The Champlain College Publishing Initiative (CCPI) is partnering with the American Academy of Pediatrics Section on International Child Health and Writers Without Borders to raise awareness about the state of the world's children through the power of writing.

CCPI's latest project, "The World's Children Online," invites doctors, nurses, social workers, journalists, and travelers to write about the health, treatment, and wellbeing of children around the world.

Dr. Elizabeth Montgomery of the American Academy of Pediatrics is amazed with the creativity of the concept behind the World's Children Online.

"In medicine, we don't always have time to be creative," says Montgomery.

This groundbreaking initiative fills a vital gap in healthcare communication. At present, it is almost impossible for healthcare workers in the developing world to draw the attention of the West to the issues they face.

"It is very hard for people in the West to get accurate information on what's happening in the developing world," says Tim Brookes, editor-in-chief of CCPI and web editor of the World's Children Online. "This is a chance to open the doors as wide as possible to understand the state of children's health."

"I'm curious and excited to see what will be taken from this project," says Montgomery. "This could change the way communication occurs in the international health field."

All types of nonfiction writing and photos are considered for publication on the World's Children Online's official website. The site was designed by one of CCPI's newest staff members and Champlain College senior, Levi Jackson, and acts as a portal for the developed world to see what is occurring in other nations.

Brookes wanted CCPI to get involved in a publishing activity that wasn't about books but about interacting online. After being invited to speak at the October 2010 Academy of Pediatrics convention about the state of the world's children, "it seemed like a natural alliance."

The project plans to concentrate on children of Bangladesh and Haiti for the first six months. Currently two pieces are on the website: an article on the health and nutritional status of people in Bangladesh by Lubna Yeasmin and another focused on medical care in Haiti post-earthquake by Dr. Vincent DeGennaro Jr.

"Rather than having the flow of information dictated by the West, we want those in Bangladesh and Haiti to write about what is going on around them," Brookes said. "They know better than we do about what is important."

The Champlain College Publishing Initiative has been created in order to engage as many of our students as possible in the field of publishing, whether as writers, editors, designers, artists, marketers, publicists, accountants or web designers, and to give them a supervised educational experience that is creative, demanding, and applicable to the world they meet when they graduate.

Founded in 1878, Champlain College is a private institution located in Burlington, Vermont. Champlain is passionate about educating future leaders through career-focused classes and programs. Champlain was recently named a "Top-Up-and-Coming School" by U.S. News & World Report's America's Best Colleges 2010.

For additional information or to submit your own writing, visit the official site, www.worldschildrenonline.org.

More information about CCPI and Champlain College can be found at www.champlaincollegepublishing.com and www.champlain.edu.