Fieldnotes: Blogging on UNICEF's child survival work in the field

In my last post, I told you all about the i'm Talkathon, a project started by an i'm Initiative fan named Parker to help raise awareness about this incredible program from Microsoft that donates to a social cause every time you send an IM or email. UNICEF is one of the causes, and there are just five days left in the Talkathon!

In these final days, there's a simple way you can help raise awareness for UNICEF and possibly even help us win a big donation from the social netoworking site Facebook. Facebook has pledged $15,000 to the social cause that gets the most votes in their i'm Initiative poll.

Here’s the deal: On the "i’m Making a Difference" Group page (www.facebook.com/im), look for the poll on the right margin. Simply vote for your favorite cause. You can see the results in real time.

UNICEF is currently in third place. Help make us #1! Rally your friends. Get out the vote. The more friends who get behind UNICEF, the better we will do. That's what community is all about.

And let's have a round of applause for Facebook's generous pledge. Very cool.

We've heard from our four young people who are representing the United States at the Junior 8 Summit, shadowing the G8 summit in Japan. Here's their third blog posting, written by Manogna, who represented the United States when meeting with the G8 leaders.

Today was an interesting day. It was the day we were all waiting for! The nine representatives of the J8 delegation, including me, left an hour earlier than everyone else to get ready for the meeting with the leaders. During this meeting, we went over possible answers to various questions that could be asked and the basic schedule that we needed to follow.

© UNICEF/HQ08-0662/Ayano Sato

The 39 youth delegates to the J8 Summit gather at the Citizens’ Cultural Center in the city of Chitose on Hokkaido Island.

As our extra hour was drawing to a close, we began talking about the action plan. By then, the rest of the J8 delegation had arrived, and we split into three groups—Poverty and Development, Global Health and Climate Change. We perfected our Action Plan and ended with a final agreement. So, with both the Chitose Declaration and Action Plan completed, we were set to go meet the leaders!

We've heard from our four young people who are representing the United States at the Junior 8 Summit in Japan, shadowing the G8. Here's their second blog posting, written by Manogna, a rising high school junior from California.

Today was a very fun day! Our group, the global warming group, got to present our topic to the rest of the J8 community. We had an expert come in and give us a presentation on his views on global warming, too. He was a very interesting man and taught us a lot of important information.

Once we finished with that presentation, we separated into four individual groups and went more in depth into the topic.

© Rachael Swanson

The U.S. delegation team to the J8 Summit

Throughout the day we engaged in many different conversations, and in the end, we concluded with the first draft of the Chitose Declaration. We also decided what sub-groups we wanted to join and had a couple minutes of discussion with those groups also.

Once we got back to the hotel, we had dinner and then started our cultural presentations. All of the presentations were very lively and fun to watch. I am glad that we all got to learn a little more about all the cultures.

Tomorrow's topic is going to be poverty and development, so we are all looking forward to it.

Four rising high school juniors from California, their teacher, and Rachael Swanson from the U.S. Fund for UNICEF are preparing this week to travel to Japan to participate in the Junior 8 Summit. Held at the same time as the G8 summit, J8 participants meet together to share their ideas and experiences, research and discuss the three J8 Summit themes based on the G8 agenda and learn about their shared priorities and goals. Along with cultural activities—and some fun, too—representatives from each country will meet with world leaders to present their ideas!

© Kristi Burnham

Last week I blogged about Key Club members coming to New York. This week, I’d like to tell you about another four high school students in California who are getting ready for an amazing opportunity.

As background, Avani, Jamie, Magnone, and Mathais, from Amador Valley High School, formed a team last winter called Volens et Potens (from the Latin phrase meaning "willing and able") and submitted the winning essay in the J8 essay contest. (You might have seen the announcement of the contest earlier this year on this blog.)

2007 winning design by Josephine Kao

Sometimes, we could use a little help in the creativity department. Every year since 1992, Pier 1 Imports and UNICEF have been asking kids to get their Picasso on and send us their original designs for a UNICEF holiday greeting card.

This year, too, we’re asking kids 14 and under to submit their designs. The winning drawing will be printed as a UNICEF holiday card and will be sold at Pier 1 stores nationwide during the holiday season. And best of all, 100% of the sales proceeds will go directly to UNICEF!

You gotta hurry, though, 'cause all submissions for this year's contest have to be received by April 12. All designs must be drawn by hand, and the theme this year is "Making Spirits Bright."

2007 winning design by Karen Hong

So sharpen those pencils, put on your smocks, and get inspired to help UNICEF save children’s lives. 'Cause the UNICEF card contest is on!

For all your contest info, go to our contest page, check out the Pier 1 site, or call Pier 1 at 1.800.245.4595. And get creative!

We want as many young people to enter the J-8 competiton as possible, so we have extended the deadline for this once in a lifetime opportunity!

Schools and youth groups across the nation are encouraged to recruit teams of four young people, aged 13 to 17, to draw from their knowledge, understanding and perspectives on a range of global issues and compete through this essay contest for the opportunity to represent the U.S. at the J8 summit scheduled to take place in Hokkaido, Japan in July. Along with the 500 word essay, teams must also submit a written declaration or a multi-media project.

The winning U.S. team will join youth delegations from the other G8 member countries: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Russian Federation and the United Kingdom. Then, a representative from each country will meet with the presidents and leaders of those countries to share their ideas!

For more information on criteria and rules of competition and to download a contest application please go to: www.unicefusa.org/youthaction.

Is there a young person in your life who wants to change the world? If so, you might want to let them know about the J8 essay contest. It's a contest to find a group of four students aged 13-17 to represent the U.S. at this year’s J8 (Junior 8) summit. The summit, a youth version of the G8, takes place in July in Japan, and is a forum for young people to discuss today’s global issues, like HIV/AIDS and climate change.

In addition to the usual eight delegations from the G8 countries, there will be seven delegates from developing countries. And one representative from each team will go on to meet with members of the G8 summit. This is truly an opportunity for young people to have their voice and unique perspectives heard! For all the info, visit the J8 Summit site.