Seven Decades of the One World Trust
The 50s: The One World Trust was founded in 1951 at the initiative of members of the Parliamentary Group for World Government including the past, present and future Prime Ministers, Clement Attlee, Winston Churchill and Harold MacMillan “to investigate and promote ways in which to encourage a greater sense of world community”. You can download the Trust Deed which founded the charity at the bottom of this page. Its first major undertaking was the establishment of a World Studies Project which, with the support of the ILEA, ran course for history teachers and organised a One World Examination Syllabus competition, whose winning entry was published in association with Longmans and adopted by the London University GCE Board as Modern World History.
The 60s: The Trust produced several publications, including Education for International Understanding (1960) with a foreword by Lord Hailsham and a message from Earl Attlee; and, with Longmans, History Syllabuses and a World Perspective (1962 & 1967). The Trust also launched a series of summer schools for graduates on Problems of World Order, held at the Universities of Sussex, Edinburgh and Malta, and, with support from the Leverhulme Trust, published a survey of audio-visual materials likely to encourage a world perspective.
The 70s: Helped by a UNESCO grant, the Trust ran a series of schools competitions and a project for the introduction of World Studies into secondary schools, sponsored by the Leverhulme Trust, the Ministry of Overseas Development and the DES. This project produced three books: Debate and Decision (1974), a handbook for the planning of course and conferences on multicultural, social and development education, world studies and international understanding; Learning for Change in World Society (1976), a resource book which has been reprinted several times and, with a grant from Christian Aid, Ideas into Action (1980), thirteen case studies of courses developed from the project.
The 80s: The Trust entered the eighties with the launch of its World Studies 8-13 Project, aided by the Schools Council and the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust. This led to the production of another teachers’ handbook World Studies 8-13. With Thomas Nelson and Son, four pictorial books for 14-16 year olds were produced: World in Conflict, Caring for the Planet, Progress and Poverty, and Fighting for Freedom and the organisation of one day conferences for sixth formers was added to the Trust’s range of activities.These were inaugurated in September 1988, at the University of East Anglia in conjunction with the School of Development Studies and the Development Education Centre in Norwich. The event attracted 200 students and became an annual feature. In addition to the work on education, the Trust was also active supporting the historic Law of the Sea Conference which created a system of international governance of the planet's oceans and seas.
The 90s: The focus on the education and engagement of the young in global affairs developed further, with student competitions and conferences. There were many public meetings in the Palace of Westminster involving Parliamentarians and the public - and special meetings were held, as part of the Students in Parliament concept, bringing together Parliamentarians and
student competition winners. The Trust was also active in two campaigns. The first was in support of the establishment of a Permanent International Criminal Court (ICC), which finally began functioning on Jan 1st 2002. The second was in support of Charter 99, a Charter for Global Democracy, calling for international accountability, equality, justice, sustainable development and democracy. Many of the ideas and indeed wording fed into the Millennium Summit debate and the subsequent Millennium Development Goals.
The 00s: Building upon the accountability message of Charter 99, the Trust launched a major new programme on Global Accountability, with funding from the Ford Foundation. Establishing at the outset a new methodology for assessing accountability in global organisations, the Trust went on to assess 90 major international institutions over three years, one third being from
multinational companies, one third from Inter-Governmental Organisations and one third from International NGOs. This led to a series of associated projects, including the Global Accountability Project Framework, accountability work on International Financial Institutions and Multilateral Development Banks and accountability of Research, Innovation and Advocacy. The Trust
carried out extensive research into the frequency and structure of self-regulation within civil society, publishing profiles of over 350 initiatives in a first of its kind Civil Society Self-Regulatory Initiative database. Through the Parliamentary Oversight Project, the Trust highlighted the imbalance between Parliamentary oversight of domestic and foreign policy and formulated
recommendations for reform of parliamentary and formal participatory processes for improved democratic oversight of national foreign policy. Finally, in addition to the Trust’s continuing support for the ICC, the Trust conducted research and advocacy in relation to Responsibility to Protect (R2P), to advance the understanding of the potentials and challenges associated with applying R2P in practice to achieve greater accountability in global peace and security governance.
The 10s: Building on the Trust’s Global Accountability Framework, the OWT carried out an ESRC/DfID funded research programme, in partnership with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM). The team investigated how global and national organisations who play an important role in responding to climate change-induced threats to poverty alleviation and public health are preparing themselves institutionally to meet these challenges. The Trust also further developed its consulting activity with global organisations. The Trust also supported the 1for7billion campaign for the transparent appointment of the new UN Secretary General with a series of briefs providing historic context. In 2017 the One World Trust submitted a proposal outlining our vision for better model of global governance to the New Shape Prize, a competition run by the Global Challenges Foundation.
The 20s: The 20s: Building on the work for the New Shape Prize, the Trust is seeking to explain the UNPA proposal to the public, media, NGOs and MPs, and to provide education through an online course. In parallel the Trust is addressing the global governance requirements of Artificial Intelligence, writing research papers and engaging with other organisations with a similar outlook. Thirdly the Trust is seeking to pursue its research activities with regard to the Climate Change ambition mechanism.
The 60s: The Trust produced several publications, including Education for International Understanding (1960) with a foreword by Lord Hailsham and a message from Earl Attlee; and, with Longmans, History Syllabuses and a World Perspective (1962 & 1967). The Trust also launched a series of summer schools for graduates on Problems of World Order, held at the Universities of Sussex, Edinburgh and Malta, and, with support from the Leverhulme Trust, published a survey of audio-visual materials likely to encourage a world perspective.
The 70s: Helped by a UNESCO grant, the Trust ran a series of schools competitions and a project for the introduction of World Studies into secondary schools, sponsored by the Leverhulme Trust, the Ministry of Overseas Development and the DES. This project produced three books: Debate and Decision (1974), a handbook for the planning of course and conferences on multicultural, social and development education, world studies and international understanding; Learning for Change in World Society (1976), a resource book which has been reprinted several times and, with a grant from Christian Aid, Ideas into Action (1980), thirteen case studies of courses developed from the project.
The 80s: The Trust entered the eighties with the launch of its World Studies 8-13 Project, aided by the Schools Council and the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust. This led to the production of another teachers’ handbook World Studies 8-13. With Thomas Nelson and Son, four pictorial books for 14-16 year olds were produced: World in Conflict, Caring for the Planet, Progress and Poverty, and Fighting for Freedom and the organisation of one day conferences for sixth formers was added to the Trust’s range of activities.These were inaugurated in September 1988, at the University of East Anglia in conjunction with the School of Development Studies and the Development Education Centre in Norwich. The event attracted 200 students and became an annual feature. In addition to the work on education, the Trust was also active supporting the historic Law of the Sea Conference which created a system of international governance of the planet's oceans and seas.
The 90s: The focus on the education and engagement of the young in global affairs developed further, with student competitions and conferences. There were many public meetings in the Palace of Westminster involving Parliamentarians and the public - and special meetings were held, as part of the Students in Parliament concept, bringing together Parliamentarians and
student competition winners. The Trust was also active in two campaigns. The first was in support of the establishment of a Permanent International Criminal Court (ICC), which finally began functioning on Jan 1st 2002. The second was in support of Charter 99, a Charter for Global Democracy, calling for international accountability, equality, justice, sustainable development and democracy. Many of the ideas and indeed wording fed into the Millennium Summit debate and the subsequent Millennium Development Goals.
The 00s: Building upon the accountability message of Charter 99, the Trust launched a major new programme on Global Accountability, with funding from the Ford Foundation. Establishing at the outset a new methodology for assessing accountability in global organisations, the Trust went on to assess 90 major international institutions over three years, one third being from
multinational companies, one third from Inter-Governmental Organisations and one third from International NGOs. This led to a series of associated projects, including the Global Accountability Project Framework, accountability work on International Financial Institutions and Multilateral Development Banks and accountability of Research, Innovation and Advocacy. The Trust
carried out extensive research into the frequency and structure of self-regulation within civil society, publishing profiles of over 350 initiatives in a first of its kind Civil Society Self-Regulatory Initiative database. Through the Parliamentary Oversight Project, the Trust highlighted the imbalance between Parliamentary oversight of domestic and foreign policy and formulated
recommendations for reform of parliamentary and formal participatory processes for improved democratic oversight of national foreign policy. Finally, in addition to the Trust’s continuing support for the ICC, the Trust conducted research and advocacy in relation to Responsibility to Protect (R2P), to advance the understanding of the potentials and challenges associated with applying R2P in practice to achieve greater accountability in global peace and security governance.
The 10s: Building on the Trust’s Global Accountability Framework, the OWT carried out an ESRC/DfID funded research programme, in partnership with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM). The team investigated how global and national organisations who play an important role in responding to climate change-induced threats to poverty alleviation and public health are preparing themselves institutionally to meet these challenges. The Trust also further developed its consulting activity with global organisations. The Trust also supported the 1for7billion campaign for the transparent appointment of the new UN Secretary General with a series of briefs providing historic context. In 2017 the One World Trust submitted a proposal outlining our vision for better model of global governance to the New Shape Prize, a competition run by the Global Challenges Foundation.
The 20s: The 20s: Building on the work for the New Shape Prize, the Trust is seeking to explain the UNPA proposal to the public, media, NGOs and MPs, and to provide education through an online course. In parallel the Trust is addressing the global governance requirements of Artificial Intelligence, writing research papers and engaging with other organisations with a similar outlook. Thirdly the Trust is seeking to pursue its research activities with regard to the Climate Change ambition mechanism.
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A copy of the Trust Deed which founded the One World Trust is available to download.
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