Junior 8 Summit
Each year, the details of the Junior 8 Summit are determined by the G8 host government collaborating with UNICEF. The details of the Junior 8 Summit 2010 are not yet available, as Canada will take on the presidency of the G8 Summit of leaders in January 2010. News and information will be posted here in the coming weeks.
If you would like to be the first to know about any opportunity linked to the Junior 8 Summit, please e-mail pgallo@unicef.ca and we will send you information as soon as we have it.
SUMMIT 2009 NEWS: UNICEF JUNIOR 8 SUMMIT SET FOR JULY IN ITALY
Speak Up and Take Action with UNICEF!
What would YOU say if you had the chance to speak
with Stephen Harper and Barack Obama - and influence
the future of our planet?
The UNICEF Junior 8 Summit, or J8, unites young people from Canada, the other G8 countries and developing nations with world leaders to discuss how to change our world for the better.
Held in Rome from July 5 to July 12, the youth conference parallelled the agenda of the G8 Summit happening simultaneously in L'Aquila, Italy. Representing Canada at the J8 was team "Carpe Diem," four passionate students from Saunders Secondary School in London, Ontario.
UNICEF J8 meets the G8!
On July 9, the J8 delegates met with the G8 leaders to present their ideas and proposals in the form of the Junior 8 Summit 2009 - Rome Declaration. Topics included climate change, poverty and development in Africa and child rights in the context of the financial crisis.
J8 delegates are ready to give the world's leaders an "earful"
Canadian delegates from Team Carpe Diem gather outside the Roman Coliseum on July 5, 2009 to give the G8 leaders an "earful." All 54 UNICEF J8 delegates wrote their demands for the G8 leaders on paper, which was stuffed inside the 4 meter papier mache ear. The delegates called on the G8 to “Listen to Us.”
Canadian J8 delegate Nigel Wodrich, (pictured above, second from right), asked the leaders to remember when they were young when making key decisions.
For more updates on the J8, please visit www.j8summit.com.
Meet the UNICEF Canada Junior 8 Summit 2009 team
The winning team from Canada, Carpe Diem, is comprised of four students from London, Ontario: Jona Nahyun Cho, Steve Seungjoon Lee, Nigel Wodrich and Corinne Boudreau. All four students are active in their community and share a commitment to global issues, as well as social, health and economic development in developing countries.
The video below highlights their ideas for global improvement:
UNICEF Canada thanks every participating team for their creative submissions and commitment to social justice. With your continued efforts to speak out and act for change, the future looks bright!
Find out more!
Learn about the issues and follow the delegates at www.j8summit.com.
Visit I’m Part of the G8 Too!– a website that gives people a virtual seat at the G8 Summit:
Join the Junior 8 Voices of Youth Discussion Forums to share your views on G8 issues with peers from around the world.
Do more!
The Junior 8 Summit is an opportunity for you, the young people of Canada, to have your voices heard before the world's most influential leaders - and your friends and classmates should know about it.
Download the
Junior 8 Summit postcard and post a note in your school’s print or e-mail newsletter or Web site. Write about it in your school paper…Spread the Word!
You can also join UNICEF in asking the G8 Leaders to fulfill their commitments on children's health by doing the following:
- Continue support of PMTCT for mothers and Paediatric care for children with a specific focus on early-infant diagnosis.
- Support and promote responses that address the continued vulnerability of girls to HIV and AIDS.
- Support the recent G20 commitment to social protection that is child sensitive and AIDS inclusive.
Please contact your regional UNICEF office to find out more exciting ways you might get involved with the work of UNICEF Canada.
Teacher Resources
Through the UNICEF Junior 8 Summit, students have the opportunity to develop their ideas about the most pressing global issues today, connect to peers around the world, and get involved with UNICEF. The resources on this site help make curriculum connections for geography, world issues, history and other subjects to the process of preparing an informed and socially active entry for the UNICEF Junior 8 Summit Competition.
The site also has a number of other resources such as web sites that monitor G8 news and the topics to help keep you up to date with the latest information.
Contact us
This is your programme and we need your comments and suggestions on how we can improve it for you. Whether you are a teacher, a student, or somebody else interested in the UNICEF Junior 8 Summit, please send us your comments by emailing junior8summit@unicef.ca.
JUNIOR 8 2008
Young People Meet with G8 Leaders to deliver the "Chitose Declaration"
The 2008 UNICEF Junior 8 Summit was held in Chitose, Japan. On July 7, 2008, one young person from each G8 country and a delegate from Barbados representing the thirty-nine UNICEF Junior 8 Summit participants met with the G8 leaders. They presented their recommendations on climate change, poverty, development and global health as part of the "Chitose Declaration." Click here to read the full document.
The delegates also drafted an Action Plan for the young people of the world to help address the issues raised in the Chitose Declaration.
Check out the Junior 8 Summit newsletter to get an inside look at a global youth summit.
Take a look at some pictures from the Junior 8 Summit.
JUNIOR 8 2007
Canada was well represented by eight students from École secondaire De Rochebelle in Québec City at the UNICEF Junior 8 Summit in 2007 in Germany. Here are just a few testimonials from the team members:
"Even if I can't vote (yet), I have something to say, and the J8 is THE moment to say it."-Marian
"We realized that we (the youth) can work together to make things change, to discuss about what is important for us. Now, we have more and more energy, ideas, dynamism to be involved in our community and fight against world problems."-Marie-Eve
"The experience was fantastic. I loved the opportunity to accompany the students on this adventure where they were awakened to the reality of young people from other countries and where I was able to help facilitate the creation of extraordinary bonds of friendship." -Martine, UNICEF Canada
Read the 2007 team’s winning entry.
UNICEF reserves the right to alter details of the scope and organization of the Junior 8 Summit based on the conditions determined by the G8 Presidency.
