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Database of Issues (210 Entries)

Issues are problems and risks that impact people or planet. These range in scope from global problems that require international cooperation to solve down to local, community and personal issues that can be addressed where you live.

All (216)

Global (29)

Social (75)

Environmental (19)

Local & Community (56)

Personal (41)

Academic Pressures	Accidents & Injuries
Addiction	Adversity
Aging Population	Air Pollution
Animal Welfare	Biodiversity Loss
Bullying	Career Problems
Censorship	Child Labor
Child Poverty	Children's Rights
Chronic Disease	Civic Participation
Civil Rights	Climate Change
Community Engagement	Conflict Resolution
Consumer Protection	Coral Bleaching
Corporate Accountability	Corporate Influence
Corporate Transparency	Cost of Education
Cost of Living	Crime Rates
Criminal Justice Reform	Cross-border Crime
Cultural Heritage	Cyberbullying
Cybersecurity	Cycling Infrastructure
Debt	Deforestation
Democratic Rights	Dental Care
Desertification	Digital Addiction
Digital Literacy	Digital Safety
Disability Rights	Disaster Preparedness
Discrimination	Divorce
Domestic Violence	Early Childhood Education
Economic Competitiveness	Economic Freedoms
Economic Justice	Economic Mobility
Education Quality	Educational Issues
Elderly Care	Elderly Poverty
Energy Security	Environmental Justice
Extinctions	Fair Competition
Fair Wages	Family Caregiving Burdens
Family Instability	Family Issues
Fast Pace of Technological Change	Financial Hardship
Financial Literacy	Financial Losses
Flood Prevention	Food Deserts
Food Insecurity	Freedom of Expression
Freedom of Movement	Freedom of Press
Freedom of Religion	Freedom of Speech
Freedom of Thought	Gambling
Gender Equality	Gentrification
Government Spending	Green Space
Habitat Destruction	Hate Crimes
Health Problems	Healthcare Access
Healthcare Disparities	Heavy Metal Pollution
Homelessness	Housing Affordability
Human Rights	Hunger
Immigration	Impact of Artificial Intelligence
Impact of Automation	Indigenous Rights
Industrial Runoff	Industry Decline
Infrastructure Decay	Intergenerational Tensions
International Aid	International Relations
Invasive Species	Job Displacement
Judicial Independence	Labor Standards
Lack of Savings	Land Use
Language Barriers	Legal Issues
Life Satisfaction	Light Pollution
Literacy	Living Conditions
Loneliness	Low Birth Rates
Managing Stress	Mass Incarceration
Media Bias	Mental Health
Mental Health Stigma	Microplastics
Minority Rights	Misinformation
Modern Slavery	Monopolies
Nationalism & Identity Politics	Natural Disasters
Noise Pollution	Nuclear Proliferation
Nuclear Waste	Nuclear Weapons
Obesity	Online Harassment
Overdevelopment	Overfishing
Overpolicing	Overspending
Overtourism	Peace
Peer Pressure	Pensions
Personal Accountability	Personal Safety
Physical Inactivity	Plastic Pollution
Police Accountability	Police Militarization
Political Corruption	Political Instability
Political Participation	Political Polarization
Pollution	Population Decline
Poverty	Predatory Lending
Predictive Policing	Pressures of Globalization
Privacy	Public Accountability
Public Health	Public Safety
Public Space	Public Transportation
Public Trust In Institutions	Quality of Emergency Services
Quality of Life	Racism
Recessions	Refugees & Migrants
Relationship Problems	Renewable Energy
Sanitation	Self-esteem Issues
Sexism	Sleep Issues
Smog	Social Cohesion
Social Connectedness	Social Disintegration
Social Instability	Social Isolation
Social Justice	Social Safety Net
Social Security	Social Services
Social Support	Sovereign Debt
Support For Local Businesses	Support For Single Parents
Support For Small Business	Surveillance
Tax Burden	Tax Evasion
Technology Risks	Terrorism
Toxic Waste	Trade Wars
Traffic Safety	Transportation Access
Underemployment	Unemployment
Urban Decline	Urban Sprawl
Wage Theft	War & Conflict
Waste Incineration	Water Pollution
Water Quality	Water Scarcity
Wildlife Conservation	Wildlife Trafficking
Work-life Balance	Workplace Bullying
Workplace Safety	Youth Unemployment

What is an Issue?

An issue is a problem, risk or opportunity that has an uncertain solution. This solution is often uncertain due to a lack of consensus whereby many nations, institutions, organizations and people need to be involved to solve a problem, mitigate a risk or pursue an opportunity.

Definition of Issue

A problem, risk or opportunity that is a topic of debate, discussion and political action.

Another characteristic of issues is that they attract much discussion or political action. If you think something is wrong with the world, this doesn't make it a global issue unless you can go out and interest others in debating it.

Agenda Setting

Agenda setting is the process of deciding what issues get publicity. Traditionally, the following groups play a central role in generating discussion around issues:

Journalists and news media
The entertainment industry
Educators such as professors and teachers
Politicians
Corporate lobbyists and other corporate influencing mechanisms
Celebrities
The owners of media organizations and platforms

Grassroots Issues

Grassroots issues are issues that are surfaced by people who don't have any particular social power or authority as with the agenda setting institutions mentioned above. In the modern age, it is common for people to start social movements and promote issues of concern to them using a variety of digital media such as social media, blogs, vlogs and podcasting. Old fashioned word of mouth and public speaking also continue to play a large role in identifying and promoting issues to the local, national or global stage.

More global issues: