Preparing for the 2004 JCI-UN Leadership Summit

NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
July 2, 2004

For More Information Contact:
Edmond Sakai, Area C and UN Affairs Director
esakai@jci.cc

JCI delegates gathering in New York for the 2004 JCI-UN Leadership Summit will focus on advancing the UN Millennium Development Goals.

Under the theme “Young Leaders Achieving Results in the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs),” the 2004 JCI-UN Leadership Summit will take place at the UN Headquarters in New York, New York, USA, from July 8 to July 11. JCI international officers and several national presidents and members are finalizing preparations to attend this Summit, chaired by Takashi Uda of Japan, Representative to UN (New York) and UNICEF.

At the 2003 JCI-UN Leadership Summit, on August 8, at the UN Headquarters, JCI conducted eight workshops based on presentations made by UN officials on August 7 covering issues in which JCI could cooperate with the UN. At each workshop, JCI delegates discussed specific topics in order to recommend programs and activities related to the MDGs.

A resolution was drafted and submitted for adoption at the JCI World Congress in Copenhagen. This resolution serves as a reference point for national organizations to implement projects and activities within the scope of the eight goals. Results achieved so far will be reported to UN officials at the 2004 JCI-UN Leadership Summit.

What are the eight MDGs?

At the UN Millennium Summit in September of 2000, world leaders agreed to a set of time-bound and measurable goals and targets. Placed at the heart of the global agenda, the eight goals are to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger; achieve universal primary education; promote gender equality and empower women; reduce child mortality; improve maternal health; combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases; ensure environmental sustainability; and develop a global partnership for development.

These goals provide a framework for the entire UN system to work coherently towards a common end. In this context, the world is making progress, but improvements are uneven and too slow. A large majority of nations will reach these goals only if they receive substantial support — advocacy, expertise and resources — from Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) such as JCI.

Groundwork laid in February 2004

Following the success of the 2003 JCI-UN Leadership Summit in New York, JCI officers began preparing early for an even more fruitful Summit this year. To properly plan for it, JCI President Fernando Sanchez-Arias and JCI Representative for the United Nations in New York, Takashi Uda, traveled to the UN Headquarters in New York, where they held important meetings with several UN officials last February 2 and 3.

From JCI Germany, National President Bert Christman and Deputy National President Thorsten Westhoff were also in New York for these meetings. From the JCI Headquarters, Interim Secretary General Edson Kodama and JCI Director for UN Affairs and Latin America Edmond Sakai were also present. Accompanying JCI Representative Uda, were JCI Japan officers, including Noriyuki Komatsu, Japan Junior Chamber Vice President; Fumitaka Matsubara, Chairman of the Commission to Support Borderless Relief Activities, and Keizo Tanaka, Commission Vice Chairman.

2004 JCI-UN Leadership Summit Objectives

The specific objectives of the JCI-UN Leadership Summit are to continue to strengthen the relations between JCI and its National Organizations with the United Nations (UN) by presenting the UN with the best JCI National Organizations’ projects related to the UN Millennium Development Goals; contribute to the work of the UN by motivating more JCI National Organizations to implement projects concerning the goals; and enhance the knowledge of the participants regarding the goals by means of UN Officials' speeches.

Additional objectives are to provide JCI members the opportunity to exchange opinions with UN Officials regarding the goals; align the projects of JCI National Organizations with the practices of UN MDGs; seek UN and governments' support for the best JCI National Organizations' projects related to the UN MDGs; and reinforce the role of JCI National Organizations through their activities as advocates of the UN MDGs in their respective countries.

By advancing the eight UN goals, the 2004 JCI-UN Leadership Summit is implementing JCI's Mission: "To contribute to the advancement of the global community by providing the opportunity for young people to develop the leadership skills, social responsibility, entrepreneurship and fellowship necessary to create positive change."

About JCI

JCI (Junior Chamber International) is a worldwide federation of young leaders and entrepreneurs. Founded in 1918 in Saint Louis, Missouri, USA, JCI has extended to more than 100 countries and has 200.000 members and more than 1 million alumni.

JCI's mission is to contribute to the advancement of the global community by providing the opportunity for young people to develop the leadership skills, social responsibility, entrepreneurship and fellowship necessary to create positive change.

For more information, visit www.jci.cc.