About OneWorld Guides

OneWorld Guides explore the development topics relevant to narrowing the divide between rich and poor countries. They are published in a standard educational format suitable for ages upwards of 16. Each Guide offers a concise 15-minute study opportunity in which key issues are identified and explained.

The Guides offer particular focus on the poorest countries and implications for the Millennium Development Goals. For example, the Trade and Poverty Guide highlights the links between protective agricultural subsidies in rich countries and chronic malnutrition in South Asia and Africa.

Selected sections of OneWorld Guides are published additionally as OneWorld Briefings. This enables focused study on topics that are important in their own right such as Food Aid or Violence Against Women.

The strength of OneWorld Guides lies in the supporting research into human development issues in over 60 low income and lower income countries. We describe these as OneWorld Countries.

This material is published in interactive maps which display briefings on Poverty Reduction, Food Security and Climate Change. These Country Briefings are also available in conventional web pages, either separately such as Food Security in Benin, or aggregated into OneWorld Countries, such as Benin.

What are the Guides trying to achieve?

OneWorld Guides respond to rising public concern for the problems faced by developing countries. In illustrating how globalisation has created an interdependent world of social and environmental injustice, OneWorld Guides raise awareness of the scope for global citizenship to override the limitations of national politics.

Each Guide offers a 2,000 word text structured into sub-headings for ease of reference. With plenty of links to more detailed learning opportunities, OneWorld Guides provide an ideal entry point for development studies in general and developing countries in particular. The Guides are updated approximately every 6 months.

How are OneWorld Guides produced and published?

For each Guide we research a wide range of online sources, perhaps as many as 30-40 sources depending on the country or topic. The most important of these sources can be found in the published Guide, either in the text links or in the boxes in the right hand column.

OneWorld Guides are published by OneWorld UK, on behalf of the OneWorld Network which is an internationally recognised online publisher of global development resources.

The Editor of OneWorld Guides is Bill Gunyon who can be contacted at guides@oneworld.net. Bill's personal reflections on his work as the Guides Editor are published in the GuidesWeek blog.

How are OneWorld Guides funded?

OneWorld receives no funding for its educational content and is dependent on individual donations. We are particularly anxious to widen the range of development topics addressed by OneWorld Guides and to extend the underlying country research to cover all low income and lower middle income countries.

We also seek to raise revenue through appropriate advertising and ecommerce. For example, the OneWorld stores (below) are offered in association with Amazon. Arranging your Amazon shopping through the OneWorld stores indirectly supports the production of OneWorld Guides.

OneWorld Books

To strengthen the educational purpose of OneWorld Guides, we offer an innovative shopping facility in which books are organised by individual developing countries and development topics. Specific recommendations are featured on each Guide. Visit OneWorld Books at:

for $$ purchases

for ££ purchases