Junior 8 Summit 2008: Japan

The J8 Summit is the youth parallel event to the G8 Summit, which since 2005 gives children and young people the opportunity to articulate and present their opinions and views, concerns and recommendations on important issues and problems affecting them and those which require future action from G8 leaders.

Junior 8 Summit 2008 is being held parallel to the G8 summit of world leaders in Tokyo and is currently taking place in Chitose, on the island of Hokkaido until the 9th of July 2008. This years summit is being attended by 39 children – a group of 4 from each G8 country and 7 from developing nations. The young people will take part in workshops, round table discussions and exercises to help them think through each of the issues on the agenda.

What are the Junior 8 2008 topics?

a. Global warming and climate change

b. Poverty and development

c. Child survival, infectious diseases, and HIV/AIDS

Every day, on average, more than 26,000 children under the age of five die, most of them from preventable causes. Children need a combination of essential vitamins to grow and develop. Deficiency of vitamin A in particular often leads to death from measles and diarrhoea. It is also a major cause of blindness.

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