Junior 8 Summit Opens in Rome
06/07/2009
The fifth edition of the Junior 8 Summit, an event bringing together boys and girls from all over the world from now until 10 July to debate ways of tackling global issues and to work on putting together recommendations for submission to the world leaders meeting at the G8 Summit in L'Aquila, is under starter's orders.
The opening ceremony was held in the Multifunctional Room in the Presidency of the Council of Ministers in Rome this evening. In the course of the Junior 8 Summit the 56 youngsters aged 14 to 17, hailing from G8 member Countries and from Brasil, China, Egypt, India, Mexico and South Africa, will be putting together a document containing analyses and proposals on climate changes, on the financial crisis and on poverty in Africa.
On 9 July a delegation from the Junior 8 Summit comprising a single representative of each of the 14 countries involved will be meeting with the leaders at the G8 Summit in L'Aquila, while another delegation is to present the result of the talks at a meeting organized by the Chamber of Deputies in Rome.
At yesterday evening's inauguration ceremony, the children who took part in last year's edition of the Junior 8 Summit in Japan extended a warm welcome to this year's group. This was followed by speeches from Under Secretary of State Gianni Letta, Youth Minister Giorgia Meloni and UNICEF Italia President Vincenzo Spadadora.
The event is organized on the basis of cooperation between UNICEF, the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, the Interior Ministry, the Education Ministry, the Youth Ministry and the Rome Municipal Authority.
