G8 and G20 Summits: Youth Involvement

It strikes me that young people often feel alienated by the depth of global issues, often feeling like they cannot relate to international topics or that they are powerless in decision making processes.
Frustratingly, when we are asked for involvement in any events as important as
the G8 and G20 summits, we are often treated like photo opportunities. But this
year’s UK delegation going to My Summit, a youth summit running parallel to the
G8 and G20 summits, want to make a real impact on the decision makers.

So to give you a quick idea of what the group of 7 young UK delegates are doing at My Summit. Firstly we are attending the G8 component of the summit in Muskoka, Ontario, where we will be engaging in lively discussions and debates about the
same themes as the G8 Summit alongside other G8 Youth delegates. We will
negotiate a final communiqué to be presented to G8 leaders at the Summit. After
this we will go to Toronto to observe the G20 Summit in process, engage in
discussions on economic themes and meet with senior officials, ministers,
leaders and other dignitaries.

Now, some of you may be curious to know a little bit about the actual G8 and G20 summits.

The G8 is a forum that brings together senior officials and heads of state and government from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United
States. (The European Union sometimes acts as a ninth member.) They come
together to discuss certain global issues, particularly working towards the Millennium
Development Goals. Members of the G8 take turns in hosting an annual summit,
where the host nation chooses the focus of the meetings. This year, the host
country which is Canada, is focusing on the four themes of climate change,
maternal health, food security and nuclear non proliferation. I will get back
to these four themes a little later.

The G20 on the other hand involves an economically wider range of countries. The G20 countries are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, the European Union, France, Germany, India,
Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South
Korea, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The G20 is different from the G8 as it
focuses on addressing economic policies and global financial stability;
consequently members also include officials from global economic institutions
such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

These summits provide the chance for leaders to work together on pressing global issues, and although the nations make promises to each other and the world, these promises aren’t
necessarily binding. This is why it is up to us to put pressure on the leaders
to ensure that they work towards reaching their goals to help those who most
need it in the world, rather than for their own economic gain.

Returning to the four main areas of discussion at this year’s G8 summit, why are they important?

Climate Change

Climate change without a doubt makes everyone interdependent, but the relationship between cause and effect is extremely unbalanced. People in developing countries suffer the effects of
climate change more than developed countries, whilst contributing least to its
causes. It is up to the world leaders to ensure more can be done to minimise
carbon emissions and to help those who are already feeling the effects of
climate change.

Maternal (and child) health

Women and children are the worst hit by war, climate change and healthcare services amongst other issues affecting poverty. Gender inequality in many countries makes it more difficult
for women to be self sufficient in already difficult circumstances, for example
women may not have access to education or gender sensitive health treatments.
Women should not have to suffer such injustice anymore, so it is up to the
world leaders to make changes in this area.

Food security

This relates to the rise in food prices that affects people everywhere; sadly it is the people with lowest incomes who feel the impact the most. Governments have the responsibility to
ensure that all people have access to safe food and should do more to
stabilise prices, increase the supply and help those who are not able to afford
enough food.

Nuclear Non Proliferation

This is about the spread of nuclear weapons; it is up to the world leaders to limit the production and spread of these weapons.

Your involvement

As part of the UK Youth Delegation, we aim to act as effective advocates for young people in the UK, which we plan to do by lobbying our government and following up key
recommendations after the summit has ended.
However most importantly we aim to have a high level of youth engagement
before, during and after the meeting. This is where YOU come in! We want to
know your opinions on the G8/G20 summit, and we want to tell world leaders what
you think.

To take part, please visit our website http://mysummituk.wordpress.com/ . If there is a message you would want to send to David Cameron, let us know on
our survey http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/7T7JF2W
.

Participating at My Summit is a key opportunity to raise awareness of the G8/G20 summit and unite the ideas of young people with the decision makers to make positive global changes together.
Make sure your voice is heard.