WORLDwrite
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WORLDwrite has been active since the mid-1990s and is based in London. Ostensibly a development education charity, it organises foreign exchange programmes, convenes conferences and produces short documentary films. Its staff, particularly its director, are active in the media.
WORLDwrite provides a political platform for the British libertarian LM group, lambasting environmentalism and sustainable development while eulogising genetically modified crops. The director, Ceri Dingle, is a veteran of the Revolutionary Communist Party and its offshoot, Living Marxism. Other key positions in the organisation are also dominated by LM group members and sympathisers: Kirk Leech, another LM partisan, is an assistant director.
WORLDwrite has recently been on a recruitment drive in London for youth/student volunteers , presumably as they won't have much knowledge of different points of view on development issues, to make "documentary" films promoting the LM's group's political point of view eg "The Bitter Aftertaste", an anti Fairtrade polemic.
Contents
Constitution
Charity Commission Registration
WORLDwrite is recorded as 1060869 in the Central Register of Charities maintained by the Charity Commission for England and Wales. The legal objects, which describe what the charity has been set up to achieve, are registered with the Commission as follows:
- "To advance the education of young people between the ages of 13 and 25 years inclusive, particularly by way of international exchanges and tours, in subjects such as history, geography, politics, international affairs, sulture and languages and in inter-personal relationships and pratctical life skills so as to assist such young persons in growing to full maturity as individuals and as members of society."[1]
Trustees
Toby Marshall is a regular contributor to Spiked Online, a direct descendant of Living Marxism. Reshmi Parag has also written for Spiked and works for the oilfield services company SchlumbergerSema.
Financial History
| Financial Year Start | Financial Year End | Gross Income | Total Expenditure |
| 01 Nov 1996 | 31 Oct 1997 | £31,759 | £30,975 |
| 01 Nov 1997 | 31 Oct 1998 | £224,965 | £222,026 |
| 01 Nov 1998 | 31 Oct 1999 | £120,597 | £119,521 |
| 01 Nov 1999 | 31 Oct 2000 | £102,705 | £105,543 |
| 01 Nov 2000 | 31 Oct 2001 | £65,738 | £63,322 |
| 01 Nov 2001 | 31 Oct 2002 | £65,118 | £62,119 |
| 01 Nov 2002 | 31 Oct 2003 | £80,520 | £81,994 |
Conferences
A characteristic strategy employed by WORLDwrite is the promotion of conferences on development which are dominated by speakers from the LM network. WORLDwrite disguises the fact that nearly all the contributors are members of the same ideological clique by presenting them as independent experts.
Summit for Serious Development
The WORLDwrite 'Summit for Serious Development' was held in London on 12 June 2002 [3]. It was designed as a spoiler to the UN Johannesburg Summit for Sustainable Development, which was held later that summer. Nearly all the speakers and chairs had links with the LM Group, but these existing relationships were not disclosed. A summary of the participants and their links to other LM organisations is given below [4]:
- James Heartfield: LM, Spiked Online, director of Audacity.org
- Julian Morris: Living Marxism, Spiked Online
- Daniel Ben-Ami (aka Daniel Nassim): Spiked Online, Living Marxism, LM, Institute of Ideas, Global Futures
- Barrie Collins (aka Barry Crawford) : Africa Direct, Spiked Online, Institute of Ideas
- Kirk Leech (aka Kirk Williams): Spiked Online, Institute of Ideas, Novo
As Good As It Gets? Conference
In November 2003, WORLDwrite organised a conference held in Surrey Cricket Ground, London. Again, the lineup features many of the same faces from the LM group.
- Daniel Ben-Ami (aka Daniel Nassim): Spiked Online, Living Marxism, LM, Institute of Ideas, Global Futures
- Jennie Bristow: Novo, LM, Institute of Ideas, commissioning editor of Spiked Online
- Barrie Collins (aka Barry Crawford) : Africa Direct, Spiked Online, Institute of Ideas
- John Conroy: Spiked Online, Institute of Ideas, Novo
- James Heartfield: LM, Spiked Online, director of Audacity.org
- John Pender: Africa Direct, Living Marxism, Spiked Online
- James Woudhuysen (aka James Woods): LM, Spiked Online, Institute of Ideas, Novo, director of Audacity.org
Personnel
Ceri Dingle, Director
Viv Regan, Assistant Director
Kirk Leech, Assistant Director
Danny Frings, Welsh Coordinator
Grant Dyer, Exchange Coordinator
Rachel Crowley, Midlands Coordinator
Peter Kwong, Hosting Coordinator
Helen Sewell, College Coordinator
Elena Reiniger, German Coordinator
Dan Clayton, Yorkshire Coordinator
Steve Daley, Irish Coordinator
Aitak Barani, Europe Coordinator
Chris Jones, Educational Material
Phil Bradley, Berekum Appeal
John Conroy, Brazil Coordinator
Laura Gilbert, Schools Coordinator
Marta Julia, Spanish Coordinator
Ian Foster, IT Coordinator
Julia Nagle, Public Relations
Roger Orwin, Webmaster
[5] [6]
Contact details
WORLDwrite Volunteer Centre,
Millfields Lodge,
Millfields Road, London E5 OAR
Tel/Fax: +44 (0)20 8985 5435
Email: world.writeATbtconnect.com (substitute @ for AT)
Website: http://www.worldwrite.org.uk
References
- "World Summit for Sustainable Development: A Critical Memorandum", Ceri Dingle & Steve Daley, 2002
- "Raising Development Horizons", Daniel Rathwell, Spiked Online, 18 February 2004
- "Living Marxism profile", GMWatch.org, accessed 4 September 2004
- Variant magazine site, [7], accessed 15 December 2006
