Twenty U of T students will be among thousands of observers seeking to make sense of this year’s G8 summit, being held in Russia for the first time, from July 15 to July 17.
“Because the summit can be so mechanized and pre-scripted, the human side of the conference, which we will be providing through our blogs, adds a new dimension [to the] event,” said student journalist Brianna Goldberg (who was once an editor at this newspaper). “The site is also a key resource for [G8] Research Group members, as it is a forum where they can freely contribute their thoughts and work.”
The G8 Research Group (G8RG), based at U of T, closely watches the G8. “Every summit we produce country based reports on what [each nation is] likely to do,” said G8RG Chair Vanessa Corlazzoli, a veteran who will be attending her third G8 summit. “At the summit we analyze the issues and the countries, and track the commitments made.”
The G8 – a club comprising the world’s wealthiest countries (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, France, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States) – meets every summer. The G5 countries (Brazil, China, India, Mexico, and South Africa) will also be present, along with numerous non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
This year the main items on the agenda are energy security, global education, and infectious diseases. “The world has been quite sceptical of Russia as an energy provider since state-controlled Gazprom cut off energy to Ukraine in November,” said Goldberg.
G8RG members speculate that terrorism and regional security will also be addressed, and they hope to see a discussion of global education standards, including commitments to equalize certifications from country to country in some way. The health agenda will address the threat of avian flu, and either allocate some money to research efforts or choose a global institute to tackle the disease.
The fact that the summit is taking place in Russia for the first time leads some of the students to speculate that the issue of democracy will also be important to the conference.
“There is some significant disagreement between G8 member countries regarding Putin’s democratic principles, especially his extensive government censorship,” says Goldberg.
Some leaders and NGOs don’t believe that Russia is democratic enough, in comparison with the other countries involved. The majority of Russian television stations are now controlled directly or indirectly by the Kremlin, making unbiased media information rare. Putin has also been accused of orchestrating the trials of oligarchs such as Mikhail Kodorkovsky, with the aim to further control the media and stifle critics.
“Russia is under real pressure to showcase that they are at par with the other G8 countries,” said Corlazzoli. “Some question if they should even belong to the elite club of eight.”
Back in 2003, after two years of excellent relations with George W. Bush and the United States, Putin chose to side with Germany and France on the war in Iraq, leading many journalists and critics to refer to him as ‘anti-American.’
He has since made an attempt to present a positive attitude regarding American policies, by hiring an American public relations firm to polish up his image. However, because all of his statements and actions have been filtered through this firm, it is difficult for journalists to get a concrete grasp on what his true motives and goals are.
“Many people perceived Putin to have ‘anti-Western’ attitudes,” added Goldberg. “He seemed to want to sanitize, and West-ify, his image before the world came to his front door for the summit.”
Michael Lehan, head of the G8RG journalism unit, and creator of the new website, stresses that no matter what the outcome on they key issues, the meeting itself is an important step.
“To have a meeting between leaders is rare, to have eight leaders meet at once is even more anomalous,” he says. “While the commitments themselves are not binding, the mere presence of the meeting serves a symbolic role. Furthermore, it allows NGOs… to gain all-important media attention.”
