CHAT/off any topic & about the planet

[Elaine Winters <ewinters -at- NETCOM -dot- COM>]

        Thought some of you might want to foward this along.
 ___________________________________________________________________
 Elaine Winters        510-843-0909              ewinters -at- netcom -dot- com

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Tue, 24 Jan 95 13:48:25 EST
From: Langston James Goree VI <kimo -at- pipeline -dot- com>
To: soc-summit -at- ssi -dot- edc -dot- org
Subject: Voices of Youth

This is an appeal from the United Nations to youth worldwide to
participate in a unique on-line event via the Internet.  Youth
are invited to send their ideas to the world leaders who will be
attending the World Summit for Social Development in Copenhagen,
6-12 March 1995.  PLEASE HELP US BY FORWARDING THIS MESSAGE.

In March 1995, more than 90 world leaders will gather in Denmark
for the World Summit for Social Development. The United Nations
has designed an exhibition at this meeting, equipped with
computers connected to the Internet, where presidents,
prime-ministers, kings and queens can read and respond to the
voices of young people around the world.

At the Summit, leaders will sign an action agreement on three
very important issues:

1) Poverty
2) Unemployment
3) Social Conflict.

The Voices of Youth project will be viewed by thousands
of participants at the Summit and, potentially, by millions of
others on-line over the coming months.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE
There are two ways that young people can participate in this
unique event:

1) E-MAIL

By sending an e-mail message, you can contribute your ideas to
the Summit. Think about some of the questions below and the
three issues of the Social Summit. E-mail your ideas to
<unicefwssd -at- igc -dot- apc -dot- org> and your message will be included on a
World Wide Web (WWW) site on INTERNET and in the UN exhibit in
Copenhagen.

2) WORLD WIDE WEB
If you have access to the WWW you can visit a multimedia
interactive environment established by the UN at

http://www.iisd.ca/linkages/un/youth.html

Through the WWW site, you can send your comments to the world
leaders and also read what other young people are saying, as well
as obtain more in-depth material on the Summit.

SPEAK YOUR MIND!
Be creative and speak from the heart.  What kind of solution to
social problems do you propose?  Here are some questions that you
might consider responding to:

* Why are there more poor people than ever before when for the
first time in history everyone's basic needs could be met?

* Do you know what it is like to grow up homeless or without
access to schooling, health care or safe drinking water?

* What happens if you have to drop out of school to help
support your family?

* Why do differences in skin colour, language, religion or
gender often lead people to mistreat each other?

* How can we better take care of the environment?

* How would you deal with all of these problems?

Individuals are welcome to send in their views, but
messages can also be sent from classes, or youth groups as a
whole. Please keep your message to about 250 words, plus the
following information:

Your name:
Your age (under 25 please):
Your school:
Your e-mail address:
Your gender:
What country are you from:

Messages can be sent until 12 March 1995.

HOW TO READ WHAT YOU AND OTHERS HAVE TO SAY TO WORLD LEADERS

Visit the Linkages World Wide Web site, home of the UN "Voices of
Youth" project:  http://www.iisd.ca/linkages/un/youth.html

Postings of young people will also be available at the following
gopher site:   gopher://gopher.igc.apc.org

A SPECIAL THANKS FROM THE UNITED NATIONS:
Thank you for exercising your right to participate and
helping to build a better future. If you should have any
questions about this project or ways that you can
contribute, send your message to unicef -at- igc -dot- apc -dot- org -dot-