government. The fact is that it—the country—should be recognized," Norway says and the Korean delegate comes back with, "Nations that don’t love peace should not be admitted to the U.N." The conversation swings into a second heated discussion on the effectiveness of competition between the United States and Russia to aid underdeveloped countries.

3. How do American schools compare with yours? (30:22)

Date:
1956
Main contributors:
National Educational Television
Summary:
Delegates representing Australia, Guatemala, Norway and Turkey compare their own schools with those they have come to know in America. Girls and boys split over the value of coeducation with the males in favor and the girls opposed. Says the Australian delegate, "Maybe girls are afraid to let boys find out how intelligent they are." The girls also think American girls are too clothes conscious and suggest uniforms for students. Other comments include envy of the American student's freedom to work part time, lack of respect for the teacher, appreciation of the modern equipment in American schools and surprise at the American custom of "going steady."

4. Is there an alternative to war? (30:35)

Date:
1956
Main contributors:
National Educational Television
Summary:
Is fear the main element preventing war at the present time? Is fear an adequate basis on which to build a lasting peace? Is the UN the answer? These are some of the thought-provoking questions which four forum delegates consider in this second program. The teen agers compare their own war experiences, which range from the Italian invasion of Ethiopia to the German occupation of Norway. An ironic coincidence is revealed as the Australian delegate tells how her father was held prisoner in Germany and the German student, in turn, relates his father's imprisonment in Australia.

5. Life today in the Middle East (30:20)

Date:
1956
Main contributors:
National Educational Television
Summary:
The tension between Arabs and Jews in the Middle East is expressed in very personal terms as delegates from Israel, Jordan and Lebanon discuss how the political situation affects their own lives. The young delegate from Israel explains that even the women and girls in her country must know how to handle a gun in case of a full-scale outbreak of hostility between the one and a half million Jews and forty-five million Arabs. However, the unrehearsed discussion also brings out the many problems which Israel and the Arab countries must face in common such as illiteracy, low standards of living and lack of water. The young people express fear of another devastating war arising out of the still tense situation.

6. My image of America (30:36)

Date:
1956
Main contributors:
National Educational Television
Summary:
With frankness and sincerity, the young delegates describe their initial picture of America and the American way of life. They offer opinions formed before arriving in this country for the forum. The Italian delegate criticizes America's "Reader's Digest" mind and the Malayan girl speaks of her disappointment at seeing no flowers or green trees or birds and of her discomfort in the January cold. Drawing upon his knowledge of US soldiers stationed in his country, the Korean describes his impression of America. Although this program does not have the pace and spontaneity of the remainder of the series, the students offer some penetrating criticism of American folkways.

7. New developments in formerly dependent areas (30:26)

Date:
1956
Main contributors:
National Educational Television
Summary:
Of the five delegates represented here, four are from these areas—India, Mexico, the Gold Coast, and the Philippines—while the fifth is the French delegate. Important development activities in the four countries are listed as mass education, village development programs, industrialization and improved agriculture. Delegates also discuss the direct effect of recent important changes in their countries on their own lives. These include independence and free elections in India; World War II and the post-war victory over the Huks in the Philippines: the breaking up of tribal systems and the growing demand for independence in the Gold Coast, and the expropriation of US oil holdings in Mexico.