A summit meeting is a gathering of leaders and influential people to discuss an issue that affects the entire community. The goal is to create a solution for the problem and walk away with an actionable plan. These meetings can be a great way to build trust, create relationships, and generate new ideas. However, if the outcome of the event is not what was originally intended, it can be seen as a failure and a waste of resources.
Summits are an important tool to promote cooperation between states and regions of the world. They allow experiences to be accumulated, common language to be forged and mandates for joint actions to be programmed. In the same spirit, the Summit of the Americas is a mechanism for strengthening and deepening bilateral relations between 34 countries of our hemisphere and beyond.
At the same time, a summit can be perceived as harmful to interstate relations when no tangible outcomes are reached. This is especially true when no concrete progress is made on a particular issue, such as drugs or climate change. Summits that have no measurable results are often blamed on political leaders, who are considered to be the main perpetrators of this perceived failure.
To avoid this, organizers of summit events need to ensure that the content is relevant, engaging and aligned with the interests of the audience. They must also consider implementing a variety of learning methods and tools, such as group discussions, workshops, and presentations. They should also encourage attendees to share their own experiences and perspectives, and provide downloadable materials, such as white papers, reports, and case studies.