Background Rationale
Criticizing Voices on G8 Summits
Japan will host the 2008 G8 Summit from July 7th - 9th at the Windsor Hotel Toya Resort and Spa in Toyako, Hokkaido. The main focus of the meeting will be the world economy, climate change and development in Africa1. The participating countries represent about sixty five percent of the Gross World Product and the majority of global military power including nearly all of the world's active nuclear weapons2.
The G8 nations account for just fourteen percent of the world’s population. Yet, decisions made at the summits dictate the course of the rest of the world. Criticisms of the G8 Summit centre on the assertion that member states are responsible for many of the world’s global concerns. These include poverty in Africa and developing countries due to debt and trade policy, global warming due to greenhouse gases of which the majority is emitted by G8 powers, and AIDS due to strict patent policies on medicine that help northern pharmaceutical corporations benefit while a large segment of the population die as a result of unaffordable antiretroviral medicines.
The role of civil society at the G8 has increased since the first summits in the seventies. Today, G8 Summits are often synonymous with a wide array of civil activity that criticizes and challenges the meeting’s legitimacy. During the 31st G8 summit in Scotland (2005), 175,000 to 250,000 people walked the streets of Edinburgh as part of the Make Poverty History Campaign calling for trade justice, debt relief and better aid. During the 2007 Heiligendamm Summit (June 6th - 8th, 2007), civil society actions included an impressive array of highly organized alternative forums and demonstrations met with impromptu marches, protests, and confrontations with the police. The Summits range from having 25,000 to 80,000 participants.
History and Role of Citizen Media at Large Scale Political Events
Over the years, independent non-commercial media has been gaining importance at political events and has had an international impact. Recent examples include the 2005 WTO Conference in Hong-Kong that had a strong alternative media presence commenting on protests and police brutality. They also lobbied for rights and the release of imprisoned protestors.
AMARC plays a crucial role in citizen media activity networked with over 3,000 community radio stations in 110 countries. At the 2007 G8 Summit in Germany, AMARC opened Radio Forum in cooperation with Free Radio Association Germany. Twenty German and thirty international radio activists from twenty countries broadcasted alternative voices that contrasted from the main stream media. As the case of Germany clearly proved, mass media coverage of the summit conformed with officially released press information from the government and lacked coverage of the wide array of activities taking place on the side. The media focused on violent scenes surrounding what they call “Black Block” anarchists. These protests were shown in a highly negative light without unpacking the reasoning behind their actions including class struggle, anti-capitalism and anti-globalization. Struggling for a balanced view, members of the AMARC Radio Forum accessed information from witnesses and the Alternative G8 Summit press conferences. By doing this they were able to produce a more independent picture. They found that violent behavior of the “Black Block” were often provoked by extreme intimidation of large numbers of police officers and police cars. AMARC took advantage of the opportunity to organize activities including press conferences, meetings, reporting, editing and broadcasting, in order to exchange information amongst participating journalists from around world.
1 for detailed information see Jenilee Guebert:
“Plans for the Hokkaido Toyako Summit”, G8 Research Group, May 15, 2008: http://www.g8.utoronto.ca/evaluations/2008hokkaido/2008plan/2008plan.html. (retrieved on 23 May 2008)
2 The G8 and the Nuclear Industry. The Campaign for Nuclear Phaseout June 2002
History and Role of Citizen Media at Large Scale Political Events
Over the last years, independent, non-commercial media have been gaining more and more importance at political events with international impact. Recent examples are the WTO Conference 2005 in Hong-Kong, with a strong alternative media presence commenting mainly on protests and police brutality, lobbying for rights and release of imprisoned protestors. Connecting over 3000 community radio stations in 110 countries, the AMARC network plays a crucial role in citizen media activity. At the G8 Summit in Germany 2007, AMARC opened Radio Forum in cooperation with Free Radio Association Germany with 20 German and 30 international radio activists from 20 countries at the spot, sending alternative voices on air which were contrasting clearly from those of main stream media. As the case of Germany clearly proved, mass media coverage of the G8 summit went into conformity with officially released press information from the government in a non-critical manner, and lacking coverage of all kinds of information of side-events. With the focus on violent scenes surrounding the so called “Black Block”, protests were shown in a highly negative light. Struggling for a balanced view, members of the AMARC Radio Forum tried to get information from the Alternative G8 Summit press conferences and from witnesses, and were able to produce a more independent picture. Concerning the “Black Block”, for example, AMARC members stated that violent behaviour in many cases was provoked by extreme intimidation of a large number of police officers, police cars, equipment etc., trying to explain social backgrounds of the phenomenon. By performing mutual everyday activities such as press conferences, meetings, producing reports, editing and broadcasting, it was a precious opportunity for exchange for the participating journalists from all over the world.
1 for detailed information see Jenilee Guebert: “Plans for the Hokkaido Toyako Summit”, G8 Research Group, May 15, 2008: http://www.g8.utoronto.ca/evaluations/2008hokkaido/2008plan/2008plan.html. (retrieved on 23 May 2008)
2The G8 and the Nuclear Industry. The Campaign for Nuclear Phaseout June 2002