Sunday, April 13, 2008

Early developers

Angela Nagawa, 15, is multitalented. She can dance the Gay Gordons, throw a hammer and lecture the world's eight most powerful men. And she is doing all of those things today as part of J8, one of the events taking place to bring schoolchildren to Edinburgh to lobby the G8 leaders this week.

Angela helped write a communiqué which won her school, Langdon school, a place at J8. They focused on education in Uganda, and that's what they'll be asking Tony Blair to sort out when they present their ideas to him on Wednesday.

"We talked about how education is the key to success. Without education you can't do anything else. You can't have teachers because they have to be educated to teach, you can't have engineers to build buildings because they need to learn how to.

"We wanted to get across to the G8 leaders that education is the most important thing in Africa, the main issue," she says.

Tonight a hundred J8 delegates are having some well-earned R 'n' R at Melville Castle 15 minutes outside Edinburgh. There are pipers and dancers teaching them the ways of the ceilidh and several stocky men in kilts overseeing the Highland games, which includes haggis throwing. The sun's shining, and they children are keen to let off steam having spent the day grappling with statistics on debt relief and debating what priorities they will present to the G8.

Shuena Mohamad, Angela's classmate, knows exactly what she'd say to Tony Blair if they were to meet face to face. "I would say to Tony Blair that in 1997 when he started his election he concentrated on education and I think that if he can offer us education, and he has the chance to offer the kids in Africa education, then he should do something about it."

- We'll be posting some audio from the J8 girls here on the Newsblog tomorrow.

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