One World exists to expose abuses, encourage dignity, inspire solidarity, and foster mutual understanding. Our festival wants to be a concerned and offers a critical look at the current state of the world and its transformations. But that does not mean that One World is a festival of politically correct films. We believe that documentary film is an art form and that the power of documentary film does not reside solely in its content. We search for documentaries that reflect the present-day world in an original and creative way, without ideological mentoring. We are eager to provide an inside look, but not simple answers. We look for films that reflect on important questions, and at the same time we strive to highlight the importance of good filmmaking in improving public understanding of contemporary issues. One of our main aims is to present high quality documentary films in cinemas, on the "big screen," and by doing so to promote documentary filmmaking.

Film is a powerful medium to draw attention to human rights and other global issues, which otherwise have a tendency to be too abstract, and it is on this premise that One World was launched. This premise proved to work well in the Czech republic: first year of the festival - 3000 viewers in 2 cities; second year - 8000 viewers in the 3 cities; third year - 12,000 viewers in the 9 cities; fourth year - 18,500 viewers in the 15 cities. In 2003 One World will again tour 14 cities in the Czech republic and we expect more than 25,000 viewers.