A message from our director

We were born at a time of hope. Freed from the chains of empire, governments and movements in Africa, Asia and Latin America were refusing to allow political control over their countries to be replaced by economic control. They were fighting the corporate dominance, trade rules, financial systems, even ‘aid’ projects, which were simply empire by another name – perpetuating poverty, inequality and injustice. My predecessors challenged these injustices, and gave solidarity to those fighting for a better world. They saw that charity would never be sufficient.

Only by engaging in political action – campaigning, protesting, educating and building a movement – could we win real change. We have been on the frontline of some of the most iconic campaigns, championing causes that seemed obscure and turning them into mainstream victories. Today, we face a world full of fear, danger and uncertainty. We can hardly claim to have solved all of our planet’s problems. But that shouldn’t detract from the incredible victories we’ve won. We’re still learning, adapting and incorporating new ideas into our work. But our purpose remains the same: to build a movement of people around a vision of international justice and equality. So despite the Covid-19 crisis, I hope you’ll feel proud of what we’ve achieved together over this last year, and remember that a movement like ours is important precisely because it can inspire hope and action in the face of seemingly insurmountable adversity. We have always come together to demand the impossible. It’s the only way to get really significant change. Sometimes we have won. And together, we will win again.