Meet team One From Many, the four young people representing the UK at the Junior 8 Summit 2009 in Italy. They are from Haling Manor High School in Croydon, South London.
Check out this funny MTV-style 'Junior 8 Cribs' starring Harry during the J8 in Italy.
Birzi was born in Iraq, speaks Kurdish and is not a fan of mopeds!
UNICEF UK/2009/Alice Bottini-Hall
Birzi Saleh, 16
Place of birth: South Kurdistan (Northern Iraq)
Reason for applying to J8:
I wanted to see if I, a 16-year old British/Kurd, could get my voice heard and make a difference to the world.
Languages spoken:
I can speak two languages, Kurdish and English.
Role models:
My role models are; my parents, all the Peshmergas (Kurdish Freedom Fighters), Che Guevara and Mandela.
Likes:
Cars, motorbikes, music, Play Station 3, action/war films, motorsports, sushi, sleeping and shopping.
Dislikes:
Battery powered cars, liars, bad singers, mopeds.
Hobbies:
Working out in the gym, swimming and going out with my close friends.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years' time?
In ten years I would like to be in a good full-time job in a hot country and most likely have a wife and one or two kids.
What are you looking forward to most at the J8?
I am looking forward to working with other young people and trying to sort out something affecting the entire world.
What do you hope to achieve from participating in J8 2009?
I want to have an understanding of how differently or similarly young people from all around the world can think about issues to do with people and animals of the world.
Mellika would like to be a paediatric nurse and dislikes people who are judgemental!
UNICEF UK/2009/Alice Bottini-Hall
Mellika Myers, 16
Place of birth: Croydon
Reason for applying to J8:
The main reason I applied to the J8 was because I feel very passionate about world poverty and HIV and AIDS. I thought by entering the competition it would allow me to gain more knowledge about the issues. I hoped I could learn what I could do to help the issues.
Languages spoken:
English
Role models:
Nelson Mandela, Che Guevara, Mariah Carey, Alicia Keys
Likes:
Eating and people who are funny
Dislikes:
People who are judgemental
Hobbies:
I like to go shopping and I also like to read, but most of all I like to socialise with my friends and family.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years' time?
In ten years' time I see myself as a paediatric nurse. I would like to have set up my own charity with my friend Sara. I would also like to have travelled around the world to countries where children are suffering and be able to help them with my nursing skills.
What are you looking forward to most at the J8?
I am looking forward to meeting new people and talking to them about what issues affect them. I am also looking forward to maybe meeting the G8 leaders. It would be such a fantastic opportunity.
What do you hope to achieve from participating in J8 2009?
I hope to gain more knowledge about global issues. I would like to be able to experience these issues from a more personal level. I hope to make new friends and build new relationships with everyone who is also participating.
Harry plays basketball, dislikes olives and wants to be a famous poet!
UNICEF UK/2009/Alice Bottini-Hall
Harry Phinda, 15
Place of birth: Zimbabwe Harare
Reason for applying to J8:
We felt young people's voices are not being heard enough especially in a place like South London.
Languages spoken:
English, and I can understand shona (national Zimbabwe language).
Role models:
Da T.R.U.T.H., Immortal Technique, my mom, Barak Obama, Martin Luther King.
Likes:
Music, socialising, interesting debuts.
Dislikes:
Nothing really apart from olives.
Hobbies:
Basketball, poetry, rapping, dancing, making music.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years' time?
I see myself either being a famous poet along side John Agard or working in a top law firm either here or the USA in contract or business law. I would also like to keep the work with UNICEF going in the years ahead and would love to have an impact on the world in more than one way.
What are you looking forward to most at the J8?
Meeting the other winners and seeing how we connect to the different cultures there. It's going to be fun having a translator and to see how they view the world.
What do you hope to achieve from participating in J8 2009?
Breaking the common stereotype of young people in South London and the world to show that there is more to us and that we are the answer to the problems the world faces and to give young people a choice about the conditions we are going to live in when we are that age. I would also like to fire up young people to get involved in politics, as its common stereotype of being boring is not right and I would like to give a spin on politics that makes it more appealing to young people all over the world.
Sara hates spiders and dreams of being a UN Ambassador!
UNICEF UK/2009/Alice Bottini-Hall
Sara Saleh, 16
Place of birth: Asmara, Eritrea
Reason for applying to J8:
I applied for the J8 because it was a good opportunity for young people's voices to be heard, especially by the most powerful and the most influential people in our planet that make key decisions every day. I want the G8 leaders to listen to what young people today have to say and include us in those key decisions.
Languages spoken:
English, Tigrinya, and Arabic.
Role models:
Ché, Oprah Winfrey, Nelson Mandela, Dr. Emily Stowe, Mahatma Gandhi, and Carlos Tevez.
Likes:
Football, sports, shoes and non-profit organisations.
Dislikes:
Spiders, politics, anyone who is pro female genital mutilation (FGM).
Hobbies:
I like to play and watch football; I like to hang out with my friends. I also like going shopping and playing sports.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years' time?
In 10 years' time I would have done my Masters degree in Forensic Psychology or hopefully be a pilot Air Corps Officer. I would hopefully like to be a little bit closer to reaching my dream of being a UN ambassador.
What are you looking forward to most at the J8?
Meeting all the J8 team members from across the world and discussing set issues that we will present to the G8 leaders. I am really looking forward to hearing what other young people feel the big issues are that they would like to present to the G8 leaders. The bonus would be meeting all the G8 leaders.
What do you hope to achieve from participating in J8 2009?
From this experience I would hope to raise awareness about HIV and AIDS, climate change, and sex education, especially about FGM. Not only would I like to raise the profile in less economically developed countries but here in the UK too.