ARCS deals with solidarity and international cooperation, volunteering and global citizenship education, humanitarian aid and shelter / hospitality.

Founded in 1985, ARCS Arci Culture Solidali APS (arcsculturesolidali.org) is a Social Promotion Association for solidarity, cooperation and international volunteer work, founded on the initiative of ARCI (arci.it), an important National Network of the Third Sector.

ARCS is registered in the List of Civil Society Organizations (CSO) of AICS, the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (aics.gov.it/home-ita/opportunita/area-osc), with decree n.2016/337/000132/3, as subject referred to art. 26 of Law 125/2014.

ARCS is registered since the 21st November 2011 in the National Register of the Social Promotion Associations pursuant to and for the purposes of Law 7 December 2000, n. 383, transmigrated to the RUNTS, the Third Sector Single Register.

Mission and Vision

ARCS promotes inside the communities processes of social change, of education to global citizenship, to peace and intercultural and intergenerational dialogue, and of strengthening democratic ownership. ARCS builds national and international partnerships based on equal dignity and respect for diversity and differences.

ARCS puts at the center of its mission and action:

• full social, economic, labour and cultural inclusion
• affirmation and defense of civil rights
• gender empowerment
• mobility and free aggregation
• humanitarian aid, protection and reception of refugees and immigrants
• education and training
• protection of common goods
• social and environmental sustainability
• civil rights / human rights
• promotion of Peace

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is the basis of ARCS strategy.

On the ARCS website at the link arcsculturesolidali.org/about-us/ you can consult and download the organisation’s code of ethics, the statute, the social report, the gender policy and other publications of the organization.

Areas of intervention:

• Solidarity and international cooperation
• Humanitarian aid in emergencies
• Reception and social inclusion of refugees
• Migration and co-development
• Volunteering
• Human rights, democracy and peace
• Intercultural and intergenerational dialogue
• Gender empowerment
• Childhood
• Formal and informal education
• Education to global citizenship
• Training
• Democratic ownership
• Social inclusion
• Decent work
• Health
• Agroecology and food sovereignty
• Social and solidarity economy
• Environment and common goods
• Renewable energies
• Protection of tangible and intangible heritage
• Cultural promotion
• Sustainable tourism

USEFUL DOCUMENTS

• Statute
• Code of Ethics
• Privacy Policy
• Social report (2022 – 2021 – 2020 – 2019 – 2018 – 2017 – 2016)
• Activity reports (2022 ITA / ENG / FRA – 2021 ITA / ENG – 2020 ITA / ENG / FRA – 2019 ITA / ENG / FRA / SPA – 2018 ITA / ENG / FRA / SPA – 2017 ITA / ENG / FRA / SPA – 2016 – 2015/2014)
• Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse
• Gender Policy
• Middle East and North Africa Area Brochure
• Prisons Lebanon Brochure

Transparency and accountability

Since 2011, ARCS is subject to the certification procedures of the Italian Institute of Donation (istitutoitalianodonazione.it) concerning the correct and transparent use of the funds raised and their use in effective and sustainable actions in line with its mission. ARCS voluntarily adheres to the European Transparency Register, established within the Joint Secretariat of the Transparency Register. Together with the economic and financial reports, ARCS has been drawing up the Social Report annually since 2011 and enters its transparency data in Open-Cooperation (open-cooperazione.it), the open data of the Italian Non-Governmental Organizations.

On the ARCS APS website at the link arcsculturesolidali.org/transparency/ it is possible to consult and download the organisation’s financial report and other administrative and financial documents of the organization.

Global Citizenship Education, Volunteering and Youth Mobility

The national and local headquarters of ARCS APS in Italy that coordinate and involve volunteers in the global citizenship and peace awareness and education programmes, and in the association’s fundraising initiatives. ARCS APS promotes global citizenship education also through volunteering and international youth mobility: Universal Civil Service (UCI), Erasmus+ programmes, European Solidarity Corps, photography workshops.

ARCS offers training opportunities and internships abroad in collaboration with universities and training and research centers.

Networks

Participation and involvement are at the basis of ARCS’s solidarity path, which translates into international solidarity and cooperation programs with a relevant global partnership. ARCS APS enhances this relational heritage by participating in consortia, interest groups, foundations, networks and social representatives.

ARCS APS adheres to:

• AITR Associazione Italiana Turismo responsabile (Italian Association for Responsible Tourism)
• Anna Lindh Foundation
• AOI Associazione delle organizzazioni italiane di cooperazione e solidarietà internazionale (Association of Italian Organisations for International Co-operation and Solidarity)
• Me Contemporaneo Mediterraneo
• CONCORD Italia
• Cooperazione Lazio (Cooperation of Lazio Region)
• Fondazione Triulza
• Forum SaD (Permanent forum for distance support)
• GCAP Coalizione italiana contro la Povertà (Italian Coalition Against Poverty)
• GCE Italia Global Campaign for Education
• ICP Interventi Civili di Pace (Civil Peace Interventions)
• IFS International Federation of Settlements and Neighborhood Centers
• Piattaforma delle ONG italiane in Medio Oriente e Mediterraneo (Platform of Italian NGOs in the Middle East and Mediterranean)
• The Italian Network for Euro-Mediterranean Dialogue RIDE
• SOLIDAR Advancing Social Justice in Europe and Worldwide

ARCS APS  in the World

International Offices:  Bosnia Erzegovina, Serbia, Camerun, Colombia, Cuba, Jordan, Lebanon, Senegal, Syria, Tunisia, Ukraine.

ARCS APS also operates in Poland, Rwanda, Western Sahara, Palestinian Territories.

Funders and donors

• AICS (Agenzia Italiana per la Cooperazione allo Sviluppo) Italian Agency for Development Cooperation
• MAECI (Ministero Affari Esteri e Cooperazione Internazionale) The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation
• MLPS (Ministero del Lavoro e delle Politiche Sociali) Ministry of Labour and Social Policy
• MINT (Ministero dell’Interno) Ministry of Interior
• PCM (Presidenza del Consiglio dei Ministri) Presidency of the Council of Ministers / Development cooperation agencies of other countries
• Italian and foreign embassies and consulates abroad
• EACEA (Agenzia esecutiva per l’istruzione, gli audiovisivi e la cultura) Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency
• ANG (Agenzia Nazionale per i Giovani) The Italian youth agency
• Local Authorities
• CEI (Conferenza Episcopale Italiana)
• Profit and non-profit bodies and organisations
• National and international private and banking foundations
• OCHA (UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs)
• The Waldesian Evangelical Church
• EU (European Union)
• National and International Universities and Academies