Progressio's history

This history tells a little of where the organisation came from and how it has developed since its inception in 1940.

The Sword of the Spirit

The organisation was founded in response to the silence of the Catholic church's hierarchy in the face of the rise of fascism. Although founded by lay Catholics and supported by Cardinal Hinsley - and known as The Sword of the Spirit - the organisation was ecumenical from the start. Its focus was on a just social order. At that stage it looked primarily to Europe. In the 1950s, it widened its brief to inform people in church and society about the international agenda.

In 1965, The Sword of the Spirit was renamed the Catholic Institute for International Relations (CIIR) with an education section and an overseas volunteer programme. These two sections represent the different approaches that CIIR brought together and which are still relevant today.

The British Volunteer Programme

In 1966, the overseas volunteer programme became part of the UK government's British Volunteer Programme and was in the most part funded by the government Overseas Development Administration (ODA, later the Department for International Development, or DFID).

At first, volunteer placements were linked to the church, but the overseas programme gradually took on more of a serious developmental perspective and was not limited to any particular religious affiliation. We have continued to work with, and be staffed by, people of all faiths and none.

Although best known overseas, the programme worked closely with other sending agencies (through the British Volunteer Agencies Liaison Group) and secured a reputation for professionalism and integrity.

Although at the time it was called a volunteer programme, the organisation does not recruit 'volunteers'. We recruit and place skilled professional development workers to do specific jobs in response to needs identified by our partners in the South. 

A progressive church

Throughout its history, the organisation has sought to influence church and state, most notably to support liberation struggles, grassroots developments and to strengthen a moral voice against human rights abuses. In the 1970s, following the Second Vatican Council and the statement of the Catholic church's commitment to the option for the poor, progressive elements in the Catholic church increasingly supported grassroots liberation movements. There was a clear division within the church between the progressive and the more conservative elements.

CIIR's then education department supported the progressive elements of the church in various liberation and human rights struggles in Central America, southern Africa and Asia. CIIR published booklets on liberation theology and promoted progressive church speakers.

This, however, was only a small part of the work of the department, as detailed policy analysis and innovative work on issues such as drugs, debt and trade were not expressly church linked. CIIR worked in collaboration with others and published high quality analysis.

Early in the 1990s, the overseas programme was renamed International Cooperation for Development (ICD). ICD continued to have ODA funding. Around this time ICD started having national staff in country offices - a vanguard move among development agencies, most of which were still run locally by expatriate staff.

Throughout the 1990s, CIIR's education department (by this time renamed the international policy department) faced difficulties. Funding sources were drying up and there was a proliferation of agencies and academic institutions undertaking development policy work.

The two approaches remained separate and distinct departments within CIIR until January 2000. After an internal process of reflection, CIIR brought the two departments together into one programme department, combining skill-share and advocacy.

The two approaches continue to work in a complementary fashion. Our international advocacy messages are rooted in, and therefore informed and strengthened by, the experience of our partners overseas. The development programme seeks to build the capacity of partners to undertake advocacy themselves.

Since then, the organisation has continued to move ahead with its development work and advocacy. For instance, it is running a campaign to raise awareness of environmental degradation in Latin America and the Caribbean. We have been heavily involved in the churches group of MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY, a major campaign throughout 2005 that is seeking trade justice, the dropping of developing countries' debt, and more and better aid.

2006: CIIR changes its name to Progressio

On 1 January 2006 CIIR changed its name to Progressio to enable it to reach out to a new generation of potential supporters and members with its message of hope and justice.

Extensive research showed that the name CIIR no longer reflected the organisation, what it stood for nor what it sought to do. The full name was also shown to be overly long, difficult to say, and gave an inaccurate and confusing picture of the organisation's work.
 
Progressio is a Latin word meaning development and advancement, the very factors the organisation promotes among its partners, supporters and the general public.

The name Progressio comes from Populorum Progressio, one of the central documents in Catholic Social Teaching that emerged from the Second Vatican Council. Populorum Progressio speaks about the challenges of development and the importance of justice in relations between rich and poor nations.

Progressio will be a working name. This means that the organisation will legally remain CIIR but will be known as Progressio until a full legal changeover is undertaken.