For Just a Time as This: Our World, Our G8, Our Challenge

Lecture by Dr. John Kirton

Date: Thursday March 19
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Location: auditorium, Noor Cultural Centre
Admission: $5

In 2010 the G8, the leaders of eight of the world’s most economically powerful countries, will be meeting in Canada. This group of leaders has been meeting since the 1970s and makes many commitments each year on such vital issues as the Millennium Development Goals, commitments in the fields of health, education, eradication of poverty and environment that could make a substantial difference in the lives of people around the world. Unfortunately, many, if not most, of those promises remain unfulfilled. This lecture will provide information on the nature of the G8, its track record on its promises and what we as Canadians can do to influence the G8 and bring life to our sisters and brothers around the world. Please join us for a vital and engaging evening.

John J. Kirton is Director of the G8 Research Group and an associate professor of Political Science at the Centre for International Studies in the University of Toronto’s Munk Centre for International Studies. He is also series editor for Ashgate Publishing’s G8 and Global Governance series, Global Finance series, and Global Environmental Governance series. In 2005-06, Kirton advised the Russian government in its preparations for hosting the 2006 St. Petersburg Summit and is a member of the advisory council of Civil 8. In 1992-93, Kirton served as a Special Projects Officer in Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, devising a strategy for Canada’s G7 participation. In the preparation for the 1995 Halifax Summit, Kirton served as a member of the Foreign Policy Committee of the National Roundtable on the Environment and the Economy, an advisory body to the prime minister of Canada. He was a member of the Government of Canada’s International Trade Advisory Committee from 1995 to 1997. As vice-president of Kirton Associates, he has conducted media analyses of the G7/8 summits on behalf of Foreign Affairs Canada. Kirton’s most recent books include Canadian Foreign Policy in a Changing World (Thomson Nelson, 2007), Governing Global Health: Challenge, Response, Innovation (Ashgate, 2007), Sustainability, Civil Society and International Governance: Local, North American and Global Contributions (Ashgate, 2006), Hard Choices, Soft Law: Voluntary Standards in Global Trade, Environment and Social Governance (Ashgate, 2005) and New Perspectives on Global Governance: Why America Needs the G8 (Ashgate, 2005). The author of numerous journal articles and chapters, Kirton also explores the issue of trade, the environment and social cohesion.