G8 Youth Summit in Berlin
In 2006 the League organized the first G8 Youth Summit in St. Petersburg. Students of the best political universities from 8 countries performed the role of presidents and ministers of their countries and within five days of negotiations they have established communique in which they proposed specific ways to solve urgent, from their point of view, problems. The result was the presentation of the communique to the state leaders on their return home. Young professionals were highly appreciated, in particular, by the Russian politicians.
In 2007 the League in association with the German colleagues held the G8 Youth Summit 2007 in Berlin. For one week graduates and students of the Political Science Universities from the Member States of G8 (Russia, U.S., Germany, Italy, France, UK, Japan and also from the G8 Observer States: Brazil, China, India, South Africa) arrived to Berlin. Within four working days from 10 am to 6 pm with breaks for lunch and coffee, heads of state and various ministers held talks in groups and created communiqués containing a joint approach to the major issues of global development and the possible ways to resolve them. The Heads of State Agenda contained discussion of the Darfur conflict. Ministers discussed issues of economic aid to Africa, spread of good governance and improving government accountability to citizens, promotion stable economic growth, environmental pollution, U.S. missile defense system in Eastern Europe, international law of intellectual property.
On the fifth day of the summit Communique was officially presented and signed by the heads of G8 States.
Ksenia Khoruzhnilova, director of the League and manager of the G8 Youth Summit Project had been working in Berlin for a week managing this project. Our editorial team asked Kseniia to answer several questions:
— What results have been achieved after working for more than three years on conducting «G8 Youth Summit» in St. Petersburg in 2006 and in Berlin in 2007?
— The most important result that can be called is that in 2007 our League established the network consisting of 8 public organizations in the G8 Member States for joint training and carrying out annual G8 Youth Summit in a presiding country to make a scientific and practical contribution from young professionals. In Fact, the League serves as the managing organization which supports public organization of the presiding country in the process of Summit organization. But at the same time, a year before the event itself all 8 public organizations launch a national contest to select the national delegations and prepare the delegations for participating in the Summit. This process is also being conducted by the League. In Fact, the work on a Summit begins right after the previous one is over. At the moment we are getting ready for the G8 Youth Summit in Tokyo 2008 and the G8 Youth Summit in Italy 2009.
— How to become a participant of the G8 Youth Summit?
— One has to participate in the national contest. Regulations of the contest will be located on the site of the League in the early September 2007. During September and October, everyone (students and university graduates aged 20 to 30 years) will be able to send an essay on the topics discussed at the summit. In November, essays will be examined by the jury which will include members of the League, representatives of the Presidential Administration, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Education and Science of Russia, professors of three universities. According to the results of the contest the names of the main Russian delegation (as well as the spare delegation) members will be published. To increase the transparency of the competition, all essays will be published on the website of the League as they come.
In addition to the main Russian delegation the journalists' delegation will be formed. Their task is to prepare informational reports on the Russian delegation participation in the Summit and on the Summit itself. Roles and tasks within the journalists' team will be distributed among its members as well. A team of the President and ministers assistants will be also formed.