INTERNATIONAL MOVEMENT The international Fourth World Movement was founded in 1957, in a camp for homeless families outside Paris, by the late Father Joseph Wresinski, a Catholic priest, who himself grew up in poverty. " Aide à Toute Détresse"-Aid in Total Distress- was the first name of the association. The name Fourth World came later and was coined after the Fourth Estate of the French Revolution, which comprised the very poorest people struggling to be represented in the political changes of the time.
Today ATD Fourth World operates in eight Europeans countries, Northern and Central America, and several countries in Africa and Asia.
The Movement has three major lines of action:
The importance placed on the family unit by the most vulnerable and disadvantaged communities has dictated ATD Fourth World's focus on the family. Also in accordance with the wishes of the very poor, programmes emphasise education and training. These include nursery schools, family centres, literacy and basic skills training, regular Fourth World University gatherings and artistic and cultural programmes with children and young people.
Lont-term responsability for ATD Fourth World's programmes is taken by members of its Volunteer Corps. Of different nationalities, faiths and professions, they bear witness to the courage and endurance of the families in permanent poverty and foster links between these familes and mainstream society.
ATD Fourth World's long term commitment to the very poor provides a basis for its initiatives and campaigns with local, national and international official bodies. ATD Fourth World has consultative status with ECOSOC, UNICEF, ILO and the Council of Europe and has successfully lobbied to have countries re-evaluate the effects of development on those who are least able to participate.