CESE (Ecumenical Coordination of Services) was founded in 1973, to help assert the rights and meet the needs of people in the poorest sectors of Brazilian society. It was created by the founding churches as an ecumenical organization committed to Christian unity; to justice, peace and the integrity of creation; and to affirm life in dialogue and cooperation with people of other faiths including indigenous and Afro-Brazilian. For over 35 years CESE has supported groups and organizations in the struggle to ensure human rights for all Brazilians:
Right to Land and Water
CESE supports landless people and small farmers, indigenous people and quilombolas (traditional black communities) fighting to ensure their right to land and water and for environmental sustainability.
Right to Work and Income
CESE supports groups of producers in rural and urban areas in their efforts to earn a living and to promote solidarity and sustainable development.
Right to Identity in Diversity
CESE supports indigenous people, women, black people, youth and the ecumenical movement and their right to their own identity in the struggle to overcome exclusion and inequality.
Right to the City
CESE supports efforts to ensure adequate housing, education and health; respect for cultural differences and freedom from urban and domestic violence for all citizens.
The following churches are members and active participants in CESE and are represented on the Board of Directors.
- Anglican Episcopal Church of Brazil
- Evangelical Church of Lutheran Confession in Brazil
- Independent Presbyterian Church of Brazil
- Roman Catholic Apostolic Church
- United Presbyterian Church of Brazil.
Priority Populations
In all its activities, CESE strives to help urban and rural populations and ethnic groups who suffer the consequences of extreme inequality in Brazil and who are organizing to affirm their rights through collective action.
Groups receiving support from CESE include social movements, associations, unions, grass-roots groups, cooperatives, networks, forums and NGOs that provide support and consultation services to the popular movements as well as the social service organizations of churches.
Priority populations include:
· In rural areas: landless people, small farmers, salaried farm workers, small producers, fishermen and fisherwomen, and other traditional populations
· In cities: homeless people, those living in impoverished areas, persons with disabilities, garbage recyclers, workers in the informal economy, the unemployed
· Regarding ethnicity: indigenous people, quilombolas (traditional black communities), and the urban black population
· Regarding specific age groups: children and youth.
Dialogue and Networking
As an ecumenical organization, CESE participates as a member of Latin American and international church organizations including the World Council of Churches, ACT-D (an ecumenical alliance for development), the Latin American Council of Churches, PAD (Process of Dialogue and Networking between European ccumenical agencies and their Brazilian partners) and FE-Brazil (Ecumenical Forum of Brazil).
On social issues, CESE collaborates in Brazilian forums including the National Forum for Human Rights, the National Forum for Urban Reform, the National Forum for Agrarian Reform, the Brazilian Forum for Food Security and the Network of the Semi-arid Region (ASA).
CESE also works directly with its own member churches throughout Brazil in an annual campaign called Spring to Life (Primavera para a Vida) with the following objectives:
· broaden discussion with churches reinforcing their solidarity with marginalized and excluded groups,
· increase national awareness of CESE and its work and
· raise funds to support CESE’s work.
CESE is an ecumenical not-for-profit organization established in 1973 by Brazilian churches that came together as one in their commitment to promote, guarantee and defend human rights, justice and peace.
RSS da CESE