World Development Movement

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Paul Kingsnorth speaking at a World Development Movement meeting at the Oxford Town Hall, 2006-03-08.

The World Development Movement is a membership organisation in the United Kingdom which campaigns on issues of global justice and development in the Global South.

Key to WDM’s mission is to promote democratic alternatives, enliven public debate and attract more members of the public to issues.

It aims to:

Secure important policy change at national, European and international levels – with especial regard to water justice issues; the conditions attached by the IMF and World Bank to debt relief.

Enhance, enlarge and inform the global justice movement through strengthening links between UK and developing countries.

Raise public awareness in the UK of the need for fundamental change – from the individual level to those of supra-national institutions.

WDM has a network of local groups as well as individual members, and an office in Edinburgh from which WDM Scotland is run.^[1]. It participates in international networks such as the Our World is Not for Sale network on trade and corporate globalisation, ^[2] and the World Social Forum. ^[3]

[edit] History

WDM started in 1969 as 'Action for World Development' (AWD). Many people who were involved in collecting one million signatures on a petition about world development had seen the need for political campaigning which charity restricted development charities from undertaking. AWD was formally launched by aid agencies such as Oxfam and Christian Aid, and by churches.

WDM, formed in 1970, extended the work of AWD but as a separate body with its own member groups to decide its policies and priorities. WDM's constitution was subsequently changed to allow individuals as well as local groups to become members.

WDM has an associated charity, the WDM Trust, which funds WDM’s charitable activities.^[4]

WDM was a co-founder of The Fairtrade Foundation in 1992, Jubilee 2000 in 1997, The Trade Justice Movement in 2000, and the 2005 anti-poverty mobilisation Make Poverty History.

In late 2006, WDM moved its London offices from Brixton to new premises at 66 Offley Road in Kennington, London.