The distribution of income, opportunities, work and access to education, health care or basic food among people in the world is very unequal. Not only between prosperous and poor countries, but the distribution between groups of people within countries is a growing problem. This applies to African countries, for example, where the standard of living of the elite often contrasts sharply with that of the rest of the population. But there is also a distribution problem in Western countries. Because of the excessive remunerations in the upper echelons of the labour market, income discrepancy is on the increase.

The global distribution issue is not a simple black and white tale of rich and poor countries, nor can it be solved in a trice. The neo-liberal climate in the current phase of globalization is partly to blame, together with the shift from state intervention to a free market system which has taken place in many countries.

The issue of unequal distribution is a layered story in which large groups of people in a number of developing countries are better off thanks to economic growth (as in India, Brazil and China), while in other areas (particularly in Africa) hardly any advantage is taken of the opportunities offered by globalization. In countries that are booming economically, new elites emerge which emulate the Western standard of living. An extra dimension in the distribution issue stems from the increasing scarcity of natural resources: which countries in the world manage to buy and consume which part of the global resources, and with what right?

Awareness of distribution issues, including the huge problem of poverty and combatting poverty, is an essential part of global citizenship education. Thinking about distribution issues brings up different values: equality, justice, solidarity. Thinking about distribution also requires knowledge of the poverty problem: what does poverty mean in everyday life, what are the structural aspects, what part does the international economic order play and what can be done from the Netherlands to influence unequal distribution? 

Three aspects have been selected to illustrate the theme of distribution:

• Combatting poverty as an international task: agreements within the scope of the United Nations millennium goals and the meaning of development cooperation. Window chosen: millennium goal 1.
• The unequal access to food, housing and health care, as well as possibilities to improve access to such essential matters via national policy and international cooperation. Window chosen: child mortality in Bolivia.
• The global issue of increasing food shortage and rising prices, with all its consequences for people with a very low income. Window chosen: food riots in Indonesia.