us different
- People experiencing poverty and social exclusion find their own solutions
- They take back ownership of their rights
- Our credibility comes from our action on the ground.
Emmaus has been challenging policy since its very beginnings, ‘To raise awareness and share struggles (…) until the cause of each ill is eliminated’ (Emmaus Universal Manifesto, 1969).
As the movement has developed, Emmaus International has drawn on its members’ action on the ground to build alternatives to current systems and challenge policy-makers and international institutions.
Emmaus International is committed to its work in six priority areas:
- right to water,
- health
- education,
- ethical finance,
- fighting human trafficking,
- international migration
People experiencing poverty and social exclusion come up with alternatives to current systems, which are then used to influence global-level policy.
- Our member organisations around the world find solutions to local-level issues, which the whole movement uses to identify areas in which to take action and challenge policy
- A pilot project is developed by people experiencing poverty and social exclusion and stakeholders in and outside the movement
- The pilot project backs up the movement’s campaigning and policies
Gianni Belletti,
Emmaus International board member,
Emmaus Ferrara, Italy
“The biggest challenge left to us by Abbé Pierre is to fight and eradicate the causes of poverty. At its general assembly held in Ouagadougou in 2003, the movement decided to fight for the right to water, as one of the most important commonly-held resources.
We’ve got to put a stop to this process that, in the past 30 years, has led to the gradual financialisation of society, basic services, nature, land and our very lives themselves.”
"It’s not up to people to conform to the law. It’s up to the law to change so it respects human rights."
