Whatever steps forward, or lack thereof, come out of the 2008 G8 Summit, the learning, partnering and combined efforts of civil society that simultaneously take place is the less acknowledged outcome here in Hokkaido.

Settling in for the closing session of the People’s Alternative Summit, I looked around at this extremely diverse gathering, with participants ranging from university students from across the globe, to citizens of Hokkaido working on local issues and indigenous rights, to seasoned international human rights and development advocates.

Amidst this diverse gathering, there were a number of enduring questions that had once again been raised. Read the rest of this entry »

July 9, 2008
Hokkaido, Japan

We are the largest coalitions of humanitarian and development nongovernmental organizations in the G-8 nations, speaking on behalf of over 1,500 NGOs supported by millions of citizens in our respective countries. We have come together out of concern for those who are most affected by the decisions made in global decision-making bodies like the G-8. Collectively and individually, we reached out to the G-8 leaders to include the following issues in the 2008 G-8 commitments:

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The opening ceremony of the Hokkaido Peoples Summit was a celebration of diversity and an eclectic mix of civil society — environmentalists, development professionals, and grassroots mobilizers.

As the official NGO response to the G8 Summit, our Japanese hosts sought to provide a platform that reflected the broad concerns of the civil society community.  They choose the theme “We Can Change the World” to stress the significance of civil society’s role in international development. The Event co-chair, Koji Akiyama, in his opening remarks implored the audience to use our diversity as our strength to ensure that it is not up to the G8 country leaders to determine world order. The three focal points of the forum are the environment, poverty, human rights and peace.

One of the headliners of the opening ceremony, Kumi Naidoo Secretary General of the Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP), told the audience to remind themselves that every day 6000 people die from HIV/AIDs and 7000 people die from malaria. This information he said, should drive us to send a strong message to the G8 to not only deliver on promises made but to also model good behavior and walk the walk in their own countries – on human rights and peace, environment and poverty.

Other speakers included Sheikh Shaban Mubaje, representing Religions for Peace (an InterAction member), who talked about the role of religion in international development. As the biggest social structure in the world, religion, the Sheik said, will model the sort of partnership creation needed to end poverty.

Noerine Kaleeba, an Action Aid International board member from Uganda, started her presentation on women’s rights with the rallying call, “Why are we here?”  Why do NGOs come every year, only to sit on the periphery of the actual Summit?  The answer, she told the audience was on the screen, pointing to the picture of three young girls, orphaned by AIDS.

From indigenous people to anti bio-fuel advocates, the pulse of the People’s Summit was palpable. Intense discussions fueled by differing points of view were the norm throughout the day. However with nightfall, the ballroom opened and everyone calmly strolled in, around their necks were badges with attendee names and country to spur conversation; differences forgotten, the focus is again brought back to the reason we are all here – working together to change the world.  In the spirit of another U.S. leader advocating change, a Japanese lady approached the InterAction staff smiling, introduced herself and said, “Are you happy for Obama, We are.”

Old and young alike embraced the spirit of the Peace March. Despite the well-armed Japanese police lining the streets, it seemed more like the social event of the season than a protest march.

I saw this little old woman with a sign of George Bush walk for miles, with a smile on her face and a bounce in her step.  She embodied the character of the fight against poverty – ordinary citizens dedicated to ending the misery in the lives of the world’s poor.

This was my first peace march and I hesitated a bit when I saw the police trucks and shields, but after thirty minutes of singing and chanting, my inhibitions disappeared and I hoisted my tanabata way high — as I sang an off-key version of We Shall Overcome.

An afternoon stroll through the streets of Sapporo City usually doesn’t involve police lining the route and helicopters hovering overhead, but this Saturday afternoon was a bit different.

The Peace March was colorful and, overall, harmonious. The first contingent of marchers was made up of members of the Japan G8 NGO Summit Forum and the Hokkaido Peoples’ Forum on the G8 Summit, Japanese and international NGO members, and local Japanese environmental groups, conservationists, and peace activists.

People of all ages carried bamboo branches decorated with colorful tanabata paper on which people had written their wishes for the G8 Summit. Many others marched with colorful signs with messages calling for an end to weapons proliferation and the war in Iraq as well as advocating for human rights and peace.

Bringing up the middle of the Peace March were groups that carried increasingly stronger messages against the G8 leaders. Those openly opposed to the G8 Summit, its leaders and what it symbolizes brought up the rear. At one point this tail end of the Peace March, easily distinguished from the colorful lead group by their dark clothes, tanabata written on black paper, and discordant music, was apparently surrounded by circle of police as they marched.

One of the more creative efforts of the anti-G8 marchers was the pasting of the faces of the G8 leaders on the heads of skeletons. The skeletons were carried on the shoulders of individual marchers, with messages like G8=exploitation and G8=destruction written on them.

The Peace March lasted about an hour. The only real incident that I heard of was when the driver of a vehicle failed to follow police direction. It seems the police broke the window of the vehicle and promptly arrested both the driver and passenger, all of which was apparently well documented by the many photographers and camera crews at the March. From what I understand, members of a lawyers group organized specifically to deal with these and other such incidents were quickly on hand.

Eight years ago we made a promise; a promise that united the world to address the most challenging needs of development through the UN’s Millennium Development Goals. In the establishment of the eight goals, we made a pledge to make each one a reality by the year 2015. Today we find ourselves lagging behind these original goals, and I believe there is an unprecedented need to restore balance to the allocation of resources in order to achieve them. Currently too much attention and funds are focused on the mitigation of HIV/AIDS. While there is no disregarding the damage created as a result of the AIDS epidemic, there is an equal need to channel resources towards food security as well as water and sanitation. These programs, we believe, are integral catalysts for sustainable development.

The Millennium Development Goals as a whole aim to address all of the unique and closely related challenges confronting the developing world. These goals support each other and need to be equally supported. Organizations need to focus on the long range sustainability importance of their programs as they relate to all the Millennium Development Goals. This concept is essential and represents the very core of Africare’s philosophy.  We believe that is necessary to continue to look at development in Africa through a holistic lens with sustainability being at the core of all development programs.

With sustainability at the forefront, the Millennium Development Goals target set for the year 2015 is a promise that we can keep.

With the G8 Summit set to begin on July 7, President Bush has an opportunity to convince the world’s most powerful countries to scale up their response to the hunger crisis now gripping the world. The world’s response has not been commensurate to the extent of the crisis.

The great majority of the world’s poorest one billion people have suffered a serious reduction in their already miserable standard of living. Poor people in developing countries now spend most of their income on a basic grain such as wheat, rice or corn. The cost of these dietary staples has more than doubled since 2006.

This is a setback for most of the population in many developing countries. The poorest people are coping by eating one meal daily and by eating famine foods like roots, grass, and mud cakes. The global hunger crisis must be on top of the agenda for the leaders of the G8 countries next week.

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One week from today, world leaders will gather in the lakeside town of Toyako, Hokkaido in northern Japan for the 2008 G8 Summit. We like to talk about “big moments” in the advocacy world and this is certainly one of them. The 2008 G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit will bring the world’s wealthiest nations together during a year that marks the halfway point to both the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the G8 Gleneagles promises to Africa. Earlier this month, we launched the 2008 edition of the DATA Report, which shows quite plainly that the G8 are dangerously behind on these landmark commitments.

But the cold hard facts of the DATA Report also tell another, more positive story – that even the modest increases in aid from the G8 are turning into inspiring successes. 29 million more African kids are in primary school and 2 million Africans are receiving lifesaving AIDS treatment, to name just two.

That’s why ONE and other partners are so determined to keep G8 leaders accountable to their commitments: we know our aid dollars are working.

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International humanitarian and development organizations are on the ground in communities around the world, working hand-in-hand with our local partners to build livable communities and create a culture where men, women, and children can live with dignity. We are intimately aware of how the decisions made at these global conferences translate to life’s realities – food for children, healthcare for expecting mothers, peace and security in volatile communities, and clean water for families.

We urge the leaders of the G8 nations to work together to deliver concrete solutions that will solve the world’s pressing problems, and to hold each other accountable for commitments made but not delivered. It is absolutely essential that this Summit reaches beyond the boundaries of politics and creates a vision of a world without abject poverty.

International nonprofits (NGOs) receive billions of dollars from their citizens for poverty eradication programs worldwide (U.S. NGOs receive $7 billion dollars from the American people). Therefore, it is our hope that the wishes of the citizens of the G8 countries will influence the Summit results.

Tanzaku are slips of paper on which people in Japan write their hopes and then hang the tanzaku on a bamboo tree. Throughout most of Japan, with a few exceptions, this happens on July 7^th, which is known as Tanabata Day. Tanabata Day is the Japanese equivalent of making a wish on a star.

Inviting citizens from around the world to write a virtual tanzaku, the 2008 G8 NGO Summit Forum, in collaboration with other campaigns around the world, will collect and submit the wishes that people worldwide have of the Group of Eight.

You can submit your virtual tanzaku on the website of the Japan G8 Summit NGO Forum by clicking the graphic at right.