Oxfam Intermón

Oxfam Intermón is a Spanish non-governmental development organization and humanitarian organization affiliated with the Oxfam confederation. It traces its origins to 11 August 1956, when Intermón was established in Barcelona as the Secretariado de Misiones y Propaganda of the Society of Jesus, initially supporting missions in Bolivia, Paraguay, and India. Over time, its work moved from a religious and assistance-oriented starting point toward social justice, development cooperation, and efforts to address the causes of poverty and inequality. The organization works through a combination of development cooperation, humanitarian response, advocacy and public mobilization, and fair trade. Its current areas of work include humanitarian crises, social and economic transformation, climate emergency, and fundamental rights. The organization describes its purpose as working with and for disadvantaged communities to challenge inequality and poverty and enable people to exercise their rights and live with dignity. Its work addresses economic, social, political, environmental, and gender-related dimensions of inequality, linking local action with global efforts. Oxfam Intermón is the Spanish representation of Oxfam International and joined the international confederation in 1997. The confederation brings together organizations that retain their own identities while coordinating on shared principles, international strategies, campaigns, and humanitarian response. Oxfam Intermón is governed in Spain by a board of trustees, described as including independent people from civil society, academia, business, and other organizations. Its work includes support for communities affected by armed conflict and natural disasters, efforts to reduce vulnerability to crises, advocacy on fundamental rights, and support for women's rights and gender equality. It also offers ways for the public to participate, including donations, membership, volunteering, petitions, and fair-trade purchases. The official site promotes an online shop featuring fair-trade products and reports a presence in 77 countries and 44 cities in Spain. The organization also publishes news, reports, and press releases. Its public-facing motto, as reported in the supplied Spanish Wikipedia excerpt, is “La igualdad es el futuro” (“Equality is the future”).

Intermón began in Barcelona on 11 August 1956 as the Secretariado de Misiones y Propaganda of the Society of Jesus. Its initial purpose was to support missions in Bolivia, Paraguay, and India. The organization’s early identity was religious and assistance-oriented, but its focus changed over time. During the 1960s, it developed a clearer emphasis on denunciation and the defense of justice. From the 1970s, it became secular and independent and worked toward social transformation in both countries of the Global North and the Global South. The organization’s evolution reflected a broader approach to poverty: rather than treating hunger as an isolated problem, it came to address underlying causes and their connections. The supplied Spanish Wikipedia article describes its current approach as combining practical and specialist knowledge, analysis, and advocacy. Its areas of activity include development cooperation, humanitarian action, political advocacy, social mobilization, and fair trade. It also works on fundamental rights, with attention to participation by communities affected by poverty and exclusion, women's leadership, gender equity, and legal and cultural change. A major institutional turning point came in 1997, when Intermón joined Oxfam and became the Spanish representation of Oxfam International. The Oxfam organizations maintain distinct identities and independence while sharing principles and cooperating on strategies, international campaigns, and responses to major humanitarian emergencies. In 2013, Oxfam International agreed to work together on a single strategic plan, with the stated aim of coordinating efforts and increasing the impact of its global objectives. The international secretariat coordinates the confederation and helps align its operations, branding, and identity. Oxfam Intermón is described in the supplied material as a Spanish development NGO and a foundation governed by a board of trustees. The Spanish Wikipedia excerpt reports a headquarters in Barcelona and offices in Bilbao, Madrid, Seville, and Valencia, as well as local committees and fair-trade shops; those counts are not repeated here as current figures because the excerpt does not establish that they remain current. The official site currently presents work on humanitarian crises, social and economic transformation, climate emergency, and fundamental rights, and says the organization is present in 77 countries and 44 cities in Spain. It invites public participation through membership, donations, volunteering, petitions, and purchases from its fair-trade shop. The official homepage also marks 1956–2026 as 70 years of work.

• 2026

  Official site marks 70 years

• 2013

  Oxfam International agrees on a shared strategic plan

• 1997

  Intermón joins Oxfam

• 1970

  Transition toward a secular, independent organization

• 1960

  A stronger focus on justice

• 1956

  Intermón is founded in Barcelona

A Spanish member of the Oxfam confederation that combines humanitarian response, development cooperation, advocacy, public mobilization, and fair trade to address poverty and inequality.

• Humanitarian response

  Assistance and crisis response for people affected by humanitarian emergencies, including conflict and disasters.

• Development cooperation

  Programs addressing poverty and its underlying causes through social and economic transformation.

• Fair-trade shop

  An online shop promoted by the official site, offering fair-trade products.

• 2013

  Move toward coordinated confederation-wide planningOther

• 1997

  Joined the Oxfam confederationOther

1. 1Oxfam Intermón | ONG de cooperación internacional y comercio justooxfamintermon.org
2. 2Contactaoxfamintermon.org
3. 3Oxfam Intermónes.wikipedia.org
4. 4Oxfam Intermónwikidata.org