Our history
The establishment of the ACT Alliance did not happen overnight. As the humanitarian crises became more complex the emergency response had to strengthen coordination and effectiveness. In 1993 a meeting of the communicators of church-related humanitarian agencies held in Geneva raised the need for a more integrated approach and visibility of church- related agencies, acting together.
In 1994 and 1995 meetings of the WCC Interim Emergency Committee and the LWF Emergency Working Group laid out the basic elements of a network called ACT International, which focused mainly on humanitarian response. In 2000, the Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance was established to better coordinate towards advocating for marginalized communities’ rights. Finally, in 2007, ACT Development was created to coordinate activities around development and sustainability. It became clear that faith-based agencies and organizations all around the world felt a strong need for acting in concert. In 2009 these three networks voted to come together under Action by Churches Together Alliance, which was launched in 2010 and today counts more than 140 members in 120 countries, becoming the largest coalition of Protestant and Orthodox faith-based actors working on humanitarian, developmental and advocacy issues.
