Looking back at the Junior 8 Summit: Margarita from Russia shares her thoughts
Margarita Potekhina (18) from Monchegorsk in Northern Russia (near Murmansk) was one of the eight Russian Junior 8 participants this year. In an interview with the UNICEF CEECIS regional website, Margarita takes a look back and makes a personal evaluation of the J8 Summit in Germany earlier this month. Question: "Margarita, what did you expect from the J8 before you left Russia?" Margarita: "Before I left Russia, I had heard a lot about the previous summit in St. Petersburg and most of my expectations were based on that. I expected 74 young people to get together and discuss four major topics among the existing problems of the world. Nonetheless, I didn't expect anyone separately or us all together to find immediate solutions of the global issues. I just wanted the youth to be heard. I also hoped to get a great practice of my English, have lots of fun and learn about or at least "touch" cultures of many countries. Last but not least, I was hoping the J8 would help me choose my future profession, because that has been the major challenge for me throughout the past year. Question: "Were your expectations met? How do you see the J8 looking back now after it's over?" Margarita: "I think there's one major disadvantage of people's expectations: They - the expectations - are hardly ever being met 100%. The J8 Summit 2007 was a unique and productive meeting of many active and intelligent young people who wanted to make a change, and that, I believe, is the most significant goal that has been achieved. I indeed made friends with people from all over the world and had lots of great laughs, talks and time with them. What's even more important, we all were heard. So I can say, yes, my expectations were mostly met." Question: "Do you think the J8 produced results? Are you happy with the J8/G8 meeting and how it went? What do you think about the Wismar Declaration?" Margarita: "There's no doubt the J8 produced certain results. I think that meeting the G8 leaders was the crossing point of the J8 summit. Not only were we all heard by the G8 leaders, but it was a great stimulus for us to work harder and to speak out loud about what we think and what we have in our minds. As for me, the Wismar Declaration was a success. I think we've come to a consensus on the discussed issues and it's awesome! I know how hard it sometimes is to find a solution that everybody's happy with. In addition, we've included the point of reminding the leaders of their previous promises and pledges. I think we did a great job!" Question: "Did the J8 change you personally? Your outlook on the world? On other people?" Margarita: "The J8 affected me as a person, and I think, made me more a 'citizen of the world'. At the same time, I've become a bigger 'patriot' of Russia, as I was representing its interests and its culture on the international stage. It was good to meet people from so many countries and so many nations! The meeting was another proof to me that the problems are the same for everyone and teenagers are the same too, regardless of nationality, skin color or gender." Question: "Will these changes have an effect on your close environment in Russia, i.e. will you use some of what you learned at the J8 at home?" Margarita: "Unfortunately, I'm leaving my hometown Monchegorsk this summer to go to college in St. Petersburg. So I have a very short time to spread my J8 experience within the local community. Nevertheless, I'll do my best to share the knowledge I've gained with others. As a concrete example, I hope to attract more attention of the city youth department to the problem of HIV/AIDs and encourage them to start educational programs for teenagers here. I also hope to contribute to changing my peers' outlook on the world when I'm in college and later on."
Question: "How do you plan to keep in touch with international people from the J8? And from the Russian team?" Margarita: "We first of all have our internal workspace to go onto. Since I have everyone's email addresses, I hope we'll stay in tough through this. I hope that the connection will not get lost and we will see each other again soon! I'm willing to become a youth facilitator at the next J8 summit in Japan, and if my dream comes true, I hope to see some people from the Wismar Summit again!" Question: "What was your highlight at the J8?" Margarita: "The climate change discussion was the most productive, I think. I was really glad to hear certain opinions and suggested tools of solution. Not that I didn't see that at the other discussions, but the climate change one was the one I remember best. In terms of the cultural part, I loved learning different languages the most (I mean the phrases and words)! Question: "And what was your "lowlight" at the J8? Margarita: "I didn't quite like the fact that not everyone could get used to the accommodation (on the boat) and they made it a major problem. I think the living conditions may be weren't exactly five-star, but they did bring all of us closer to each other!" Interviewed by Chris Schuepp More UNICEF J8 coverage from the region Margarita about herself: "I'm a normal teenager from a small Northern Russian town called Monchegorsk. I just turned 18 on June 19th. I finally passed all my school exams and now it's time to apply for college. I'm still not sure what I want to study: it should be either journalism or international relations. I have many dreams that I really want to come true one day. One of them is opening a restaurant chain (coffee shop, breakfast place, Italian restaurant and a sports bar). I love sports! I used to do basketball and swimming. I love watching soccer, biathlon and snooker. It's really hard to get my attention when I'm glued to the screen during a sports competition. I want to become a professional snowboarder one day. I just love winter, mountains and extreme sports very, very much!"
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