Global Changemakers on the G20 :"Buying time or buying a recovery?"

British Council - 05/04/2009 17:05:00

"Not impressed" is the Global Changemakers' reaction to today's London Summit communique. Though the young people concede that some progress was made on issues such as curbing protectionism and encouraging financial sector reform, the Changemakers felt that G20 leaders missed some critical opportunities:

- Sustainable development and climate change remain low on the G20 agenda
- An over-focus on the developed world economies and not enough focus on curbing poverty and reducing unemployment, particularly in the developing world
- Lack of enforceability, increasing the risk of non-action and empty promises

20 of the British Council's Global Changemakers network - one from each of the G20 economies - are participating in five days of activities aimed at tackling the issues on the London Summit agenda. The French participant, Nicolas Rainaud, 25, who works with Paris-based NGO "Equilibres & Populations", will return to France on Saturday 4th April.

The Global Changemakers' programme included meetings with Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Foreign Secretary David Miliband, Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling, President Calderon of Mexico, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of Indonesia and other key decision-makers in the current global economic crisis. The objective of the 5-day event was to bring the youth voice and perspective to the London Summit.

At a meeting at the House of Lords, Miliband welcomed the concerns of the group and challenged them to become the leaders of the future. "I am hugely impressed by the dynamism, idealism and passion of this group," he said, "to affect change in the modern world you don't just need governments to be active, you need citizens to be active."

Founded at the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos in 2007, Global Changemakers have partnered with and participated in World Economic Forum events (in Davos, Sharm el Sheikh, and Cape Town), as well as the Clinton Global Initiative, and Global Humanitarian Forum. Individual supporters include HMQ Rania Al-Abdullah of Jordan, President Bill Clinton, and the actress Emma Thompson. The Rt Honourable Gordon Brown serves as Patron of Global Changemakers.

Contact :
For more information or an interview with one of the Global Changemakers, please contact Katherine Hermans on +41 78 693 8775 or Stéphanie Vigne on +33 1 49 55 73 27 stephanie.vigne@britishcouncil.fr

- For video commentary by the Global Changemakers, see: www.londonsummit.gov.uk

- Video footage of the meeting with Foreign Secretary David Miliband is available from British Satellite News www.bsn.org.uk

- For more information, please visit: www.britishcouncil.org or www.britishcouncil.fr

The British Council is the UK's international body for cultural relations. We build engagement and trust for the UK through the exchange of knowledge and ideas between people worldwide.We are registered in the UK as a charity.