Democracy: Freedom for all This man has ruled his country with an iron fist for over 40 years

He has allegedly been responsible for the murders of thousands of his own people And many believe he is behind some major terrorist attacks around the world

But now people in Libya are fighting back – they want to become a democratic country

Other countries are undergoing similar unrest – can you name them?

Could you find all these countries on a map? What part of the world do they represent?

What it’s all about

So what do you know about political systems and leaders? a dictator an absolute monarch a constitutional monarch a tyrant democracy a president a prime minister Match the words below with the descriptions in the table But the best way to learn how democracy works is to see it in action

Today a decision has to be made: Should you turn the light on or off in the schoolroom you are in now? There are many ways in which this important matter could be decided. Here are a few of them. In each case decide what is good or bad about the way in which the decision is made. 1 Your teacher decides to turn the light on or off. 2 Your teacher chooses two or three of the biggest and strongest people in the class and they decide what to do. 3 The whole class and your teacher decide to vote whether or not to turn off the light. 4 The class elects someone to take responsibility for a while for turning the light on and off. The person elected now has the duty to make that decision whenever they feel it necessary to change the lighting in the room. They may want to give the job to someone else, but it is they who decide when it should happen. Consider these points: How fair is each decision? How much time and effort does each one take? How many people are left out or do not have their opinions heard? How much control do you have over the person making the decision?

See if you can match the descriptions on the previous slide with the following: Each of the decisions relates to a different way in which a government is organised. a direct democracy - under this system people are able to vote directly about each subject (or issue). Their votes have equal weight and what the majority of people want takes place. b representative democracy - this is the system in Britain. People who are allowed to vote in elections vote for people to represent them. These people become members of parliament and help create and pass laws which the rest of us are expected to obey. c oligarchy (OL-I-GAR-KEY) - Society is ruled by a very few people - they make all the decisions. d dictatorship - rule by a single person. Write down which system you would like to live under and why You will need some good reasons to justify your decision

Finally let’s return to Libya We are going to look into the future and decide on the democratic direction of the country

You, the Libyan rebels, have won the fight against Colonel Gaddafi You now have two choices on the system you will use to run the country: direct democracy v representative democracy

Firstly, you need to elect a class representative Anyone can stand for election – they have one minute on their feet to explain why you should vote for them Hold a secret ballot to find out who gets the most votes – they are now your leader Now send your new representative out of the classroom while you make some decisions

As a class, you now need to vote on each of the following individual issues – more than 50 per cent of the vote will see the issue become law 1. Libya will become a peaceful Islamic state which recognises all other religions 2. All profits from the oil industry will be distributed equally amongst the population 3.Free health care is a guaranteed right of everyone living in Libya 4. Every other Tuesday, men only will be responsible for washing up, cleaning the house and other domestic chores 5. Education is compulsory up to the end of primary school 6. All women will recognise the authority of a man to make all the decisions about the way they live their life Now get your elected representative back in and see which ones they would make law

So, how did your elected representative do? Were their decisions popular? Discuss the merits of the two systems using the following points: How many people's votes mattered in the end? How many people ended up with someone representing them that they didn't vote for? How simple is the system to understand and organise? Which system is easier to use? There are other democratic voting systems including the alternative vote system that may be used to decide UK elections in the future For your homework, find out how this system will operate if brought in