Morgan Stanley and UNICEF Announce U.S. Delegates to the 2007 Junior 8 Competition

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) and UNICEF are pleased to announce the winning teens chosen to participate on behalf of the United States in the 2007 Junior 8 Competition. Students from The Harker School in San Jose, California were selected from more than 500 entrants to represent the United States in the international competition. The team will be traveling to Germany in June.

Junior 8 (“J8”) is the youth event linked to the G8 Summit and was jointly developed by Morgan Stanley and UNICEF. The J8 program provides free, multi-lingual resources on topical global issues to teachers and students worldwide, and enables young people ages 13 to 17 to become involved in the topics that concern the G8 countries and the broader global community. Drawing from their knowledge, understanding and perspectives of these global issues, student teams compete via an essay contest for the opportunity to represent their country at the J8 Summit.

For 2007, the German G8 Presidency and the regional government are hosting the J8 Summit in Wismar, Germany, from June 3-9, 2007. The Summit will be attended by 64 young people from the G8 countries selected by a joint process developed by Morgan Stanley and UNICEF, and 10 young people from other parts of the world selected by UNICEF. The selection process ran from January-March 2007 and was open to all young people, age 13 to 17, in the G8 countries. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has pledged to include a meeting with J8 delegates in the official G8 agenda in 2007.

The Harker School’s winning delegation, the Aquilones, comprises members of the school’s Amnesty International and Model United Nations chapters. This international focus contributed to the team’s “passion and zeal for world issues.” The delegation includes Sudha Gollapudi, Kritika Kailash, David Kastelman, Aarathi Minisandram, Kavitha Narra, Rohit Nalamasu, Kelly O’Reilly and Rachel Peterson.

The Aquilones’ winning entry presented the delegation’s specific recommendations in relation to four key global issues: Climate Change and Energy Efficiency; HIV / AIDS; Intellectual Property Rights and Corporate Social Responsibility; and Economic Development in Africa. Winning essays were chosen based on originality of ideas, ambition of recommendations, pragmatism, coherence and grasp of the issues. In Wismar, the Aquilones will have the opportunity to debate winning teams from other countries around the world, culminating in a presentation to the G8 delegation at the outset of the 2007 Summit.

“The Aquilones are an outstanding example of the commitment of today’s young people to dealing with the most significant social, environmental and economic issues,” commended Morgan Stanley Chairman and Chief Executive Officer John J. Mack. “Morgan Stanley is proud to be a co-founder and sponsor of the J8 Competition, which gives today’s youth a much-needed voice on the global policy stage. It is critical that these students’ progressive views be shared with the world they are inheriting.”

“In their submission, the Aquilones delegation provided very good ideas for dealing with some of the world’s most pressing issues,” said Caryl Stern, acting-president of the U.S. Fund for UNICEF. “Throughout the competition they have consistently proven that they deserve the honor of representing their country at the upcoming J8 summit. It is both encouraging and heartening to know that today’s youth are concerned about serious issues and are not intimidated to address them head-on for the betterment of the global community. If these are tomorrow’s leaders, the future looks good indeed.”

In its winning entry, the Aquilones invoked cultural anthropologist Margaret Mead: “Never doubt that a small group of dedicated people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” The Aquilones will have the opportunity to prove out this philosophy as they prepare to meet the other international delegates in June.