Isao Okawa, chairman of SEGA Enterprises, Ltd., attended the G7 conference of world leaders in February 1995. Leaders from many countries gathered to talk about the Global Information Infrastructure (GII). Mr. Okawa felt that children should be involved in the discussion because today's children will be using the GII in the future. He decided to find out what children think about how the GII needs to be designed and how it can be used. In eight months, Mr. Okawa organized and hosted the first Junior Summit in Tokyo, Japan.

Junior Summit I:
Involving the Children

The first Junior Summit was held in Tokyo in 1995. 500 children from twelve countries participated in discussions about education, the environment, peace, and world communication. They communicated by computer for several months. Forty-one children from twelve nations attended the four day summit in Tokyo, Japan.

These children summarized the discussions of the online forum and presented their ideas to world leaders. For the children, it was a wonderful experience to have their voices heard.

Junior Summit 1998:
More Children, More Digital, More Commitment to Action

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab is hosting the second Junior Summit. The second Junior Summit will involve over 1000 children from around the world. They will discuss their ideas through the use of computers. The discussion will occur in many languages. 100 children will be selected by the participants to attend the Summit at MIT in November.