* Team Name
* Team Email Address (Email will be used for
team communication with/by the U.S. Fund
for UNICEF):
THEN and NOW (Teens Helping Every
Nation and Nurturing Our World)
12JayaC@students.harker.org
Team Members
First
Name
Last Name
Email address
Jaya
Katie
Isaac
Kendra
Chandra
MarcusReker
Madan
Moss
12JayaC@students.harker.org
12KatherineM@students.harker.org
11IsaacM@students.harker.org
10KendraM@students.harker.org
Gende
r
(M/F)
F
F
M
F
School / Organization
Date of Birth
(YYYY-MMDD)
The Harker School
The Harker School
The Harker School
The Harker School
1994-05-01
1994-12-06
1993-03-03
1992-08-20
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.
A. 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. (Maximum 300
words.)
Our environment is dependent upon the collective world’s actions. The increasing
levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere contribute to the quick advancement of global
warming, and current measures to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions have limited
success. Investing in research and development to improve existing efficient green
technology will definitely reduce energy consumption and in turn curb global warming.
The creation and management of international power grids and the formation of global
agriculture and water management strategies will decrease energy consumption as well as
create a global energy management system.
Creation of international power grids, including laws and polices that govern the
investment in such grids, usage and availability of power to participating nations will
drive significant change. Conceptually there could be multiple power grids spanning
across North and South America, Europe-Middle East, Southeast Asia and the African
continent. Nonpolluting alternative energy sources such as solar farms (from vast desert
areas in most continents) and other clean energy sources feeding multiple international
electric power grids and allowing sharing of energy resources worldwide are the way of
the future. These power grids could allow power generated from solar, wind, hydro and
nuclear power to feed into these grids. International policies and laws to govern these
grids, including carbon emission trading policy, between nations will guarantee the
investment and availability of power to participating nations.
Global agriculture and water management strategy that preserves rain forests
optimizes the use of land and water resources, minimizes water pollution due to
agricultural waste, will reduce energy consumption, and impact to the environment.
Using technologies to monitor these management techniques will help reduce energy
consumption and wastage and provide the ability to return excess energy back to these
grids. Improvements in existing infrastructure and building these grids in incremental
ways is suggested.
B. 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. (Maximum 300 words.)
In developing and low-income countries, the rising mortality rate is proportional
to the spread of infectious diseases. Lack of clean water and proper sanitation contribute
to the spread of diseases in adults and children. An insufficient healthcare system along
with the lack of doctors, trained medical workers and affordable medicines affects those
with life-threatening diseases. Educating people about proper care and what precautions
to take will reduce the risk of infectious diseases.
Approximately one million people, 1% of which are children under the age of five,
die each year because of malaria due to lack of proper sanitation and preventive measures.
Large amounts of money are invested in mosquito nets that have limited success in
protecting against mosquitoes and are hard to use correctly. Instead of these nets, homes
should be built with proper ventilation and cooling systems and screens should be
installed. Besides vaccinating humans, there are methods for controlling the mosquito
population to prevent the spread of infectious diseases such as the anti-mosquito laser
which kills disease-carrying insects, and introducing “a malaria-free mutant” into the
mosquito population to render the disease-carrying mosquitoes ineffective.
Educating citizens of developing countries about proper sanitation procedures will
help reduce their chances of contracting a mosquito-borne disease. Also, training local
people to become healthcare and social workers will assist in the treatment and
prevention of infectious diseases. Government organizations and NGOs should partner
with schools, businesses, community and religious centers to teach people about safety
precautions. Governments and world healthcare agencies should work together with local
communication agencies, such as radio and TV stations, to facilitate widespread
communication of information. Along with government and international aid, the
participation of local communities is important for these methods to be successful.
Effective outside aid includes organizations working with local people to develop
feasible solutions and provide the means to attain resources needed for these projects.
C. 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. (Maximum 300 words.)
The increasing child mortality rate, partly caused by deaths from treatable
diseases, could be reduced with sufficient health care. To address this situation, we
propose that governments of developed countries work with leading health care
professionals to produce educational pamphlets in different languages. These packages
will then be sent to governments of developing countries and NGOs to be distributed in
locations lacking sufficient health care. The information will empower citizens to learn
basic health and emergency procedures, thus decreasing child mortality. For illiterate
individuals, NGOs will raise funds and sponsor governments to send local health care
personnel to instruct citizens. Posting this content online will maximize visibility and
availability. To guarantee maximum effectiveness of the pamphlets, G8 leaders and
governments can ensure that the materials are distributed properly and encourage other
nations to produce census reports outlining mortality rates. Professionals can revise the
pamphlets every few years.
Exposure to unclean environments is another leading cause of child deaths.
Industrial runoff or lack of sanitation infrastructure limits access to potable water, further
contributing to the spread of diseases such as cholera. To prevent such circumstances, the
establishment of an international community service program will allow people to work
on beneficial community projects. Inhabitants of developed countries will express interest
to G8-funded volunteer organizations and will be paired with host families in a
developing country where they will volunteer. This program will be similar to AMIGOS,
which works with South American countries “to address health and education priorities”
with the help of international volunteers. Participants will be trained by educators and
will take leading roles in project development. Funds raised by these individuals will
support local projects and improve water treatment and cleanliness. Such actions will
help children live in a cleaner environment, and help governments establish partnerships
with non-profit organizations.
3) References
Cite all of the references you used in a bibliographic list (include the websites, newspaper
articles, magazine articles, letters, presentations, books, etc. that informed your research).
“About AMIGOS.” AMIGOS. 2009. 28 Mar. 2009 <http://www.amigoslink.org//>.
Center for Disease Control. The Impact of Malaria, a Leading Cause of Death Worldwide.
30 Mar. 2009 <http://www.cdc.gov///.htm>.
Center for Disease Control. Malaria Facts. 30 Mar. 2009 <http://www.cdc.gov//
facts.htm>.
"Child Mortality." Centre for Environment Education. 30 Mar.
2009 <http://www.ceeindia.org/mdgs/goal_4_more.htm>.
Energy Information Administration. “Industrial Sector.” Measuring Energy Efficiency in
the United States’ Economy: A Beginning. Chapter 6. 30 Mar. 2009
<http://www.eia.doe.gov///ee_ch6.htm>.
"Global Climate Change Facts: The Truth, The Consensus, and the Skeptics." Climate
Change Facts. accessed March 24, 2009. <http://www.climatechangefacts.info/>
"Health and Disease." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2009. Encyclopædia Britannica Online
School Edition. 30 Mar. 2009 <http://school.eb.com/eb/article-273304>.
InterAcad. Council. Lighting the Way: Toward a Sustainable Energy Future. 15 Mar.
2009 <http://www.interacademycouncil.net///.aspx>.
President’s Council of Advisors on Science & Technology. Report on Sustainable
Development. 30 Mar. 2009
<http://www.ostp.gov//_on_sustainable_development>.
"Save the Children UK Saving children's lives." Save the Children. 30 Mar. 2009
<http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/en/4112_4206.htm>.
The United Nations. "Useful Climate Change Statistics." Gateway to the United Nations
System's Work on Climate Change.accessed March 28, 2009
<http://www.un.org/climatechange/background/usefulstats.shtml>
United Nations. United Nations Development Programme. UNDP Initiative for
Sustainable Energy (UNISE). By UNDP. 15 Mar. 2009
<http://www.energyandenvironment.undp.org//.cfm?module=Library&action=GetF
ile&DocumentAttachmentID=1027>.
Zyga, Lisa. “Scientists Build Anti-Mosquito Laser.” Physorg.com. 16 Mar. 2009. 30 Mar.
2009 <http://www.physorg.com/6423566.html>.
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? (Maximum 500 words.)
While our team realizes the importance of holding a conference to discuss and
analyze global concerns, we also understand the necessity to reach out to the youth
community to raise awareness of these issues and bring young people together to create
feasible solutions. Not only do we plan to connect with our school community, but also
with the entire Bay Area and with Internet users everywhere, by means of newsletters and
online forums. Though these efforts may start small, we hope to eventually spread our
influence across the nation, and possibly the globe, bringing young people everywhere
together to work on improving the lives of millions.
Because The Harker School has such a connected and unified population, we hope to first
raise awareness there, utilizing the already well-developed websites, newsletters, and
assembly systems that are available for promoting our goals. By publishing articles about
our solutions in the monthly newsletter, and offering ideas on what steps individuals can
take to contribute to the cause, we could connect not only the students, but the staff,
faculty, and parents as well. We would hold assemblies and school-wide meetings to
inform students of the global issues at hand and how they can take action to prevent
similar issues in the future, and end current problems now.
Another plan to unite the youth in our area includes creating a youth magazine
that would focus on the involvement of teens and young adults in solving global
dilemmas. Our team would collaborate with other youth leaders in our community and
join together to publish a biannual edition, complete with polls, photos and reader
opinions. By publishing a magazine that young people can relate to, we hope to stimulate
interest and awareness of these issues among the youth community, and inspire it to take
action of its own.
Our team also plans to use social networking websites, such as Facebook and
Myspace, to connect with young people over the Internet. By creating groups dedicated
to solving international dilemmas over the Internet, we could invite anyone and everyone
interested to join, post their findings, and work together to come up with solutions, as
well as provide donations to non-profit organizations. These groups would be mediated
by our team members, but open to the general public and anyone who supports our causes
and those of UNICEF. We would be able to provide links to other groups involved in the
same activities and links to informative sources we discovered during our research
process.
In summary, we plan to mobilize and propagate our ideas using technology,
communications and productivity tools and personal communications methods such as
social networking to connect the youth around the world, enable feedback and
interactivity to mobilize the cause and the solutions presented.