Set up in 1971 by French priest, Abbé Pierre, Emmaus International is made up of 350 member organisations in 37 different countries in Africa, the Americas, Asia and Europe. These organisations run income-generating activities at local level with people who have experienced social exclusion to access their fundamental rights and, through their collective action, demonstrate there are credible alternatives to injustice.

What makes Emmaus original is that it’s a movement that’s all about bringing people together – people who have experienced, or who are experiencing social exclusion and people from more privileged backgrounds – who together, come up with alternatives to poverty. Emmaus International challenges decision-makers and policy, using its experiences as an example to show how it is possible, and necessary, to implement alternatives to injustice. The universal manifesto, the Emmaus movement’s founding text, was adopted in 1969 and sets out our main ethos: “Serve first those who suffer most” and “raise awareness and share struggles until the cause of each ill is eliminated”. 

Members of Emmaus are local-level organisations, communities, “friends of Emmaus” grouped into voluntary organisations and social enterprises implementing work integration activities with a social purpose. The movement is made up of a wide range of activists working all around the world. To get an idea of their diversity, go to the Emmaus around the world section, which describes all their different activities.