Gleneagles

Exactly five years ago, about 10am on 2 July, 2005, I was standing in the Meadows in the centre of Edinburgh. The greyish sky had an uncertain look – like it could go either way – that matched my mood. For months we’d been urging people to assemble on this spot on this day for a mass rally that would be the climax of the Make Poverty History campaign, a few days ahead of the G8 summit of world leaders due to take place in Gleneagles. I walked around the field, watching marquees being erected and volunteers arrive in hi-vis vests. We had done our planning. Everything was ready. But would anyone come?

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We have just had another G8 Summit. As other blogs here have discussed, there are clearly problems with the G8. Campaigners, lobbyists and developing country governments put huge amounts of time and attention into deceasing returns.

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This year’s G8 summit is being described as a ‘zero waste’ event, designed to have minimal environmental impact. Yet there’s a concern that this is being taken a bit too literally by some G8 members when it comes to their pledges to the world’s poorest countries.

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The G8 summit has now drawn to a close and the Deerhurst resort in Muskoka will be getting back to normal. The world leaders flew back to Toronto by helicopter with Obama and Cameron flying together to start their bilateral meeting. Apparently Cameron and Merkel will be watching the England v Germany World Cup match together tomorrow and the press are invited can’t imagine he’ll look anything other than awkward!

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With Nelson Mandela and 20,000 supporters, we launched the Make Poverty History campaign in Trafalgar Square that came to its climax five years ago as the G8 met in Gleneagles, Scotland. The G8 leaders made some big promises. So, five years on, how have they done?

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