The 2012 UNICEF Student Summits
Last month, the U.S. Fund for UNICEF hosted four regional student summits in different locations across the country. The summits took place on October 13 in Houston and Los Angeles and on October 20 in Washington and Chicago. Over 400 UNICEF High School and Campus Initiative students participated in the summits, doubling the attendance of last year’s New York summit.
U.S. Fund for UNICEF student leaders came together to share challenges, successes and best practices for effectively educating, advocating and fundraising for UNICEF in their local communities. UNICEF club leaders and members engaged with each other and U.S. Fund staff members—forming new partnerships and ways of implementing local programming to educate peers, friends and family members about UNICEF’s work in over 190 countries.
Each summit kicked off with an overview of UNICEF and U.S. Fund for UNICEF national campaigns, along with a look at the impact the Campus and High School programs had in 2011. This was followed by an exclusive showing of 1.4 Billion Reasons, a multi-media presentation that outlines what extreme poverty is, how it impedes development, and how global citizens can take action to eliminate it within this generation. 1.4 Billion Reasons (www.globalpovertyproject.com) was a crowd favorite in all four cities.
U.S. Fund for UNICEF staff, partner organizations and student leaders held informative workshops on managing UNICEF clubs and gaining a better understanding of UNICEF’s work in the field. Each city had a panel of speakers, featuring field experts from UNICEF HQ as well as high school, campus, and alumni leaders invested in UNICEF’s work, demonstrating how the panelist’s roles and experiences are connected. Summit attendees also participated in a screening and discussion of Not My Life, a powerful documentary about human trafficking that was filmed across five continents.
We are extremely grateful to all of this year’s participants and look forward to continuing to work with our UNICEF student leaders in their noble effort to help prevent child deaths all around the world. Together we can truly make ZERO a reality.
The UNICEF Campus Initiative and High School Programs are a part of a growing grassroots movement rooted in the belief that students have a vital role to play in helping the world’s children survive.
To learn more visit the UNICEF Action Center.
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We are so grateful to all the students who participated in this year’s summits! Please continue the great work you are doing on behalf of the world’s children.