The 33rd annual G8 Summit is being held in Heiligendamm, Germany from June 6-8, 2007. The G8 is made up of eight of the world's wealthiest countries representing approximately 65% of the world's economic output and 14% of the population. According to the official G8 website, "The G8 members are Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Japan, the United States, Canada (since 1976) and Russia (since 1998). The European Commission is also represented at all the meetings. The G8 is an informal forum of Heads of State and Government." This year's attendees include:
Canada: Prime Minister Stephen Harper
France: President Nicolas Sarkozy
Germany: Chancellor Angela Merkel
Italy: Prime Minister Romano Prodi
Japan: Prime Minister Shinzo Abe
Russia: President Vladimir Putin
United Kingdom: Prime Minister Tony Blair
United States: President George W. Bush 
The G8 website also describes the main issues of this year's summit as, "The annual summits are the most visible element of the G8 process. "Growth and responsibility" - these are the central themes of Germany's G8 presidency. Shaping globalization and helping Africa to develop will be key focuses of the meeting in Heiligendamm."
This sounds great, but since the G8 is not an official international organization, I wonder how effective their meetings really are. I'm not an expert in politics, but the little I know about the G8 Summit makes it seem more like a big public relations event than a political one. Each attendee gets a chance to do a little personal agenda marketing and look like they're part of the global family through a variety of press conferences and photo opportunities. The 33rd annual G8 Summit press program certainly outlines a variety of opportunities to drum up some positive PR.
The cynical part of me assumes politics and large corporations are a lot alike. There are a lot of meetings, where everyone wants to be heard and be seen but not much gets done. The optimistic part of me hopes that's not the case. What do you think?
Related articles from the Know More Media network:
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China, India, Brazil, Mexico and South Africa Invited to G-8 Summit
I know what you mean when you suggest "There are a lot of meetings, where everyone wants to be heard and be seen but not much gets done."
I'm sure it is a lot like tradeshow expos. You have some really great organized conference sessions off the show floor but there is a lot of time for networking and PR.
Nice to see a strong focus on building Africa. In addition to general humanitarian relief, there is incredible ROI to be realized.
If you haven't heard or seen yet, check out the Copenhagen Consensus. They have an international meeting and clearly define the world's most pressing issues and analyze them based on cost and benefit.
Posted by: Doug Weight | June 5, 2007 6:17 PM | Permalink to Comment