Nine young people presented their recommendations to world leaders at the G8 Summit in Heiligendamm today. The young people – eight from the G8 countries and one from Tanzania -- spent 45 minutes talking to the leaders at the culmination of the week-long J8 Summit, attended by 74 young people from eighteen countries.
Introducing the J8 Summit Declaration, the young people said, “We know that tomorrow our generation will have to cope with the legacy of today. So we have united at this third Junior 8 Summit to work intensively on ways to brighten this legacy.”
On economic prospects for Africa, the children said, “We believe that education is fundamental to the bettering of the economic situation of Africa. In order to support education, we call for allocation of part of the aid pledged at the 2005 G8 summit to be directed to the building and equipping of schools and the training of teachers, as well as supporting programmes which remove the economic burden of education from families.”
On climate change and energy efficiency, the Children continued, “We call upon the G8 leaders to provide incentives, wherever possible, to companies to become more environmentally friendly through tax rebates for efficiency and tax burden for environmentally irresponsible companies. G8 countries should also pioneer and encourage other countries to join the regional Caps and Trade systems which are internationally linked. Within these systems the G8 should encourage the implementation of realistic thresholds of GHG emissions based on GDP per capita per country.”
They concluded, “We are here to make a change. We will continue to address the challenges which confront our world to the best of our abilities. In seeking to resolve these challenges, we need your support. Together it is possible to make a difference”
The four key themes addressed by the declaration are:
• Economic prospects for Africa
• HIV/AIDS
• Climate Change and Energy Efficiency
• New challenges for the Global Economy
The full declaration is available on the J8 website: https://www.j8summit.com
Note to Editors:
J8 participants include teams of eight young people aged 13-17 years from each of the G8 member countries: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Russian Federation, UK and USA. An additional ten J8 delegates from developing countries – Algeria, Brazil, Cameroon, Central African Republic, China, Ethiopia, India, Moldova, Sierra Leone and Tanzania were selected by UNICEF.
J8 is the youth event linked to the G8 Summit and has been developed and supported by the Morgan Stanley International Foundation and UNICEF. J8 aims to advance young people’s understanding of global issues and to provide a platform for them to discuss and advocate on these issues with some of the most powerful leaders in the world.
Morgan Stanley
Morgan Stanley is a leading global financial services firm providing a wide range of investment banking, securities, investment management and wealth management services. The Firm's employees serve clients worldwide including corporations, governments, institutions and individuals from more than 600 offices in 31 countries. The Morgan Stanley International Foundation is the Firm's charitable grant-making arm in Europe. It was established in 1995 and is registered as a charity with the Charity Commission for England and Wales. Its main purpose is to make grants to not-for-profit organizations which benefit the communities in Europe and South Africa in which Morgan Stanley has a physical presence. While grants are made to all sectors, including health and social welfare, the main focus of the Foundation’s support is in the area of education, training and employment. For further information about Morgan Stanley, please visit www.morganstanley.com.
UNICEF
UNICEF is on the ground in 155 countries and territories to help children survive and thrive, from early childhood through adolescence. The world’s largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments.
For more information or to arrange interviews with the participants, please contact:
UNICEF, Gerrit Beger, New York: +1.212.326.7116, in Germany cell: +1.917.605.1714, gbeger@unicef.org
Morgan Stanley Corporate Communications, Hugh Fraser, +44.207.425.3923, Hugh.Fraser@morganstanley.com