About Junior 8 | J8 Summit

If you had the opportunity to tell world leaders what they should do to solve global problems, what would you say?

The Junior 8 Summit, or 'J8', is an annual forum where young people from around the world meet to share their concerns and recommendations on how to solve the global issues with G8 leaders and the world community. The Summit is a parallel youth event to the annual Group of 8 (G8) Summit of world leaders. This year’s J8 Summit will be held in Chitose City, Hokkaido, Japan, from 2-9 July.

At the J8 Summit, a team of young people represents each of the G8 countries (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States). An additional delegation of young people represents other countries of the world, with one participant from each world region. Participants in the Summit share their own ideas, but also serve as representatives of all young people worldwide.

Participants at the J8 Summit discuss and propose solutions for the same topics that leaders discuss at the G8. Participants from the J8 have the opportunity present their ideas, opinions and proposals to the G8 leaders on the topics that are part of the G8 agenda.

Education program

Through J8, you can get to know about the major issues facing the world today. Explore J8 learning materials you can use at school or with your organization or club.

Junior 8 Competition

The young people who participate in the J8 are selected through a competition held in each of the G8 countries. Learn more about the J8 Competition.

Junior 8 Summit

Make sure your voice is heard! Learn more about J8 topics and share your ideas with the J8 participants who will represent you at the J8 Summit this year.

About the G8

The Group of 8, often referred to as the G8, is an unofficial forum of the leaders of eight major industrialized democracies: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States. Each year, G8 leaders meet to discuss global issues of major concern. At the Summit, they try to reach consensus on policies and actions they will take to solve global problems.

The agenda often includes a focus on world economic issues, but other global issues such as climate change, human rights, emerging conflicts, terrorism and global health have also been discussed in the past.

The G8’s membership is limited, but since the leaders make decisions that have an impact on many other non-member countries, other governments, institutions and organizations participate as observers in the Summits. The European Union sends a representative each year and other national leaders are also invited to attend, such as leaders of the African Union.

Many other groups of officials, experts and others meet over the course of the year to follow up on the previous Summit and prepare for the next one. The annual G8 Summits are one part of a continuous process of discussion, planning and policymaking that includes leaders and citizens of countries worldwide.