16 Aug. 2008 Japan
To coincide with the G8 Summit in Tôyako, Hokkaido, the “People’s Summit 2008” was held in Sapporo, Hokkaido.
Participants exchange cards at the United Nations and abandon military power and use it for aid to developing countries
To coincide with the G8 Summit in Tôyako, Hokkaido, the “People’s Summit 2008” was held by citizens' groups from July 6 to 8 in Sapporo, Hokkaido. As part of the “Peoples’ Summit”, HFW organized a workshop called “Ending Hunger Game”. Standing on a large world map, a group of twenty participants attempted to solve the issue of world hunger. This was the first time EHG was played in Hokkaido.
It began with a presentation of the current world hunger situation. Then participants were divided into twelve groups and each group was assigned to a specific country or area of the world. Each country or area received cards with food, money, military forces, child mortality rates, etc., based on their current world situation. The groups traded cards with each other to try to improve the world situation. The object of the game is to achieve a hunger free world. The participants played two five minute games and reflected on their progress at the end.
The fact that world hunger was a top issue at the G8 Summit held on the same day made the game more intense. The participants tried hard to figure out how to alleviate the suffering of the world’s poor. Even after the game was over, all of them were pondering the problem. The game forced them to look at world poverty and food issues from a new perspective. The event was reported in the Hokkaido Shimbun the following day.
After the session, the participants check to see how the current situation of the world has changed and it becomes clear again how difficult it is to provide aids
I represented western European countries in the game. I really wanted to help poor countries, but I couldn’t do much. It was so difficult to prioritize what to do for whom within a limited time frame. Effective assistance is not possible unless the developed countries have a solid and comprehensive understanding of all the issues involved.
A teacher
