* Team Email Address (Email will be used for team communication with/by the U.S. Fund for UNICEF): /
Team Members
First Name / Last Name / Email address / Gender (M/F) / School / Organization / Date of Birth (YYYY-MM-DD)Ankur / Ahuja / / M / The HarkerSchool / 1992-05-31
Arjun / Mody / / M / The HarkerSchool / 1992-11-15
Namrata / Anand / / F / The HarkerSchool / 1992-12-02
Haran / Sivakumar / / M / The HarkerSchool / 1992-12-03
2) G8 Summit agenda issues
Focusing on selected G8 agenda topics, describe two ways you would recommend to G8 leaders to solve each problem. Please write up to 300 words to describe two ideas for each topic below.
- The Environment and Climate Change
Describe two ideas for ways G8 countries can achieve sustainable and efficient energy supply, energy consumption reduction and other measures to curb global warming and better protect the integrity of the environment.
Climate change poses the greatest danger to humanity. Today’s industrialized nations should develop an international carbon cap-and-trade scheme similar to the one included in the Kyoto Protocol, yet with more aggressive emissions reductions targets. According to Emily Figdor’s congressional testimony, “scientists … have identified a 2o Celsius rise in global temperature … as a rough threshold between damaging and catastrophic global warming,” and have recognized that only capping our total carbon emissions can prevent this temperature rise. Moreover, if this policy is to succeed, it must include developing countries. China recently overtook the United States as the world’s leading carbon dioxide emitter. According to Bill Richardson, former Secretary of Energy, increased use of renewable energy technology by developed nations will spur cooperation with countries such as China, making clean energy less expensive and more accessible. However, in addition to large policy-oriented changes, governments can implement smaller changes, such as subsidizing public transportation, increasing incentives for people to carpool, or encouraging citizens to plant trees. These smaller steps will shift the mindsets of many, making average citizens more involved in solving this global crisis.
Our group also wishes to inspire young children. Media shapes young children’s perspectives significantly; therefore, a multimedia campaign for environmental advertisements would allow children to start thinking in broader terms from a very young age itself. The promotion will be headed by a cheerful and informative mascot: Loka “Pal.” This globe-shaped buddy will combine popular culture and education to inspire children around the world to become environmentally conscious. Loka Pal would advocate small steps that children could take independently such as turning off lights and not wasting water to instill a sense of environmental responsibility. These two measures ensure that action is taken by people of all ages at both the international and individual level.
- HIV and AIDS
Infectious diseases such as HIV and AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis are a major burden on the health and productivity of people – particularly children - in many low-income countries. Describe two measures to help curb one or more diseases that can be undertaken by G8 leaders.
According to Mr. Dalit Ezhilmalai, India’s former Minister of State for Health, “creating awareness about HIV/AIDS and protecting oneself [is] the only solution.” As such, the G8 leaders must promote education in regions like sub-Saharan Africa and South East Asia, where HIV/AIDS is most prevalent. After enlightening the youth of the consequences of unprotected sex, governments should make sure that condoms are available to them. Because many of these people are too poor to buy condoms, the G8 leaders should provide loans to subsidize the sale of condoms, perhaps making the first dozen especially low for families who show interest. To further inculcate the ramifications of unprotected sex, the packages that contain the condoms should include some pithy yet alarming statistics that spur the reader into spreading the word to the community, effecting a grassroots reform. An informed generation will only give rise to a protected one, leading to successful change.
Leaders of the G8 countries should take advantage of their position in the forefront of technology to tackle the issue of malaria. To innovatively purge malaria, the target must shift from victim to vector—the infamous mosquito. Since scientists have already been able to quantify the number of people at risk of contracting malaria by using supercomputing technology, governments should go one step further and provide funding for research into technology, such as the laser gun currently being developed which can zap millions of mosquitoes. A less technological solution with equally enormous implications would be supporting the development of Vestergaard Frandsen’s PermaNet curtains. If G8 leaders were to aid in its production, they would be protecting inhabitants from malaria for longer periods of time, making the investment much more valuable. Thus, to handle malaria, G8 leaders should tap into nascent research and innovative manufacturing to best ensure results.
- A third topic of your choosing
Every year, the leaders at the G8 Summit discuss the world’s most pressing issues, of which there are many. Topics could include the financial crisis, the global food crisis, education, etc. Please identify a global issue you feel is particularly relevant to your team and to young people around the world and describe a response that you think G8 leaders should support.
It is a universal axiom that education is the key to success. The main barriers preventing global education are cost and opportunity. Since the G8 countries last convened, the number of schools offering free education has significantly increased. The problem of creating schools is also being addressed. The Obama administration alone has promised two billion dollars to the “Global Education Fund” and ten billion dollars to the Education for All Act. With many countries tackling these challenges, our team wishes to address the two pressing issues of how to aid families relying on child labor while creating long-lasting schools.
It is paramount that schools are created through a community effort. The successful integration of a school into both a society and its culture is vital in ensuring that school’s longevity. International efforts should be focused on using funds to create new part-time jobs for parents of potential students. These parents can help in building, maintaining, and running the schools; these jobs will help establish the schools as a permanent part of the society and also create extra income allaying financial worries of parents. To do our part to help global education, our school supplied Gansu, a province in China, with pigs, cows, and goats to create small businesses to supplement parents’ income, through a non-profit organization, Free the Children. This practice can be broadened with further international aid to encompass more regions and establish other sources of income such as crops. Schools can also offer classes where students learn valuable skills while manufacturing goods that can be sold for a small profit. These classes will be akin to woodshop or craft classes offered in America. By incorporating community life with education and containing programs that provide parents with additional income, new schools will be both viable and enduring.
3)References
HIV and AIDS Essay
Avasthi, Amitabh. “Education Slowing AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa.” Medical News Today 23 Mar. 2009. 29 Mar. 2009 <
Kingsbury, Kathleen. “A Better Deal on Malaria.” Time 26 Feb. 2009: 56.
Lorie, Anouk. “’Star Wars’ Scientists Create Laser Gun to Kill Mosquitoes.” CNN [London] 16 Mar. 2009, Intl. ed. 29 Mar. 2009 <
Wong, Grace. “Map Offers Hope in Fight against Malaria.” CNN [London] 24 Mar. 2009, Intl. ed. 29 Mar. 2009 <
Epstein, Helen. The Invisible Cure: Africa, the West, and the Fight Against AIDS. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2007.
Avert. 20 Feb. 2009. 29 Mar. 2009 <
“Creating Awareness about HIV / AIDS, the Only Solution.” Popline. 29 Mar. 2009 <
“Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria, and Other Diseases.” United Nations Millennium Development Goals. United Nations. 29 Mar. 2009 <
“Malaria Facts.” CDC Malaria. 11 Apr. 2007. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 29 Mar. 2009 <
“2008 Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic.” UNAIDS. UNICEF. 29 Mar. 2009 <
Vestergaard Frandsen: PermaNet. 29 Mar. 2009 <
The Environment and Climate Change Essay
Vidal, John, and David Adam. “China Overtakes US as World’s Biggest CO2 Emitter.” Guardian 19 June 2007. 29 Mar. 2009 <
Yardley, Jim. “China Says Rich Countries Should Take Lead on Global Warming.” New York Times 7 Feb. 2007. 29 Mar. 2009 <
Cong. Rec. 19 June 2008: 11 pp. Committee on Energy and Commerce. 29 Mar. 2009 <
Richardson, Bill. Leading By Example: How We Can Inspire an Energy and Security Revolution. N.p.: John Wiley and Sons, 2007.
Education Essay
“Advocate.” Global Campaign for Education. 30 Mar. 2009 <
“Current Hot Topics: U.S. FY 2010 Budget.” ONE. ONE. 30 Mar. 2009 <
“Education - EFA Fast Track Initiative (FTI).” Education: Human Development Network. World Bank. 30 Mar. 2009 <
“World Vision International.” World Vision International. World Vision International. 30 Mar. 2009 <
Media Essay
Colgan, Ann-Louise. “A Tale of Two Genocides: The Failed US Responses to Rwanda and Darfur.” PeaceWork 9 Sept. 2006. 29 Mar. 2009 <
Poniewozik, James. “Here’s to the Death of Broadcast.” Time 9 Apr. 2009: 61-62. Media essay
Phoenix, Joaquin, and Don Cheadle, perf. Hotel Rwanda. George, Terry. Lions Gate Entertainment, 2004.
“Genocide in Rwanda.” United Human Rights Council. 1994. 29 Mar. 2009 <
5) Mobilizing others
The Junior 8 Summit is one event in a wider UNICEF strategy to connect and assist communities of young people in their efforts to make the world a better place. If you were able to attend the Summit, how would you inspire other young people to become involved in global issues in your community upon your return?
It is important to start involving children in global issues at a young age, when their views of the world are being molded and shaped. If we were able to attend the Summit, we would, upon our return, focus on influencing young members of our community, from elementary school students to young adults in college.
Young children are often motivated by group activities and drawn to fun, interactive ideas. We could lead a delegation of students to travel to various schools, daycare centers, and local libraries to interact with young children and inspire them to involve themselves in community activities, practice clean health practices, and increase their basic global knowledge.
Working with state public school systems, we would set in place a weekly Global Awareness Class, possibly taught by high school student volunteers or UNICEF representatives. These classes, for elementary school students, would focus on global issues such as climate change, with an emphasis on small steps that even young children can take to participate in overcoming these challenges. The specific curriculum would be set by high school student leaders, selected to head their state’s delegation. This prestigious board would not only decide the content of the Global Awareness Classes but motivate older children to take an active role in their communities.
We would use our experiences at the J8 Summit directly to inspire innovation on key issues within our community; we would plan various annual competitions within our communities to inspire kids to think broadly about water conservation, nutrition, education, and HIV/AIDS. For example, we could create “First-Aid Education,” a competition where students would incorporate all the necessities of basic education into a small portable format, similar to first-aid kits and available to children across the world. Some of our other ideas include the creation of a nutritious, long-lasting nutrition bar, safe, and organic ways to clean drinking water for less than one cent per liter.
We would also work with schools to set up “Living in the Third World—an immersion in reality.” This would be a one-to-two-day real-life course exposing students to global problems that affect those living in underdeveloped countries. For example, non-profit organizations could create short yet intensive curriculums and simulations to teach young adults about the hardships of life in underdeveloped parts of the world, and hopefully inspire them to volunteer abroad.
Additionally, the media plays a large role in shaping the worldview of most children, from television shows for primary school children to videogames for teenagers. As such, we could create a petition to have games or television shows that have a large audience of children include positive messages such as environmentalism and the importance of service in their programs.
With these ideas, we hope to influence young people to take the step we have taken: to take action and participate actively in the global community.