WDM members vote to change our name

Date: 13 October 2014

In September, members of the World Development Movement from around the country voted to change our name to Global Justice Now.

Changing our name is just one step in a bigger ‘relaunch’. This isn’t about changing our values, but expressing them more effectively. About building a bigger movement and running more high profile campaigns which can really start to change the world.

We will officially become Global Justice Now in January as part of a wider relaunch of the organisation, but I wanted to write and let you know it is happening – especially as so many of our supporters were involved in making this decision.

After 45 years of WDM we realise this is quite a step to take, but the debate in the organisation, and in the AGM itself which took the decision, focussed on the need for our name to reflect better what we stand for. We feel that the concept of ‘development’ has been thoroughly captured by big business. For many of our allies in the global south development means exactly the kind of mines, dams and luxury shopping centres which exacerbate inequality and rob people of their livelihoods.

WDM stands with communities facing these kinds of injustices and against the power of the tiny elite who have increasingly monopolised the world’s resources for themselves.

Global Justice Now will continue to make that stand and, we hope, mobilise larger numbers of people for a better, more equal, more democratic world.