28th G8 summit

28th G8 Summit
28th G8 Summit Logo
Host country	Canada
Dates	June 26–27, 2002
Venue(s)	Kananaskis Resort
Cities	Kananaskis, Alberta
Follows	27th G8 summit
Precedes	29th G8 summit

The 28th G8 Summit was held in Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada, on June 26–27, 2002.

The Group of Seven (G7) was an unofficial forum which brought together the heads of the richest industrialized countries: France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada starting in 1976. The G8, meeting for the first time in 1997, was formed with the addition of Russia. In addition, the President of the European Commission has been formally included in summits since 1981. The summits were not meant to be linked formally with wider international institutions; and in fact, a mild rebellion against the stiff formality of other international meetings was a part of the genesis of cooperation between France's President Giscard d'Estaing and West Germany's Chancellor Helmut Schmidt as they conceived the initial summit of the Group of Six (G6) in 1975.

The G8 summits during the 21st-century have inspired widespread debates, protests and demonstrations; and the two- or three-day event becomes more than the sum of its parts, elevating the participants, the issues and the venue as focal points for activist pressure.

The 2002 conference is said to have cost $300-million with potential benefits for the Kananaskis economy.

In response to and support of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), the Kananaskis Summit produced an African Action Plan, which contained commitments on promoting peace and security; strengthening institutions and governance; fostering trade, economic growth and sustainable development; implementing debt relief; expanding knowledge; improving health and confronting HIV/AIDS; increasing agricultural productivity; and, improving water resource management.