Empowerment through...

Amplifying voices

We facilitate community input through our Field Hearings, gathering people’s ideas about their problems, potential solutions, and priorities for action. Then we amplify these voices nationally and internationally, and advocate for the changes they prioritize.

Empowerment through...

Strategic activism

We enhance political empowerment by working with communities to hold governments accountable. We also host global Action Groups – citizen empowerment collaborations on inequality-related issues such as land grabs or refugees & migrants.

Empowerment through...

Participatory economic enterprises

Economic empowerment is urgently needed alongside social and political empowerment. Our PARTICEN project goes beyond microfinance, working to facilitate community-initiated participatory, democratic, sustainable enterprises.

Modeling democratic governance

IfE’s participatory consultations and democratic governance are an empowering experience for our partners, especially those who live in undemocratic states. We are not a top-down organization: our decision-making starts with the priorities expressed by community members, and moves up through network-wide consultations, the project Steering Committees, and elected Boards of Advisors and Directors.

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Our Impact

Global Network

IfE is building a network of members and partners around the world – in over 130 countries so far – and has held Field Hearings in 115 communities.

 Join the network!

Equity Treaty

IfE convened the first global civil society negotiated statement on inequality, and uses this ‘Equity Treaty’ around the world to push for a focus on equality.

Sign the Equity Treaty!

Monitoring & Accountability

IfE successfully proposed Goal 10 – reduce inequalities – as one of 17 global development goals. Now we are coordinating a citizen monitoring network to see that it happens.

Organize citizen monitoring in your community!

Climate Justice

IfE helped make inequalities a key part of the climate debate through our “Call to Address Inequalities and Social Justice,” brought into the COP21 meetings in Paris 2015.

Sign the Call!

Action Groups

IfE is supporting Action Groups – global collaborations among activists working to overcome specific social, economic or political inequalities.

Join an Action Group!

Economic Development

IfE is promoting more sustainable and democratic economies by facilitating local discussions on community-initiated economic development.

Launch a discussion!

Current News

Go to Archives

Urgent Call for Human Rights and Justice

Call to Protect Human Rights, Uphold International Law, and Bring About Justice between Israel and the Palestinian People   We have watched with horror: as Israeli civilians were indiscriminately attacked, killed, and captured by Hamas militants in response to... read more

We should be learning from the Batwa, not destroying them

Batwa Chief Amani Douze has seen his village of Buhoyi come under attack repeatedly, including burning homes, rapes, stealing money and household goods, torture, and forced displacements, by militias determined to control access to the nearby minerals. In April of... read more