Made up of over 425 local organisations around the world, Emmaus International operates using a decentralised approach. Driven by a desire to bring the movement to life on several levels, Emmaus International is organised into four regions: Africa, the Americas, Asia and Europe.

The decision to decentralise the Emmaus movement was made at the 2003 General Assembly. It was born out of the need for Emmaus to make its political voice heard and take action at all levels.

As part of this devolved structure, the members of Emmaus International in a given region form a regional organisation (Emmaus Africa, Emmaus Americas, Emmaus Asia and Emmaus Europe), whose task is to implement the decisions taken at international level and tailor them to the region. These regions constitute devolved structures to which the following functions are delegated, including but not limited to: the coordination of the region and its members, the organisation of resource sharing and solidarity between groups, the development of a regional political stance, the monitoring and support of new member groups and the training of regional stakeholders.

The four Emmaus regions

The régions of Africa, the Americas, Asia and Europe on the world map