About ERI

What is Edmund Rice International?

Edmund Rice International (ERI) is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) granted ECOSOC status at the UN in 2012, and committed to working for children and young people who are marginalised because of poverty, lack of access to education, legal status, environmental degradation, or involvement in armed conflict.

ERI works at the international level to promote and protect the rights of children and young people particularly in regard to education. Care for the environment is a value that is embedded in all that we do.

Inspired by the vision and life of Blessed Edmund Rice, we believe that education in all its forms offers opportunities for the promotion of a rights-based and faith-based approach to social justice and ecological advocacy.

We work in partnership with other faith-based groups in the promotion of peace and justice. Our work involves engagement with the change-makers at the international level in order to bring issues and situations to the attention of the international community at the United Nations in New York and Geneva as we seek shared solutions to the issues affecting the lives of the most vulnerable people on our planet..

We are committed to bringing about God’s dream for the world and for humanity. God’s dream is also ours.

Click here to watch a video presentation introducing the work of ERI.

How did Edmund Rice International come into existence?

ERI was founded jointly by two Roman Catholic religious congregations: the Christian Brothers and the Presentation Brothers. It was registered as a legal entity in 2007.

Edmund Rice International is a Company Limited by Guarantee. Registered office: 2/3 Terminus Mills, Clonskeagh Rd, Dublin 6, D06 YP23. Registered in Dublin, Ireland | Registered Number: 435433 | Charity Registration Number: 20065515

ERI adheres to the Charities Governance Code set out by the Irish Charities Regulator

How can a small NGO effect change at the international level?

ERI believes in partnership and working with coalitions. It is already a partner organisation of Franciscans International, a highly respected Catholic NGO working at the global level. Through partnerships and coalitions ERI seeks to amplify the voice of the poor at the international level.

What is the vision of ERI?

We seek to make real the original vision of Edmund Rice to answer the gospel call to establish God’s dream for the world through the promotion of justice and the liberation of people oppressed by poverty, marginalisation and social exclusion.

Why is the NGO called Edmund Rice International?

Blessed Edmund Rice was the founder of the two religious congregations that established Edmund Rice International. Thousands of people throughout the world revere him and are active in promoting his vision of liberation through education. It is for this reason that the NGO has been named Edmund Rice International. ERI is a gathering place for the members of the worldwide Edmund Rice community who are active in social justice and human rights.

What is the focus of ERI at the international level?

Our main focus is the promotion of the Right to Education, the Rights of the Child and Care for the Earth. We are active in the eradication of poverty and in working with people suffering from HIV/AIDS. In many parts of the world Edmund Rice people are working with and on behalf indigenous peoples, migrants, refugees and asylum seekers.