The Group of Seven (G7) is an informal political forum of Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, and the United States of America. Their heads of states come together at an annual summit to discuss global issues and coordinate their decisions. In 2023, Japan will take over the annually rotating Presidency following Germany. Personal representatives of the respective government, known as Sherpas, are responsible for the preparation and follow-up of the summit. The government of Japan’s Sherpa staff is based in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
An important part of the G7 process is the dialogue with various interest groups, called Engagement Groups. Civil7 (C7) is one of the official Engagement Groups of the G7 and represents positions from the international civil society, particularly from non-governmental organisations. The other groups are Women7 and Youth7, Business7, Labour7, Think7 and Science7. Each Engagement Group organises their communication and positioning processes with the G7 independently. This year, the Japan Civil Society Coalition on G7 Summit 2023 takes a lead to coordinate the C7.
The C7 sees itself as a platform through which civil society organisations and actors worldwide can network in order to enter into a dialogue with the G7. The aim is to represent civil society interests regarding the G7 and to develop policy recommendations that will be included into the G7 summit decisions. In particular, theWHAT IS C7? concerns of civil society organisations outside the G7 countries, notably from the Global South, are to be taken up. In addition to various events and exchange formats, the international Civil7 Conference, scheduled for April 2023, marks the highlight of the C7 process.
STRUCTURE AND PRINCIPLE OF WORK
The C7 process under Japanese presidency is coordinated by the Japan Civil Society Coalition on G7 Summit 2023. With the goal to support networking activities and facilitate the strategic positioning of the C7, an international Steering Committee comprising of 17 representatives was set up.
C7 offers all interested national and international civil society actors the opportunity to get involved in Working Groups and shape the process. The Working Groups are formed by coordinating with the Steering Committee on various priorities and are led by coordinators from Japanese and international organisations. Recommendations and demands for the G7 are drawn up within the working groups. A joint political declaration (Communiqué) is composed across all Working Groups and is officially presented to the governments of the G7.
PAST C7 WEBSITE
For the past Civil 7 websites, please visit
https://civil7.org/2023/2022/
INFORMATION IN JAPANESE
For selected information on the Civil 7 process in Japanese,
please visit
https://g7-cso-coalition-japan-2023.mystrikingly.com/
https://civil7.org/2023/jpn2023/.