The Group of Seven (G7) is an informal political forum of Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, and the United States of America. Their heads of states come together at an annual summit to discuss global issues and co-ordinate their decisions. In 2022, Germany will take over the annually rotating Presidency following the United Kingdom. Personal representatives of the respective government, known as Sherpas, are responsible for the preparation and follow-up of the summit. The Federal Government’s Sherpa staff is based in the Chancellery.

An important part of the G7 process is the dialogue with various interest groups, called Engagement Groups. Civil7 (C7) is one of the official Engagement Groups of the G7 and represents positions from the international civil society, particularly from non-governmental organisations. The other groups are Women7 and Youth7, Business7, Labour7, Thinktank7 and Science7. Each interest group organises their communication and positioning processes with the G7 independently. VENRO, the Association of German Development and Humanitarian Aid NGOs, and the NGO Forum on Environment and Development were mandated by the Chancellery to co-ordinate the C7.

The C7 sees itself as a platform through which civil society organisations and actors worldwide can network in order to enter into a dialogue with the G7. The aim is to represent civil society interests regarding the G7 and to develop policy recommendations that will be included into the G7 summit decisions. In particular, the concerns of civil society organisations outside the G7 countries, notably from the Global South, are to be taken up. Besides various events and exchange formats, the international Civil7 Conference, scheduled for May 2022, marks the highlight of the C7 process.