The Warwick International Development Summit (WIDS) is an annual, weekend-long conference organised and run by the International Development Society at the University of Warwick

University of Warwick

The University of Warwick is a public research university located in Coventry, United Kingdom...

. Normally taking place during the first term, WIDS has attracted hundreds of internal and external students, professionals and academics, from a wide range of disciplines. The Summit aims to encourage critical debate and exchange of ideas between different stakeholders in development, as well as raising awareness of development issues and plausible solutions for such global concerns.

International Development

International development

International development or global development is a concept that lacks a universally accepted definition, but it is most used in a holistic and multi-disciplinary context of human development — the development of greater quality of life for humans...

 is a central topic addressed by the social sciences department at the University of Warwick, and thus past summits have aimed to address issues covering a range of disciplines, including economics

Economics

Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...

, sociology

Sociology

Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...

 and international politics. Recent summits have expanded to respect work done in the field of engineering

Engineering

Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...

 towards development.

Origins

In 2006, James Clarke founded the International Development Society at the University of Warwick with the intention of raising awareness to debates in the field of development that were not given enough attention or were only discussed from a biased angle.

"WIDS was established because there didn't seem to be an adequate platform to explore issues of utmost importance for the global poor. The emphasis on development has waned in the wake of the Make Poverty History

Make Poverty History

Make Poverty History is the name of a campaign that exists in a number of countries, including Australia, Canada, Denmark , Finland, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Romania, the United Arab Emirates, Great Britain and Ireland...

 campaign, and public attention has been re-focused onto disaster relief following the Boxing Day Tsunami".
- James Clarke, WIDS Founder and President, 2006.

The inaugural summit in 2006 attracted over 900 visitors, with 30 high-profile speakers from 6 continents. The society won the award for "best new society" at the Warwick Student's Union awards for their work in 2006. The summit has continued to grow rapidly, and has since developed into an internationally recognised event.

Partnerships

WIDS is an active member of the [U8 Global Student Partnership for Development].

The Summit in the past has also promoted and worked with:

Global Poverty Project

Global Poverty Project

The Global Poverty Project is a community education group founded by Hugh Evans and Simon Moss that aims to increase awareness of, and action towards fighting extreme poverty through a presentation entitled 1.4 Billion Reasons, patterned after Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth, delivered around the...

World Vision

World Vision

World Vision, founded in the USA in 1950, is an evangelical relief and development organization whose stated goal is "to follow our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ in working with the poor and oppressed to promote human transformation, seek justice and bear witness to the good news of the Kingdom of...

One Water

Development in Action

Development in Action

Development in Action is a small UK International development Non-governmental organization run "by young people for young people". Its main objective is to promote global citizenship by encouraging engagement in global issues amongst young people in the UK.The charity offers 5-month and 2-month ...

Wateraid

WaterAid

WaterAid is an international non-profit organisation set up as a response to the UN International Drinking Water & Sanitation decade . WaterAid is dedicated to helping people escape the poverty and disease caused by living without safe water and sanitation. It is based in London, England and was...

Colalife

Colalife

ColaLife is a company limited by Guarantee which aims to leverage the distribution network of The Coca-Cola Company to get simple medicines, such as rehydration salts, and information on how to use them, to the most remote areas in developing countries...

Engineers Without Borders

Engineers Without Borders

Engineers Without Borders – International is an international association of some national EWB/ISF groups, whose mission is to facilitate collaboration, exchange of information, and assistance among its member groups that have applied to become part of the association...

AIESEC

AIESEC

AIESEC is a global youth organisation that develops leadership capabilities through their internal leadership programmes and engaging students and graduates in international student exchange and internship programmes for profit and non-profit organisations. Its international office is in...

 at the University of Warwick

Right to Play

Right to Play

Right To Play is an international humanitarian organization that uses sport and play programs to improve health, develop life skills, and foster peace for children and communities in some of the most disadvantaged areas of the world...