Sixth Grade
Worksheets
G8 Summit 2001
The G8 summit of 2001, held in Genoa, Italy, was a big news event. Important topics were discussed at the summit meetings, but those discussions were not what made the news. The news-making events happened on the streets outside of the meeting place.
The G8, or Group of Eight, is an organization of eight countries that are among the richest and most powerful in the world. These countries, which meet yearly, include the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and Russia. They control about sixty-five percent of the world's economy; however, their populations only total about fourteen percent of the world's population. Originally, they met to talk about trade and economic issues, but more recently they have discussed a variety of topics including politics, the environment, and help for poorer countries.
Before 2001, the G8 had expressed support for global trade. They supported large companies that did business in more than one country. One example would be a company in the U.S. that hired factory workers in a poor country to assemble their products.
Many protest groups had opposed the views of the G8. These protesters were opposed to global trade because of its effects on workers in poor countries. They also felt that global trade would harm the environment. Since 1999, protests at global economic meetings had become a regular event.
As the 2001 G8 prepared to meet, protesters also made plans to gather in Genoa.
