World Development Movement

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

The World Development Movement is a development organisation in the United Kingdom. It exists to mobilise public pressure for fundamental change. However, fundamental change is not achieved easily - running as it does contrary to the perceived national interests of the developed world. As these interests currently harm the lives of so many poor people, WDM seeks to challenge the flow of conventional wisdom and tackle the uncomfortable issues that lie at the very heart of poverty and injustice.

Key to WDM’s mission is to promote democratic alternatives, enliven public debate and attract more members of the public to issues that really matter. Informed by the experiences of partners overseas, WDM highlights the negative effects that the current world economic model have on governance, accountability and democracy in the developing world, and the deepening social injustice in both the developed and developing world. 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 changes in outlook – from the individual level to those of supra-national institutions.

The World Development Movement 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 offices from Brixton to new premises at 66 Offley Road, London. Twice the size of WDM's current offices, and costing £1.3 million, the new premises have been nicknamed the 'Oval Office' by staff.^[1]

The WDM has an associated charity, the WDM Trust, which funds WDM’s charitable activities.^[2]