The international flow of capital and the emergence of diverse blocs and alliances are dramatically reshaping lives and the environment all around us, with the world's poorest paying the price of prosperity for the few. But the globalisation process offers unprecedented advantages too. Since WWII the possibilities for international cultural, social and economic interaction have increased at an explosive rate. The effects of these trends on trade, geopolitics, environment, media and many other fields are interconnected and extremely complex. IPS news agency seeks to analyse the free trade initiatives' impact on the individual, as well as the behaviour of corporations, international finance institutions and the multilateral system, giving visibility to the perspectives of a more diverse range of people, including civil society and the individual.