Young adults praised the camaraderie they experienced and the knowledge they gained about debt in developing countries by attending the G7 Jubilee People’s Forum from June 12-15.

Days one, two and three predominantly featured workshops, talks and fellowship activities at Ambrose University, a Christian liberal arts institution located in Calgary’s southwest quadrant.

On the final day, coinciding with day one of the Group of Seven (G7) Leaders’ Summit in nearby Kananaskis, the youthful participants joined forces with the older attendees to showcase what they learned by delivering presentations at houses of worship in the morning and rallying downtown in the afternoon.

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James Adair, a University of Ottawa public administration and political science student, told The Catholic Register from the “Jubilee 2025: Turn Debt into Hope” demonstration space in Calgary’s Municipal Complex Plaza that he now possesses a more nuanced understanding about the challenges in tackling debt.

“I learned about the consequences of these debt systems, and the causes and effects of what happened the last time debt was forgiven (in Jubilee 2000),” said Adair. “I think the biggest thing I learned is how much more complicated the debt crisis is this time. In 2000, we saw that the majority of debt was owned by governments, and we now see that (mostly) is privately-owned debt.”

Adair alluded to the successful Jubilee 2000 campaign that resulted in the erasure of more than $100 billion in debt for 36 of the world's poorest countries.

KAIROS Canada, a faith-based ecumenical organization, seeks through its Jubilee 2025 petition campaign to persuade world leaders to cancel “unjust and unsustainable debts,” usher in global financial reform to avoid future crises and create a debt resolution framework backed by the United Nations.

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Brigid Smith, the communications and operations director for Jubilee USA Network, said she appreciated the forum’s message of “turning advocacy into action” and “a session about ecological debt.” Ecological debt is defined as the obligation wealthy, industrialized nations have towards developing countries for its resource exploitation, pollution and waste generation.

Samuel Medernach, a Western Canada youth ambassador for Development and Peace – Caritas Canada, said he learned to view the debt landscape through a Global South prism.

“I learned the connection of how global debt is impacting the people of the Global South,” said the University of Saskatchewan student. “From a Global North perspective, you don’t have the same conception of debt and how it operates on an international scale. There are a lot of loopholes that are furthering the economic wealth of the Global North that are (broadening) the ecological effects on the Global South."

Well over 100 people attended the entire G7 Jubilee People’s Forum brought to life by KAIROS Canada, Development and Peace, Jubilee USA, Cooperation Canada, the Office of Religious Congregations for Integral Ecology, the Calgary Interfaith Council and other partners.

Medernach praised the feeling of solidarity he and his fellow participants felt during the four days.

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“Coming together is what really creates a powerful movement,” said Medernach. “It is one thing to learn about an issue, it’s another thing to feel an issue. Events like this really cause that and it causes movements to begin.”                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Taddy Stringer, a Métis activist from Montreal who appeared at the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 26), said the biggest takeaway was seeing “all the people from across Canada — Indigenous peoples, settlers, immigrants, refugees and people of all faiths — come together. It was very powerful. It is supposed to be a Jubilee of Hope, and I am inspired and very hopeful."                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Mary Ngum, who hails from Africa, concurred that the forum was powerful because “it was eye-opening because there was a lot that I did not know.” She “could relate to the cry” of nations being crushed by debt. 

Various speakers at the forum shared that there are over three billion people in the world living in countries where servicing debt interest receives more revenue than health care and education.