World News Story Prompts That Share Your Perspective on Historic Events

What changes have you seen in the beliefs and behaviours of your community?

• People don’t behave or think as they used to. We evolve.
• What changes have you observed in your lifetime?
• What are the positive changes?
• Are there any changes you don’t like?
• What direction do you see your community heading in, and how do you feel about that?

How were your younger years different to this generation’s?

• How was your childhood different to the modern-day childhood?
• How was parenting different to parenting today?
• How were your working life and work culture from past years different to today’s?
• How was social life from yesteryear different to today’s?
• What are your opinions on the different generations, such as the Babyboomers, Gen X or Millennials?

Which technologies have most improved your life?

• Which technologies have been invented during your lifetime?
• What was life like before these inventions, and what changes did the technology bring?
• What did you like or dislike about these new technologies?
• What future technologies are you hoping for?
• Do you have any concerns about future technology?

Which national or international problems are you most interested in?

• From world conflicts to poverty and climate change, there are many challenges facing the modern world.
• Zoom in from the world view, and you might have local challenges too, like unemployment, education or housing.
• Which problems concern you the most?
• How would you try to solve such problems?

If you could rewrite history within your lifespan, what changes would you make?

• Perhaps you disagreed with decisions and actions made by others.
• From politics to the handling of COVID-19 and Brexit, what would you do if you could rewrite history?

What skill or knowledge differences do you see between different generations?

• How are younger generations more skilled or better positioned than your generation?
• By contrast, what advantages does your generation have over other generations?

What is your opinion on today’s culture?

• What do you like about the cultural norms in society around you?
• What do you dislike?
• What are your hopes or fears about cultural changes in the future?

What modern-day trends excite or concern you?

• Can you think of specific behaviours in modern society that seem positive and hopeful for the future?
• Are there any that concern you?

What do people take for granted today that was not the case when you were younger?

• With such rapid advances in technology, many lifestyle changes have occurred that younger generations may be unaware of.
• What stories can you share that might open the eyes of today’s youth and future generations?
• What was life like before things like radio, TV, telephone, computers, mobiles, GPS or AI?
• What do today’s generation take for granted?

What single message would you like to share with your nation or the world?

• What single, simple and short message do you wish was being rigorously promoted?
• Why is this important for you?
• What change do you hope this message would trigger?

If you could run your country for a day what one change would you make?

• What should your country be focusing on these days?
• Why should this be a priority?
• What will the future be like if this doesn’t happen?

What ‘old-school’ way of doing things do you prefer to modern solutions?

• Perhaps you still prefer to send letters instead of emails or pop in to see a neighbour instead of calling.
• What old ways, are better than the new ways of doing things?
• What should younger generations stop doing and adopt the old-school approach instead?

If you could time travel within your lifespan, when and where would you go?

• It’s not about time travel and changing past events…
• Imagine there were doors to all the years of your life. Walk through the door and the world adjusts to how things were back then. The clothes, the music, the cars the people…
• Which years would you enjoy revisiting, seeing and experiencing life from that period?

What world events have had a lasting impact on you?

• From world conflicts to terrorism and pandemics, we can’t escape the impact of global events.
• What events in modern history have affected you personally?

What do you miss most about the past?

• What precious activities don’t seem to happen any more?
• View old photo albums – what objects, people or activities do you miss?

How can we make the world a better place for everyone?

If you were King / Queen, what would you talk about in your annual Christmas speech?

• Each Christmas in the UK, the Royal family gives a Christmas speech to all Commonwealth countries. The speech conveys a personal message about the year’s events and the year ahead.
• What key points would you raise in such a speech?

What are your thoughts on the main news stories of today?

• We live in an era of ever-accelerating changes. Each week, there could be news stories that we later realise will change the course of history.
• From worrying health concerns abroad to ever-smartening technology.
• Imagine capturing your views on world topics as they emerge. In later years, you and your family can relive how it felt back then, before it became a mainstream topic of conversation.
• It’s easy to think we remember what we thought back then, but other people’s views and stories on the news can rewrite our memories. Your written story, on the other hand, will be an enduring account of how it really was back then.