"nancree" <
[email protected]> wrote in message
news:
[email protected]...
> What is the meaning of the "8" in the Live-8 concerts yesterday? Is
> this the 8th in a series? Or 8 venues in this one? Or?? Just curious.
> ThanksNancree
http://www.g7.utoronto.ca/what_is_g8.html
Dimitri
Since 1975, the heads of state or government of the major industrial democracies
have been meeting annually to deal with the major economic and political issues
facing their domestic societies and the international community as a whole. The
six countries at the first summit, held at Rambouillet, France in November 1975,
were France, the United States, Britain, Germany, Japan and Italy. They were
joined by Canada at the San Juan Summit of 1976 in Puerto Rico, and by the
European Community at the London Summit of 1977. From then on, membership in the
Group of Seven, or G7, was fixed, although 15 developing countries' leaders met
with the G7 leaders on the eve of the 1989 Paris Summit, and the USSR and then
Russia participated in a post-summit dialogue with the G7 since 1991. Starting
with the 1994 Naples Summit, the G7 met with Russia at each summit (referred to
as the P8 or Political Eight). The Denver Summit of the Eight was a milestone,
marking full Russian participation in all but financial and certain economic
discussions; and the 1998 Birmingham Summit saw full Russian participation,
giving birth to the Group of Eight, or G8 (although the G7 continued to function
along side the formal summits). At the Kananaskis Summit in Canada in 2002, it
was announced that Russia would host the G8 Summit in 2006, thus completing its
process of becoming a full member. (See Delegations & Documents for a list of
all summits since 1975.)
The G7/8 Summit has consistently dealt with macroeconomic management,
international trade, and relations with developing countries. Questions of
East-West economic relations, energy, and terrorism have also been of recurrent
concern. From this initial foundation the summit agenda has broadened
considerably to include microeconomic issues such as employment and the
information highway, transnational issues such as the environment, crime and
drugs, and a host of political-security issues ranging from human rights through
regional security to arms control.
