Originally posted by the Voice of America. Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America, a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in the public domain. G8, G20 Summits Overlap in Canada this Month Joe DeCapua 15 June 2010 Later this month, both the G8 and G20 summits are being held in Canada, and this year the two summits overlap. The G8 Muskoka Summit will be held June 25^th and 26^th, while the Toronto G20 summit is set for June 26^th and 27^th. Some of the G8 priorities this year include accountability and effectiveness â child and maternal health â nuclear security and the war against terrorists. John Kirton, director of the G8 Research Group and co-director of the G20 Research group, says overlapping the summits is significant. âIt certainly is the first time,â he says, âat least in a long while when the two summits will be held basically together in tight tandem (in) time, space and inevitably in reality in the coordination between the two.â Double duty Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper is chairing both summits. Laying the groundwork are representatives for world leaders called Sherpas, a term taken from those who assist climbers reach mountain summits. Harperâs Sherpa is the same for both meetings. G8 âSo, they sort of coordinated every second,â says Kirton, adding, âItâs also the case that the G20 summit is important, because itâs the first time that itâs being co-chaired by an old G8 country, Canada, and a non G8 member of the G20, the Republic of Korea.â He says the co-chairing of the summit âreally does represent a delivery of the new character of the G20.â âThe sequencing of the two summits,â says Kirton, âI think has advantages in several ways.â One is if the G8 fails to get all its work done in two days, it can carry it over to the G20 and possibly seek assistance in reaching a particular goal. Death knell for the G8? Some critics of the G8 have said it is outdated and calling the G20 more relevant. But Kirton says the death knell for the G8 is not being heard. âAbsolutely not. G8 of course has proven its worth over 36 years. It was established to do the very particular job of promoting open democracy, individual liberty and social advance around the world,â he says. Kirton says the vast majority of G20 countries believe in those ideals, too, aside from the Peopleâs Republic of China and Saudi Arabia. However, he says, âThe G20 was created really to do a very different job in the worldâ¦. [to] provide financial stability, sustainable growth, globalization that benefits all.â Kirton says the G8âs job is more political while the G20âs job is more financial. âI guess the larger global challenge is for those two jobs to come together,â he says. However, until all the G20 countries are a democracy, thatâs not expected to happen. âThe G8 has an extraordinarily important role to do. And thatâs why the G8 last summer decided it would stay in business.â Next yearâs G8 summit is scheduled to be held in France. Promises, promises Critics of the G8 say leaders often make promises they fail to keep. But he says, overall, G8 leaders have a pretty good track record. âI think that all of us know that while bold promises may be made in the State of the Union Address or the Queenâs speechâ¦we really donât expect our democratic governors to get a 100% on their report card within a year and sometimes for very good reason,â he says. He says if conditions change, it may actually be a âbad ideaâ to keep an old promise. âWe do know that G8 leaders at the G8 summit comply within a year before the next summit at about a grade of B - at about 75 percent, which is really rather good,â he says. The upcoming G8 summit is also expected to address food security, the rebuilding of earthquake-ravaged Haiti and Mexicoâs battle against drug cartels, âwhich are infecting America, Canada (and) Europe, too.â .