Third World Network (Malaysia)

Third World Network (TWN) is an independent, nonprofit, international network of individuals and organizations. TWN's mission is to engender a better understanding of the needs and rights of people in the global South, create a more just distribution of world resources, and enable more ecologically sustainable and socially fulfilling modes of development. Founded in 1984 in Penang, Malaysia, TWN is directed by Martin Khor, a journalist, economist, and global civil society activist.

True to its mission, the organization has established bases in different continents that comprise the third world. Unlike similar organizations that are primarily based in the global North, TWN's International Secretariat is in Penang, with regional secretariats in Montevideo, Uruguay (Third World Network Latin America), and Accra, Ghana (Third World Network Africa). Other offices are in Goa and Geneva. TWN is affiliated with organizations in Bangladesh, South Africa, México, and Perú and collaborates with organizations in the global North.

TWN has numerous publications mainly focused on development issues. Although the mostly black-and-white, text-laden pages of their publications are not necessarily alternative in aesthetic, their contents and viewpoints are. They present information about global South issues by individuals and groups of the third world. These perspectives are rare because knowledge about the third world has so far largely emerged from centers of knowledge production in the global North.

Among TWN's publications are Third World Resurgence, a monthly on development, ecology, and economics, and Third World Economics, a bimonthly on economics, especially on the World Trade Organization, the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund. Its Geneva office publishes SUNS Bulletin, a daily print or e-mail newsletter that monitors key North-South development issues. Averaging 10 pages per issue, this [Page 524]service is distributed on a cost-sharing basis and on a subscriber's ability to pay.

TWN Features Service provides features on development concerns to the media. Offering an average of three features per issue, it strives to be a voice for nongovernmental organizations in the global South, emphasizing collection of stories from grassroots groups. TWN also has several publication series. Its director contributes a weekly essay for the Global Trends Series. The organization publishes books by third world authors through TWN's other book series on the global economy, trade and development, intellectual property rights, environment and development, and biotechnology and biosafety.

Some materials for the monthly and fortnightly magazines, features service, and global trends series are available for free on the TWN website. TWN's website is accessible in English, Spanish, and Chinese. Each regional office has its own website.