Where is global development now?
New Internationalist
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Forty Years of Putting the World to Rights
New Internationalist magazine celebrates four decades of its award-winning magazine
The New Internationalist celebrates its 40th anniversary today, with the publication of its 460th issue. As we cast our eyes back over four decades of straight-talking, independent journalism, we ask, has
humanity’s progress lived up to the heady optimism of the 1970s when the first issue rolled off the press?
The first ever issue of the magazine was put together using a set of printer’s galleys, a tin of cow-gum and half a dozen sheets of Letraset. Today the NI is about to launch a new iPad app, and it still reports on
the issues of world poverty and inequality. But something has changed.
Chris Brazier, Co-Editor of the magazine since 1984, explains: “The New Internationalist’s founding mission was ‘meeting basic human needs’ for all. In 1973, winds of change were blowing; inspiring and idealistic leaders were taking power in former colonies. Forty years on, we expected the ‘war on want’ to be won by now. And in many ways, progress has been remarkable. Child malnutrition and death rates in the
Majority World have halved, and life expectancy is up from 43 to 59 years.
And yet, the very poorest have often been excluded. If the last 40 years were the fight for World Development, the debate has now shifted to the Struggle for Equality: it’s time to side with the poorest20%.”
Readers can look forward to much more of our grass-roots coverage of the issues that matter, from our network of international bloggers on newint.org, from the keynote articles and fact spreads published in the print magazine, and via social channels such as Facebook and Twitter.
Never ones to shy away from a bit of moral instruction, this not-for-profit media organization will be beating the drum for justice and freedom for many years to come.
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New Internationalist is an independent, not-for-profit media organization, whose award-winning magazine, books and website provide fresh, hard-hitting, grass-roots coverage from voices across the globe.
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Tel: 01865 811400
The 40th anniversary issue addresses a topic that is central to the coming years of global history: where is global development now and what happened to the vision for global development that was born out of the
optimism of the 1970s?
The issue examines key questions:
• Were we ever right about what development should look like?
• Are there more accurate ways of measuring ‘success’, happiness and equity within a society?
• Was it a fair deal to trade the improvement of basic human needs for the imposition of globalization?
• Has globalization made the world a fairer more prosperous world for all or has it rewarded only the few?
Expect measured, informed debate, and a healthy dose of provocative opinion, as always..
