1 Global Partners in Education Journal 10 2 editorial update Global Partners in Education Journal – Special Edition December 2022, Vol. 10, No. 2 http://www.gpejournal.org ISSN 2163-758X 1 Introduction to the 7th Global Issues Conference Special Edition Anna Łobodzińska, Global Understanding Instructor and Guest Editor Carpathian State College, Krosno, Poland 7th Global Issues Conference took place in April 2022 and as usual students at GPE member institutions could share their research with international audience during thematic sessions. Global Issues Conference takes place online and this year the session included: • Education • Environment • Food Security and Supply Chain • Gender • Globalisation and International Politics • Intercultural Interactions • Media and Business • Physical and Mental Health Global Issues Conference (GIC) is organized by East Carolina University, USA and Carpathian State College, Poland on behalf of Global Partners in Education. Presenters come from 14 partner institutions in 11 countries. After the conference, the Organizing Committee selects some presentations to be published in Global Partners in Education Journal. This year fifteen presentations were selected and the final eleven met all the requirements and are published and presented to wider audience. From the field of Education: 1. “Freedom of Expression of Judges in their Academic Research” by Valentina Díaz Pizarro from Universidad Mayor, Chile This academic research focuses on how to keep the balance between the freedom of expression and judicial independence and reflects on the situation in Chile. 2. “English Language Curriculum in North Macedonia” by Bisera Dalcheska Taleska and Marjana Vaneva from University American College Skopje, North Macedonia This paper presents a detailed analysis of research conducted by the authors in order to find the factors that are essential in learning a foreign language. There are diagrams and charts showing their findings as well as some recommendations for the future. Environmental issues were presented through: Global Partners in Education Journal – Special Edition December 2022, Vol. 10, No. 2 http://www.gpejournal.org ISSN 2163-758X 2 3. “The Humanities' Role in Solving Climate Change Through Fictional Narratives” by Nasreddine EL Guezar from Mohammed I University, Morocco The author shows us how much impact and influence scientific writing may have on readers’ attitude towards the environment. We can learn that even humanities can contribute to the environmental discussion and ecocriticism can be used to interpret literary text in reference to environmental issues. Food Security and Supply Chain session included the presentation on: 4. “Tackling the Insufficient Food Supply in the Sufficient Chinese Hot-Pot Chain Restaurant Industry - A Summer Project” by Mohan Huo, Jie Peng, Ke Wu, Linxuan Zhang, and Yiao Liu from Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, China This paper shows us ways of improving the food supply chain in order to support business development. The research was done to find ways in cost reduction and labour and at the same time keeping the quality standards. In the session entitled Gender there was the following presentation: 5. “Moroccan Women on the Market: Working Towards United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals” by Douae Serraf from Mohamed I University, Morocco We are introduced to the situation of Moroccan women who want to enter the marketplace and are faced with a number of issues and ways of discrimination. There are many examples that show us what the situation is and how it has been changing due to some regulations, such as Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – the global project implemented by United Nations in 2015. Those who attended the session about Globalisation and International Politics could hear the presentation: 6. “Love thy Neighbors: Countering the Growing Impatience in International Politics - Ukraine-Russia Conflict” by Sadaf Qadir and Zainab Iqbal from Fatima Jinnah Women University, Pakistan The paper shows that each conflict has global impact and cannot be treated as local. We are a global community and we live the consequences of events. The paper starts with historical insight trying to identify the causes of Ukraine-Russia conflict as well as show the impact it generally has around the world with focus on Pakistan. During the session on Intercultural Interactions one could listen to the following presentations: 7. “The Yagua People of Peru” by Teadora Stefanovska and Iskra Andreeska from University American College Skopje, North Macedonia The project focuses on the culture of the Yagua People and challenges they face. Their aim is to raise awareness of various problems in cross-cultural contacts. Global Partners in Education Journal – Special Edition December 2022, Vol. 10, No. 2 http://www.gpejournal.org ISSN 2163-758X 3 8. “Singing: The Human Connection” by Marguerite Hemedinger from East Carolina University, USA This article was inspired by the author’s personal experience and shows us similarities and differences in the attitude towards teaching and learning singing in five different countries. One of the presentations during Media and Business session was: 9. “Cultural Appropriation and Cancel Culture: A Global Survey” by Chiamaka Ezedimbu from Igbinedion University, Nigeria This paper deals with a difficult issue of misinterpretation of cultural appropriation. It tries to show that it might cause inappropriate situations, especially when it comes to virtual exchanges. And the session about Physical and Mental Health included: 10. “Hospital Waste Management and the Associated Hazards” by Saoussen Benemara, Nourelhouda Benhamed and Benameur Nehar from Université Aboubekr Belkaid Tlemcen, Algeria One of the main concerns of the 21st century is management of waste, including medical waste. This paper aims to make current diagnosis, analyse the causes and suggest solutions. 11. “Increasing Trend of Suicide Among Youth: A Social and Psychological Problem” by Dua Somro, Hala Saadat Ullah Khan, Salwa Nadeem, Hamna Javed, and Ms. Zainab Iqbal from Fatima Jinnah Women University, Pakistan According to this paper, suicide is the main cause of death in all parts of the world and should be given special attention and global initiatives should be taken to prevent suicide. Our annual meeting during The Global Issues Conference once again gave many people a chance to present their research to international audiences. The wide variety of topics makes it possible for each attendee to find their field of interest and discuss some issues with people who are fascinated by the same topic. The Global Partners in Education Journal is where some of the papers are published to allow even bigger audiences take a closer look at the chosen problems. We would like to thank all those that were present during the conference as well as those who decided to publish their articles. It would not have been possible without invaluable help of our reviewers who also proofread the articles: Carpathian State College, Poland Władysław Chłopicki Katarzyna Dziemian Agnieszka Habrat Global Partners in Education Journal – Special Edition December 2022, Vol. 10, No. 2 http://www.gpejournal.org ISSN 2163-758X 4 Jack Lala Teresa Poprawa Anna Rewiś-Łętkowska Ewa Rusek Alicja Witalisz Bogdan Wolski Joanna Ziobro-Strzępek East Carolina University, USA Ben Robbins Melanie Baker Robbins