On 13 December, Caritas Internationalis launched its new global campaign “Together We - Act today for a better tomorrow”, during a conference held in Rome at the Pontifical Urbaniana University. Caritas organisations from all over the world are promoting community action for the care of Creation and for the most vulnerable.
Inspired by Pope Francis’ encyclicals Laudato Si’ and Fratelli Tutti, Together We aims to create “communities of care” to implement new actions and initiatives that fight poverty, restore dignity to the excluded, and protect nature, in the spirit of integral ecology. This is the third global campaign of the Confederation and it brings together 162 Caritas organisations worldwide, after One human family, food for all (2013-2016). The campaign was dedicated to food insecurity, and Share the Journey (2017-2021), which focused on the encounter with migrants and refugees.
The new global campaign, which will run until December 2024, calls on communities of care to promote three different types of action. These are:
- raising awareness of the urgent need to restore, protect and renew access to natural resources such as food, water, land and ecosystems
- advocating to governments to ensure that people suffering from the negative effects of social and environmental degradation have a voice in decision-making in order to achieve more inclusive and sustainable societies
- taking action to encourage changes in lifestyles that contribute to a less damaging attitude towards our Common Home.
Recreation of #TogetherWe campaign logo by Caritas Australia staff. Photo by Connie Zehender/Caritas Australia.
Next year will be dedicated to raising awareness, while 2023 will be focused on actions to be taken by the communities that will be mobilised. Finally, in 2024 the successes will be celebrated and good practices will be shared between different communities.
The launch of the campaign also coincided with Caritas Internationalis’ 70th anniversary, which was celebrated on Sunday 12 December 2021.
Seven decades have passed since the Constituent Assembly of our Confederation met in Rome from 12 to 14 December 1951. At that time there were only 13 Caritas members in the Confederation, while today there are 162 operating in 200 countries and territories. Read more about Caritas Internationalis’ anniversary and its incredible history at www.caritas.org.
Caritas Australia invites you to share your stories on care for our common home and for the poor in your communities on social media by using the hashtag #TogetherWe and by tagging @iamCaritas.
