38th G8 summit

The 38th G8 summit was held at Camp David, Maryland in the United States on May 18-19, 2012. "G-8 summit to be held at Camp David, not Chicago" Chicago Tribune. March 5 2012; retrieved 2012-5-19.  The summit venue was moved from Chicago to rural Maryland in March 2012.G8 Information Centre, "White House Announces Change in Location and Date of 2012 G8 Summit,"  March 5, 2012; retrieved 2012-5-20.

History
The Camp David summit of the Group of Eight (G8) was the 38th meeting in a series which began in 1976.US Dept. of State, About the G8; retrieved 2012-5-19. 

Previous G8 summits have been hosted by the United States at San Juan, Puerto Rico (1976); Williamsburg, Virginia (1983); Houston, Texas, Denver, Colorado (1997) and Sea Island, Georgia.G20/G8 France 2011,  What is G8? ("Previous summits" section) ; retrieved 2012-5-21

The G8 and the summit are part of a consultation process.  The G8 is not an international organization.G20-G8 France 2011,  What is G8? ("Language" section) ; retrieved 2012-5-21. It is an informal group.US Dept. of State,  G8 Frequently Asked Questions ("How does the G8 work?" section); retrieved 2012-5-21.

Participants
The participants were the "core members" of the group:Rieffel, Lex.   "Regional Voices in Global Governance: Looking to 2010 (Part IV),"  Brookings. March 27, 2009; retrieved 2012-5-19.

Core G8 membersHost nation and leader are indicated in bold text. Member Represented by Title  Canada Stephen Harper "G8 leaders arrive at Camp David,"  Globe and Mail (Canada) May 19, 2012; retrieved 2012-5-19. Prime Minister  France François HollandeSherwell, Philip.  "World leaders gather in the woods outside Washington for G8 summit,"  Telegraph (UK). May 19, 2012 ; retrieved 2012-5-19. President  Germany Angela Merkel Chancellor  Italy Mario MontiFlyn, Cal. "G8 summit: Who's on the guest list," Telegraph (UK). 18 May 2012; retrieved 2012-5-19. Prime Minister  Japan Yoshihiko NodaToko Sekiguchi.  "At G8, A Special Wish for Birthday Boy Noda," Wall Street Journal (US). May 19, 2012; excerpt, "...a chocolate cake, complete with candles, was promptly delivered in front of Mr. Noda, who celebrates his 55th birthday on Sunday"; retrieved 2012-5-19. Prime Minister  Russia Dmitry MedvedevClover, Charles and Geoff Dyer.  "Putin to skip G8 Camp David summit," Financial Times. May 10, 2012; retrieved 2012-5-19. Prime Minister  United Kingdom David CameronPoliticsHome.com,  "David Cameron: I will get things done at the G8 summit" ; retrieved 2012-5-20. Prime Minister  United States Barack Obama President  European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso President European Council Herman Van Rompuy President

Invited leaders
A number of national leaders are traditionally invited to attend the summit.  They are asked to participate in some, but not all, G8 summit activities. The leaders of four African nations were invited by the US president:

  Yayi Boni, PresidentQuandzie, Ekow. "President Mills to talk Africa’s food security at G-8 Summit on Obama invitation,"  Ghana MMA. May 4, 2012; retrieved 2012-5-19. 

  Meles Zenawi Prime Minister

  John Atta-Mills, President 

  Jakaya Kikwete, President 

The G8 leaders talked about making progress towards food security in Africa.WhiteHouse.gov,  "Statement by the Press Secretary on the President’s Invitation to African Leaders to Join Camp David Summit,"  May 3, 2012; retrieved 2012-5-19. 

Others were invited, including:

 African Development Bank, Donald Kaberuka, President 

 African Union  Yayi Boni, Chairperson

 Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), Strive Masiyiwa, ChairmanDomfeh, Kofi Adu.  "AGRA issues strong call for G8 leaders to support African agriculture," Modern Ghana. 18 May 2012; retrieved 2012-5-19.

Schedule and Agenda
The summit is intended as a venue for resolving differences among the G8 members.Reinalda, Bob and Bertjan Verbeek. (1998).  Autonomous Policy Making by International Organizations, p. 205.

Traditionally, the host country of the G8 summit sets the agenda.UPI, "Italy Knocked for Alleged poor G8 Planning", July 7, 2009; retrieved 2012-5-19.

Discussions at the 38th G8 summit included some issues from previous summits.Traynot, Ian et al.  "G8 at Camp David: what the world wants to achieve," Guardian (UK). 17 May 2012; retrieved 2012-5-19.

The G8 discussions included a range of topics, including 
 EnergyWhiteHouse.gov,  "Wrapping Up the G8 Summit at Camp David" ; retrieved 2012-5-19.
 Afghanistan 
 Changes taking place across the Middle East and North Africa
 Climate change
 Food security
 Greece in the euro zoneTrifunov, David.  "Greece, economy top G8 summit agenda," Global Post (Canada). May 19, 2012; retrieved 2012-5-19. 
 Iran’s nuclear energy plans
 Nutrition

Protesters  and demonstrations
Planners anticipated protest groups and other activists.Balde, Lisa and Phil Rogers.  "Adbusters Wants 50,000 G8/NATO Protesters in Chicago," NBCChicago (US), 27 January 2012; retrieved 2012-5-19.  

When the venue for the summit was changed from Chicago, a White House spokesman said security and the possibility of protests were not factors in the decision. "G8 summit switched to Camp David," Belfast Telegraph (UK). 6 March 2012; retrieved 2012-5-19.  Some protest groups took credit for the change of venue.McFeatters, Dale.  "G8 summit moves from Chicago to Camp David," Korea Times (ROK). March 8, 2012; retrieved 2012-5-19.

Business opportunity
For some, the G8 summit was a profit-generating event; as for example, the G8 Summit magazines which have been published since 1998. Prestige Media:   2012 G8 Summit Publication Distribution ; retrieved 2012-5-19.  

Local businesses near Camp David are expecting more people in the area and profits because of the summit.Brown, Matthew Hay. "Frederick Co. welcomes G-8 summit move to Camp David,"  Baltimore Sun, March 6, 2012; WPMT-TV Fox43,  "Businesses in Gettysburg Hoping to Cash In on G8 Summit"; retrieved 2012-5-19.

Related pages
 List of G8 summits

 References 

Other websites

 University of Toronto: G8 Information Centre 
 US Dept. of State,  G8 Summit 2012;  Media Resources
 Tourism Council of Frederick County Maryland, Camp David summit 
 Parliament.uk, Graphic shows G8 in context 

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Category:2012 in the United States
Category:2010s in Maryland