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The Junior 8 Summit, or “J8,” is a companion conference for young people to the annual “Group of 8 Summit of world leaders, also known as the G8. This year the J8 will be held from the 5th to 12th July in Rome, Italy.
The G8 Summit is an annual meeting of leaders from the eight major industrial democracies, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. At the G8 Summit, the leaders of those eight countries meet to discuss the major economic and political issues facing their own countries and the international community as a whole, and to agree on strategies for solving the world’s problems.
At the J8 Summit, a group of selected adolescent participants from the G8 countries, and other countries around the world, meet to connect with other young people, and share their concerns and their ideas with each other. Most importantly, they speak directly to the G8 leaders about the priorities of all young people, and give their own recommendations for how to solve the world’s problems.
The J8 Summit is a parallel event to the G8 summit. It takes place at approximately the same time, in a location near the G8 summit. Each of the G8 countries is represented by a team of young people at the J8 summit. At the J8 summit (unlike the G8) there is also a ninth delegation of young people who represent other countries. Participants at the J8 Summit discuss and propose solutions for the same issues and themes which the government leaders discuss at the G8 Summit.