On 11 February 2005, the Board of Directors of the World Federalists of Northern California, which a year before had incorporated as a public benefit educational organization in California, took on the new name of Democratic World Federalists. OUR HISTORICAL ROOTS
As Democratic World Federalists, we are working for a Democratic World Federation and have many honorable antecedents to follow. In 19
42 Student Federalists were already calling for a Federal World Government. In October 1945 many civic American leaders issued the Declaration of Dublin, New Hampshire which promoted a world federal government. formed the United World Federalists (later reformed as the World Federalist Association). Also in 1947 some far-seeing men and women from many countries met in Montreux, Switzerland, issued the Montreux Declaration, and formed the World Movement for World Federal Government. This global body later was renamed World Federalist Movement. TOWARD DEMOCRATIC WORLD FEDERATION
In 1992 we named our quarterly publication Toward Democratic World Federation. In 1997 the former World Federalist Association amended its Goals and Beliefs to declare that to achieve its goal a democratic federal world government was required. Reflecting the growing consensus about what we should be working for, it is essential that we do not shy away from calling ourselves Democratic World Federalists. SAN FRANCISCO Mailing Address
Our mailing address is in San Francisco, the city where the finishing touches were put on the United Nations Charter in 1945, and where we hosted the XXIInd World Congress of the W.F.M. California is also the state where in 1949 United World Federalists of California, led by President Alan Cranston and Executive Director Robert Walker, convinced the State Legislature to pass the California Resolution, the first of several state resolutions calling for the United States to participate in a world federal government. GLOBAL MEMBERSHIP
Befitting an organization working for a government for all humanity, we've discarded geographic limitations and opened ourselves to World Federalists and other concerned citizens from anywhere. We have Supporters — many of them distinguished World Federalists — from Hawaii to Massachusetts and from Oregon to Florida, as well in Canada and several European and Asian countries. We've had nationals from Australia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia, Cambodia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Great Britain, India, Iran, Italy, Kyrgyzstan, Mexico, Pakistan, Philippines, Spain, Switzerland, U.S.A., and Vietnam working in our office or on our governing board. HOW CAN DEMOCRATIC WORLD GOVERNMENT COME ABOUT? Many groups have been working to bring the rule of law to the people of the world. Debates have occurred over how this should come about. Some advocate strengthening the United Nations with its General Assembly and Security Council, which had been modeled somewhat after the League of Nations (a league or loose confederation) with its Assembly and Council. Some have advocated transforming the United Nations into a democratic world federation. Some have advocated creating international institutions to deal with specific international problems. Some have proposed producing a popular assembly as a step in democratizing the U.N. Some have proposed developing regional federations, from which a world federation may evolve. Still others have advocated holding a world constitutional convention to produce a world federal government. Some have even drafted constitutions for the world community and government. YOUR INVITATION
We invite anyone to become a Supporter who believes that it is essential to popularize the concept of a Democratic World Federation if the Earth and humanity are ultimately to survive. Not only those who may feel isolated from any organized group are welcome as Supporters of the Democratic World Federalists, but also those who feel themselves to be World Federalists while also supporting other groups with tangentially related interests.
