Junior 8 Meets World Leaders
09/07/2009
It has been a day of official meetings for the young people in the Junior 8 Summit,the parallel meeting to the G8 that is being held in Rome from 6 to 10 July.
54 youngsters from the countries in the G8 group, the G5 group (Brasil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa) and Egypt are taking part in the 2009 edition of the Junior 8. They submitted their proposals on how to address global issues to the world leaders today.
The young delegation reached the Guardia di Finanza Inspectors' School in L'Aquila before lunch.Before the meeting they visited an exhibition on the earthquake, and another exhibition entitled "The Art of Italian Excellence".
The young people were received by the leaders in the early afternoon, and each one was able to engage in one-to-one dialogue with the leader of his or her own country. They then joined forces to submit the Declaration of Rome addressed to the political leaders, and an Action Plan addressed to the young people of their own generation. The issues that they submitted to the G8's attention concern climate changes, the financial crisis, the development of Africa and the impact that these issues have on the lives of children and young people throughout the world, particularly on account of the global economic crisis. The 2009 Junior 8 Summit's message is this:"Action is needed, words are not enough".
Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi greeted them, voicing the hope that they will be "able to live in the kind of world you dream of. I hope that you will successfully achieve all your plans".Youth Minister Giorgia Meloni, who accompanied the delegation to the Summit, voiced her strong appreciation for the initiative's value.
Another meeting, entitled "Young Ideas and the World's Leaders", was held in the Sala della Regina in Palazzo Montecitorio, the Italian Chamber of Deputies, in Rome in the course of the morning. At the meeting, 40 youngsters submitted their final documents to Chamber of Deputies Vice-President Maurizio Lupi and to UNICEF Italia President Vincenzo Spadafora.
In the evening, the J8 representatives met in Rome with the young people taking part in the Tender to Ship project.
Documents:
- Junior 8 Summit 2009 – Rome Declaration (09/07/2009)
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Junior 8 Summit 2009 – The youngsters Action Plan
(09/07/2009)
