Development Today was started 15 years ago as a paper journal with the first issue published in December 1991. It was founded by a group of Nordic journalists and based on the simple conviction that the only true guarantee of full editorial independence is full financial independence from the players. This is the basic rule for press coverage of politics and business arenas; aid deserves no special treatment.

 

As such, Development Today has from the beginning, and maintains to this day, a policy of not accepting funding from donors, NGOs or other aid actors. As far as we know, Development Today remains the only specialised aid publication with this strict editorial line. The journal is financed exclusively through subscriptions and advertising. This policy has allowed Development Today to maintain its high standard of journalism and established the journal as an authoritative source of information for decision makers in the development assistance field in some 60 countries world-wide.

 

What does Development Today cover? A sophisticated web of interests is attached to the USD 10 billion Nordic governments spend annually on aid, disbursed in more than 100 countries. The players are thousands of Nordic and international companies, NGOs, foundations, public institutions and government agencies. Their activities vary from emergency relief operations to providing risk capital for businesses. Moreover, despite their relatively small combined populations, the Nordic countries are among the largest and most influential donors in international aid. They provide up to one-third the core funding of the key UN agencies and Nordic fingerprints are visible on the policies of these and other multilateral agencies. Nordic governments involve themselves in fierce power struggles for top UN positions, and have been instrumental in the continuing process of UN reform.

 

Through news and business reporting, investigative journalism and analysis, Development Today provides independent, authoritative and balanced coverage of this field.

 

In January 2001, Development Today introduced a web version of the journal. In connection with Development Today’s 15-year anniversary, we are pleased to present this updated web site which will, we trust, provide readers with a better overview of current and past material in the journal. The new web site is a work in progress and will be developed substantially during the coming year. So please follow the site and do let us know what you think on comments@devtoday.no. The ISSN number for www.development-today.com is 1504-6230.

 

Editor-in-Chief,

Bjørn H. Amland.