We were founded in 1851, meaning almost 170 years ago. On December 14, 2019, our members gathered for an Extraordinary World Congress and unanimously decided to change our name. We are now Movendi International and I’m proud of how far we have come since 1851. We have successfully transitioned into two new centuries as a global movement and as times are changing ever faster and ever more dramatically, it is our challenge to adapt. Such adaption processes require honesty and open-mindedness and a focus on our values, vision and mission…
Kristina’s latest blog post explores the three reasons why changing the name is the way to go and the two reasons why Movendi was the choice to go with; as the name change concludes a decade-long modernization process, she also links back to the proud historical context in order to chart the way into the future of the 21st century…

We were founded in 1851, meaning almost 170 years ago. On December 14, 2019, our members gathered for an Extraordinary World Congress and unanimously decided to change our name. We are now Movendi International and I’m proud of how far we have come since 1851. We have successfully transitioned into two new centuries as a global movement and as times are changing ever faster and ever more dramatically, it is our challenge to adapt. Such adaption processes demand honesty and open-mindedness and a focus on our values, vision and mission.

Meet Movendi International

As you can sense, I feel very honored and blessed to lead this organization. Our historic achievements are considerable. And I think it’s important to bring this work and these achievements into a new time, for more generations to benefit and to get engaged in our movement.

Movendi International – Development through alcohol prevention, is the name and slogan that we have chosen for this journey because it captures many elements of who we are, what we do, what we stand for and what we want to achieve.

Why changing the name?

Changing the name of an organization and movement that so many members have dedicated their lives to and have spend countless and invaluable hours to help make the world a better place is not easy and not a simple task. Changing the name of an organization like ours that does such diverse work is also a serious challenge.

We decided to change our name because the benefits are substantial. We look at three main reasons:

  1. The new name reflects better who we are in the 21st century.
  2. The new name allows us to expresses more positively what we do and what we stand for.
  3. The new name makes it much easier for our members, friends and partners to talk about our work and movement.

We are a movement of people and communities that advocate alcohol policy solutions as catalyst to achieve development for all. We believe a better world is possible for all. And we are the largest global community of people supporting a way of life free from alcohol and other drugs and free to promote solidarity, democracy and human dignity. We believe every person is equal and has the right to grow up and live in environments that enable thriving.

Why Movendi?

There are two main reasons for choosing Movendi.

  1. It emphasizes that we are a movement, a popular movement for development through alcohol prevention.
  2. It highlights that we are a community, a global community promoting a solidaric and healthy way of life.

The name captures the two key elements of our organization: Movendi means movement and motion, and it consists of “modus vivendi” which is latin for way of life.

Both elements are foundational and essential for our organization. Our members lead by example and they stand for a way of life that begins with their own, personal commitment. But our work goes beyond personal dedication and seeks to address the larger context – to create better societies for all, through shaping the norms and policies that govern our societies.

Movement for development through alcohol prevention

We work to promote development in four dimensions:

  • the personal,
  • the community,
  • the societal and
  • the global dimension.

All four dimensions are interlinked and necessary to build a better world for all.

Alcohol prevention for us means a comprehensive approach across the spectrum of harm caused by alcohol and other drugs.

  • Prevention is important to ensure harm does not occur; but when harm occurs it is essential to provide support for early identification, treatment and recovery – this includes not only users but also people around the users affected by harm; and it covers the entire lifespan. Prevention and support for people affected by harm also depend on the policies and norms that govern a community or society.
  • Therefore, part of what we mean by alcohol prevention is our work to establish positive norms and question harmful ones, to raise awareness of the real effects and harm of alcohol and to counter-act the economic forces that profit from alcohol use and related harm.
  • And part of this comprehensive approach is advocacy work to formulate and implement cost-effective, high-impact, evidence-based policy solutions on the population level.

It means that alcohol prevention covers the population-level policy and personal dimensions, the norms and awareness aspects as well as the dimension of the commercial determinants of health and development.

We truly are a global community: currently we are 137 Member Organizations in 56 countries – with new membership applications coming in, both from NGOs and individuals. This grass-roots dimension is also foundational and essential to who we are and how we work. We are a global social movement – people in motion towards a better world – where most members are heart-driven volunteers, not professionals, who get involved to help prevent and reduce alcohol harm in their communities.

And our way of life is rooted in the mission and vision of Movendi International. It’s where our historic roots are and where the link to our founders and proud history will always remain. It is also where we innovate by harnessing the ideas and questions of new leaders and new champions with fresh approaches.

Movendi’s vision

Our vision is a world of peace, democracy and justice where free and healthy citizens actively contribute in all levels of society. It is a life for all human beings free to live up to their fullest potential, and free from harm caused by alcohol and other drugs.

Movendi’s mission

Our mission is to unite, strengthen and empower civil society to tackle alcohol and other drugs as serious obstacles to development on personal, community, societal and global level.
Movendi International advocates for comprehensive and evidence-based solutions consisting of public policy measures as well as scientific research, prevention, education and awareness raising, capacity building and treatment and rehabilitation.

Movendi International promotes a lifestyle free from alcohol and other drugs.

Movendi’s core values

Human rights and global solidarity

Movendi International is a global community and movement of human rights defenders resting on the principles of international solidarity, the universality and indivisibility of human rights, independence, democracy and mutual respect. Movendi International believes that each human being is unique and has an infinite value. Everyone is entitled to personal freedom and is encouraged to work for the improvement of the quality of life of all people.

Democracy

Movendi International fosters active citizenship and community engagement in order to promote democracy at all levels of society.

Peace and sustainable development

Movendi International works for peace by promoting sustainable development and protecting human rights and human dignity. Furthermore, Movendi International advocates for the peaceful settlement of conflicts between individuals and groups. Member organizations are encouraged to work towards peace among nations.

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For historical context: from IOGT to Movendi

We are very proud of our history. Our historic achievements range from protecting people and communities from alcohol harm, helping introduce alcohol policy regulations in countries around the world and developing effective community programs for children, youth, families and people affected by alcohol harm, to advancing women’s (voting) rights, improve the conditions of workers, promote life-long learning and non-formal education for all, and helping to tackle alcohol as obstacle to development in the poorest and most marginalized communities and societies around the world. All this work over all this time means that we posses a vast treasure of experience and expertise.

But 169 years of work also brings with it a number of challenges. We have successfully transitioned into two new centuries as a global movement and as times are changing ever faster and ever more dramatically, it is our challenge to adapt. Such adaption processes demand honesty and open-mindedness and a focus on our values, vision and mission. It requires the ability to honestly assess our role in our communities and societies; it requires to analyze our work and ask whether it lives up to our vision and mission or whether we need to change and improve it; and it requires open-mindedness to embrace new times and prepare to change with society around us.

I’m proud and humbled to reflect about our movement, as we have been able to launch and go through such a process of adaption. It’s taken us a decade, from launch in 2008/ 2009 until 2019 with the final decision that concludes our modernization work.

Our vision and mission is more relevant than ever, as Big Alcohol is growing stronger, as alcohol use and related harm is increasing in many societies worldwide, and as alcohol’s burden on women, children, Human Rights and sustainable development in general is not yet properly addressed.

But our theory of change needed upgrading, our language needed freshening up, our programs needed to be analyzed for their effectiveness and evidence-base, our approach needed to be modernized and our appearence needed to be brought into the 21st century.

I’m proud and happy to reflect about this process and to come to the realization that we have successfully gone through this process – together, in numerous World Congress sessions and in honest, constructive deliberations with our members. In the process we have grown: literally and figuratively. As we have expanded our global umbrella more NGOs and people have joined us – clearly showing the big need for addressing alcohol as obstacle to development. And as we analyzed our work and challenged ourselves, we have also improved our programs, projects and ability to collaborate with more partners and institutions.

For us, the final step was to change our name. From IOGT International to Movendi International. This change has been a long time coming, as members discussed it since 2002.

We are now ready more than ever to build on the work we have done and the changes we have already implemented in the last decade. We are ready for the challenges of the future and we prepared to take our work to the next level in the coming decade.

The History