Kananaskis Country will soon come alive with politicians, media and protestors as the G8 Summit rolls into town. To better inform the public of the issues, the Parkland Institute and the Alberta Council for Global Cooperation put together Talking G8: The Travelling Road Show, a globalization workshop to be held throughout Alberta.
“The Travelling Road Show is being held to educate people on what the G8 is and what the issues are,” said Calgary Council of Canadians chair Mel Teghtmeyer. “If people understand the issues better then they become more concerned about the world agenda of the G8.”
The show comes to the U of C’s Rosa Centre on June , with three well-known activists and globalization specialists presenting throughout the day.
“Jim [Stanford] will talk about global and social issues in a workshop format, there will be a question and answer period and discussion groups. In the afternoon, Sarah [Kerr] and Pam [Foster] will present in a workshop model, talking about different issues concerning globalization,” said Teghtmeyer.
Teghtmeyer explained that current public interest surrounding the G8 Summit is mostly due to protestors.
“Protestors get media time and visibility. They serve the agenda of groups like ours [Council of Canadians] who want to get the public interested in globalization and ‘corporatization,’” said Teghtmeyer.
Teghtmeyer hopes that through the roadshow, people will become interested in the issues and concerned about the effects of corporate business activities on sustainability and the environment.
“[Activists] are trying to influence government leaders to have broader thoughts, to think about communities and people as much as economics and GDP growth,” he said.
The Travelling Road show runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, June 1 in the Rosza Centre.