G8 - Make Poverty History
In 4 weeks the most important meeting of the year will take place. The G8 summit will be held just an hour from my home.
What is the G8 Summit?
The G8 summit is a meeting of a coalition of the 8 most wealthy and powerful nations on the planet. The Great Eight meet to discuss important world issues like climat change, terrorism, poverty and AIDS.
Who are the Great Eight?
The G8 consist of the premieres of the following countries; UK, USA, Canada, Italy, France, Germany, Russian and Japan. In 1975 The G6 was formed by USA, UK, Italy, France, Germany and Japan. In 1976 Canada joined the group and in 1997 Russia became officially involved in the coalition.
Why is there a Summit?
There is no doubt that there are major problems across the globe. The G8 summit is an attempt to decide which problems take priority and how these problems can be alleviated and/or completely solved. the Summit also allows the world leaders to review how well their previous attempts have gone and what still needs to be done.
In all honesty the world leaders do not stick to their goals. Last year they aimed to have poverty abolished by 2015. This year the levels of poverty have dramatically increased.
But how can they help?
It would cost the G8 $18 billion to cancel the debt of the 41 countries that owe the most to the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. The US has spent over $100 billion on destroying Iraq so far.
60% of British people believe that the $4 billion spent [and rising] by our Government in Iraq would be better spent on alleviating world poverty.
Some more facts and figures;
A Child dies every 15 seconds from a lack of safe water.
One sixth of humanity lives in slums according the United Nations.
One billion people in the world live on the equivalent of one dollar per day. At the same time, the world’s 587 billionaires netted $1.9 trillion between them last year.
AIDS did not even make the agenda at last year's G8, it was discussed for an hour over a 'working lunch'. It would cost only $10 billion per year to help curb the 6,300 deaths per day of AIDS in Africa. The 40 million people with AIDS [28 million of whom live in Africa] are still waiting for action to see the disease tackled properly.
When and where is the Summit?
The Summit happens annually and is hosted in rotation byt he participating countries. This year the Summit is on the 6th July and is held in Gleneagles, Edinburgh, Scotland.
Why do I need to know this?
This past year has seen a major boom in the campaign to Make Poverty History. This year there will be a massive march around the city of Edinburgh on July 2nd in an attempt to show the world leaders just how important this campaign is. There are also a selection of Live 8 Concerts going on around the globe to drum up support from people unable to make the Edinburgh March.
Concerts?
Yes. There are a huge number of celebrities that have supported this cause for a long long time. Bob Geldof started it all off in 1984 with Band Aid. Again he is campaigning and is bringing together some of the biggest names in the music business to play free concerts to raise awareness and support of this cause. U2, Coldplay and Paul McCartney are just a few of the big names.
What can I do to help?
Attend a concert. Attend a march. Buy a wristband from the Make Poverty History website. If you can't do that then please just link to this information. The more people that know about this, the more support, and the higher the chance of something being done next month for this cause.
Help us to Make Poverty History.
What is the G8 Summit?
The G8 summit is a meeting of a coalition of the 8 most wealthy and powerful nations on the planet. The Great Eight meet to discuss important world issues like climat change, terrorism, poverty and AIDS.
Who are the Great Eight?
The G8 consist of the premieres of the following countries; UK, USA, Canada, Italy, France, Germany, Russian and Japan. In 1975 The G6 was formed by USA, UK, Italy, France, Germany and Japan. In 1976 Canada joined the group and in 1997 Russia became officially involved in the coalition.
Why is there a Summit?
There is no doubt that there are major problems across the globe. The G8 summit is an attempt to decide which problems take priority and how these problems can be alleviated and/or completely solved. the Summit also allows the world leaders to review how well their previous attempts have gone and what still needs to be done.
In all honesty the world leaders do not stick to their goals. Last year they aimed to have poverty abolished by 2015. This year the levels of poverty have dramatically increased.
But how can they help?
It would cost the G8 $18 billion to cancel the debt of the 41 countries that owe the most to the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. The US has spent over $100 billion on destroying Iraq so far.
60% of British people believe that the $4 billion spent [and rising] by our Government in Iraq would be better spent on alleviating world poverty.
Some more facts and figures;
A Child dies every 15 seconds from a lack of safe water.
One sixth of humanity lives in slums according the United Nations.
One billion people in the world live on the equivalent of one dollar per day. At the same time, the world’s 587 billionaires netted $1.9 trillion between them last year.
AIDS did not even make the agenda at last year's G8, it was discussed for an hour over a 'working lunch'. It would cost only $10 billion per year to help curb the 6,300 deaths per day of AIDS in Africa. The 40 million people with AIDS [28 million of whom live in Africa] are still waiting for action to see the disease tackled properly.
When and where is the Summit?
The Summit happens annually and is hosted in rotation byt he participating countries. This year the Summit is on the 6th July and is held in Gleneagles, Edinburgh, Scotland.
Why do I need to know this?
This past year has seen a major boom in the campaign to Make Poverty History. This year there will be a massive march around the city of Edinburgh on July 2nd in an attempt to show the world leaders just how important this campaign is. There are also a selection of Live 8 Concerts going on around the globe to drum up support from people unable to make the Edinburgh March.
Concerts?
Yes. There are a huge number of celebrities that have supported this cause for a long long time. Bob Geldof started it all off in 1984 with Band Aid. Again he is campaigning and is bringing together some of the biggest names in the music business to play free concerts to raise awareness and support of this cause. U2, Coldplay and Paul McCartney are just a few of the big names.
What can I do to help?
Attend a concert. Attend a march. Buy a wristband from the Make Poverty History website. If you can't do that then please just link to this information. The more people that know about this, the more support, and the higher the chance of something being done next month for this cause.
Help us to Make Poverty History.