UNICEF announces fifth annual young people’s summit, event linked to G8

Selected participants to attend Junior 8 Summit in Italy in the run-up to the G8

NEW YORK, 26 March 2009 - UNICEF National Committees and country offices have begun the selection process for the fifth annual Junior 8 Summit , a meeting of young people aged 14 to 17, linked to the annual Group of 8 (G8) Summit.

This year, the G8 Summit will be held in Sardinia, Italy, from the 8th - 10th July, with the heads of state from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and the United States of America , as well as a number of invited heads of states from other countries.

In its fifth year, the UNICEF-organized Junior 8 (J8) will bring the winning teams from G8 countries together with participants from eight non-G8 countries sending a clear message to leaders that children from all over the world are equally affected by G8 decisions.

Participants will discuss topics on the G8 agenda ahead of the summit and will take their recommendations to the leaders. The primary focus of this year’s J8 will be on climate change, HIV/AIDS, and poverty and development in the face of the global financial crisis.

Countries will be represented by teams of four young people, who will be selected based on their entry submissions and/or experience of working on the topics that will be discussed during the J8. Russia has already selected its participants.

To read more about J8 2009 plans for each country, please visit:

Canada: http://www.unicef.ca/portal/SmartDefault.aspx?at=1680
France: www.defensedenepasagir.fr
Germany In partnership with MyVideo: http://www.younicef.de/junior8wettbewerb.html
Italy: http://www.unicef.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeBLOB.php/L/IT/IDPagina/4172
Japan: http://www.unicef.or.jp/j8/index.html
United Kingdom: www.unicef.org.uk/youthvoice/j8
United States:. www.unicefusa.org/j8
Russia: http://www.unicef.org/russia/youth_health_development_10748.html
- Official J8 Russian website - http://www.juniorg8.ru