Junior 8
The J8 ("junior 8") Global Citizenship programme provides young people from around the world with opportunities to learn more about topical global issues, to debate and discuss these issues, and to take their solutions to world leaders at the G8 summit. J8 is a partnership between Morgan Stanley, UNICEF and the country with the presidency of the G8.
Through an international selection process held each year, teams of young people aged 14 to 17 are chosen to put forward their ideas on the same issues to be discussed at that year’s G8 summit. First, Delegates are shortlisted from hundreds of thousands of applications, then they are invited to a final selection process held in their own country. The final Successful delegates meet at the same time as the G8 to take part in their own ‘Junior’ 8 summit. During the summit they engage in workshops, roundtable discussions and exercises to help them write a joint communiqué on the G8 agenda issues.
The first J8 to be held was in 2005 and took place in Edinburgh, on the university campus. At that time the J8 was purely and morgan and stanley initiative. Although UNICEF held a similar event, named the C8.
At the July 2006 summit held in St Petersburg, Russia eight young people from each of the countries were given a 45-minute audience with all of the G8 leaders for the first time. Russian President Vladimir Putin told the young people, "This G8 will go down in history as the one in which you participated in our joint work. What you have discussed with your peers…will have a big impact on the outcome of our work."[1]
J8 representatives were present for the June 2007 summit in Wismar, Germany, as well as the 2008 summit in Tōyako, Hokkaidō.
Topics at the 2009 J8 in Rome, Italy included: the financial crisis in the context of child rights, climate change, poverty and development in Africa, and a fourth theme of their choice, education.
As well as the annual competition, J8 is also an education programme with resources on global issues. The J8 website[2] provides information about all the issues that are on the G8 agenda.
The site includes resources for young people and teachers, including fact sheets and lesson plans on relevant topics.
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