G8 2005 to be held at Gleneagles, Perthshire

Ever since Genoa in 2001 successive G8 Summit meetings have been held in remote locations. Kanaskis in the Canadian Rockies, then this year's summit on Sea Island, Georgia USA have indicated that the G8 (Group of 8 wealthiest nations in the world) would rather meet behind heavily guarded closed doors. However in 2005 the G8 summit will return to the UK and for the first time is being held in Scotland, at the Gleneagles Hotel in Perthshire.

An extraordinary year of political coincidence
Next year, 2005, is an important year for Jubilee Scotland and the other international development campaigns in the UK for many reasons. In what Bob Geldof has described as “An extraordinary year of political coincidence”, 2005 will see Britain hosting the G8 Summit in the same month that it takes over the Presidency of the EU. The Africa Commission will present its findings and submit a plan for tackling the continent’s development challenges, and the 10-year countdown to the Millennium Development Goals will begin. Live Aid will celebrate its 20th anniversary and Comic Relief, its 10th.
In short, 2005 presents a huge opportunity to make sure that our leaders make good their commitments to alleviating poverty in the Third World, and in particular, Africa.
Make Poverty History
Jubilee Scotland is one of around 50 organisations and networks - including the major development agencies, the Stop Aids Campaign, the Trade Justice Movement and Comic Relief - who are currently working together to make sure that we do not miss out on this once in a lifetime opportunity to end poverty and to demand real justice for the world’s poorest nations.

If not now, when?
2005 will see campaigners pulling together to call on world leaders to deliver on three main development issues. In order to ensure that we achieve the Millennium Development Goals to halve the number of people living in poverty by 2015, these must be addressed;
Debt – 100% cancellation of unpayable poor country debt
Trade – Demand that rules currently biased to favour the rich nations be changed
Aid – Calling on Gordon Brown to spend 0.7 per cent of income on aid - a promise made by Britain in 1970, which, along with other much needed commitments to global justice, it has yet to fulfil.