ATD Fourth World

Skills for Life

2010-03-18T08:25:45Z

Representation at the European Union

2010-03-18T08:19:02Z

- Working for participation by, and representation of, disadvantaged population groups within local, national, and international bodies.

Conference "Exclusion, a Challenge to Democracy." imprimer

2010-03-18T08:14:19Z

It was democracy in action, December 17-19, 2008, when more than 300 participants, academics, grass roots workers, and persons living in extreme poverty, met for a colloquium at the Political Science Faculty in Paris, France. - Conducting research to expand knowledge.

The Research and Training Institute

2010-03-18T08:08:47Z

Street Libraries in Poland

2010-03-18T08:03:46Z

Make a donation

2010-03-18T07:11:13Z

Your donation and support are expressions of your solidarity with those who are fighting poverty and exclusion throughout the world.

I'd like to make an on-line donation in € (euros), for which I'll receive a French tax receipt, via the secure on-line payment system using a Visa / MasterCard: click here

I'd like to make an on-line donation in U.S. $ (U.S. dollars) through the US National Website, click here

I'd like to make an on-line donation in £ (pound sterling) through the UK National Website click here

I'd like to make an on-line donation in £ (pound sterling) for "HAITI, Together Now and in the Long Run" click here

I'd like to make an on-line donation in CHF (Swiss francs), for which I'll receive a Swiss tax receipt, click here

I'd like to make a donation by post or in any other currency, click here (french page)

Full-time volunteers' basic wages and salary donation

2010-03-17T17:38:07Z

ATD Fourth World's full-time volunteers all receive the same monthly basic wage, regardless of how long they have been with the organisation or their responsibilities. - Join our international team of full-time volunteers

Get involved

2010-03-17T17:36:22Z

Everyone who gets involved provides hope for the poorest

ATD Fourth World only exists thanks to the contributions of over a hundred thousand people who offer their skills and time to our fight against poverty, often alongside poor people and communities, or by supporting those living in poverty.

In their own circles, they try to bring about the necessary social change in order to fight social exclusion and injustice and to get other people involved in building a society without poverty. There are many ways you can get involved. Here are just a few examples:

by bringing your artistic skills to a Summer Street Workshop;
by helping with fundraising;
by taking part in a research project;
by visiting very excluded families;
by helping in our offices;
by taking part in teachers' groups that aim to enable every child to learn at school;
by helping to dialogue with the political world.

Everyone who gets involved provides hope for the poorest. If you want to get involved, don't hesitate to get in touch with us, either by contacting the team in your country or our International Centre.

Contact an ATD Fourth World team in your area.

Full-time volunteers' basic wages and salary donation

2010-03-17T17:07:43Z

The decision that all volunteers should receive the same amount is a unique choice which was made at the very beginning of the ATD Fourth World's existence, and which is very important to the volunteers. It means that there is no hierarchy in terms of salary. The wage is calculated in terms of the minimum wage in the country where the volunteers are working. In France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, for example, full-time volunteers receive a monthly wage of €550, plus between €75 and €165 per child, a contribution towards housing cost, as well as the social protection in the particular country. This basic but regular wage, gives the volunteers a freedom which is necessary to fully undertake their responsibilities. The fact that the wage is low is both to do with the limited resources we have available, and the desire of the volunteers to live modestly.

The wages are paid by the volunteers' association, which distributes the resource to volunteers (chiefly volunteers' salaries paid for by subsidies from public or private funds, and donations from individuals specifically dedicated to the volunteers).

There are already hundreds of people who want to make a strong commitment to the work of the volunteers and who have chosen to donate a percentage of their salary (or pension, etc.) to the volunteers' association. Peoples' donations vary from 5% to 10% of their salary, or even more, which is transferred to the volunteers' association, guaranteeing it a regular income. There are, naturally, many reasons for making such a choice. For some people, it's because they spent several years of their life in the International Volunteer Corps and had to leave for personal reasons, but want to remain in solidarity. Others would have liked to become volunteers, but were not free to do so because of family or professional ties. For them, contributing to the volunteers' salaries is another way of putting their wish into practice. Most people ask to be kept informed about the work of the volunteers that they support through their donation. This is done on a regular basis by letters and by publications by ATD Fourth World.

Do you want to support the full-time volunteers? Make a donation, or better still, give a percentage of your salary or pension every month to the "Fondation ATD Quart Monde", stating "for the volunteer corps".

Contribution to the 2nd action plan consultation for the fight against poverty in Quebec

2010-03-15T09:18:31Z

The committee firstly highlights that fighting against poverty demands the greater respect of human rights. This is because people living in poverty often tell us that they feel their dignity is diminished, and that they do not feel respected by other people. They are often subject to prejudices. Affirming the dignity of all individuals demands a change in personal attitudes, but also collective government-led action. In the Charter of the rights and liberty of the individual in Quebec, greater weight should be given to articles concerning economic and social rights. Moreover, the governments of Quebec and Canada should take more seriously their joint engagements to the International Pact for economic, social and cultural rights (ICESCR)

The committee next reiterates the three major demands voiced in the petition “Collective mission: building a poverty-free Quebec”, which was supported by 100,000 signatories, a thousand organisations and delivered by over a thousand people in May 2009 to the Quebec National Assembly. The petition states that all men and women should have access to high quality universal public services, to a minimum wage allowing to escape from poverty, and to a last recourse aid which would guarantee an income to safeguard individuals' dignity and health. The Consultative committee for the fight against social poverty and exclusion (CCFSPE) has discreetly but insistently carried out significant work since its creation in 2006, setting out a series of recommendations for fighting more effectively against poverty and social exclusion. Through Réjeanne Pagé, who is a member of both the Consultative committee for the fight against poverty and the ATD Fourth World legal committee, we were able to closely follow this work. As a whole, the CCFSPE's 61 recommendations, which were published over a series of four announcements, are valid and deserve the government's adherence. One disappointment: we would have liked to see more strongly recommended the increase of the minimum financial support level. The goal should be to cover 100% rather than 80% of the Market Basket Level (MBL).

A dozen recommendations in the legal committee's text go on to address a variety of issues: the right for two hearing aids for people with poor hearing, speedier complaints processing by the housing department, the fight against substandard housing, accessibility to the Éconologis programme, the difficult of groups in accessing preschool centers, increasing energy costs, the abolition of forced employment categories for last recourse aid, etc.

The ATD Fourth World movement sent a copy of its contribution to the Minister for Employment and Social Solidarity, Mr Sam Amad, as well as to the heads of the opposition parties.