Whether you’re a scientist, physician, company executive or governmental representative, a summit meeting is an opportunity for you to showcase your expertise and position yourself as a leader in your industry. Summit meetings can be held in person, or virtually using various online platforms and tools. While they can serve a number of different purposes, summit meetings are primarily used to bring together thought leaders from across their respective industries to discuss topics and debate ideas. Summits can be as big or small as they like, and can be organized by a variety of organizations.
Throughout history, summit meetings have played an important role in the interstate relations of countries. They are often seen as a way to show that governments are busy doing something about a particular issue, and that they are willing to exchange points of view with other states. However, summits that don’t produce any tangible results are frequently considered a waste of resources and time.
The 34 countries that are members of the Organization of American States have a common interest in addressing the challenges that face the region, such as climate change, inequality, and terrorism. As a result, they established the Summit of the Americas process in 1994. The Summit of the Americas process has resulted in a series of multilateral agreements, including the Miami and Santiago Plans of Action. These agreements have been implemented through a set of multilateral mechanisms, including the Summit Implementation Review Group (SIRG). The SIRG is composed of responsible coordinators from four principal international organizations: the Organization of American States, the Inter-American Development Bank, the Pan American Health Organization, and the World Bank.