EMS commits to clear standards and will make its work even more transparent in the future.

The Evangelical Mission in Solidarity (EMS) has joined the Transparent Civil Society Initiative (ITZ). With this voluntary commitment, EMS sends a clear signal for greater transparency and trust. That strengthens the credibility of its international work and of the collaboration within its network of member churches and mission societies towards supporters and donors.

The ITZ aims to make essential information about civil society organisations easily accessible. This includes clear insights into their organisational structures, decision‑making processes, and the origin and use of their funds. By providing this transparency, it becomes easier to understand how organisations operate and how they take responsibility.

For EMS, joining the initiative is part of a broader process. The organisation continuously develops its communication and structures to strengthen trust in a sustainable way. Especially in an international context and in cooperation with many partners, it is essential to clearly demonstrate how funds are used and what impact they achieve.

“We want to be transparent about what we do – and why we do it. Trust does not arise automatically; it grows when people understand how we work and what we achieve with the resources entrusted to us,” says EMS General Secretary Dr Dieter Heidtmann.

As an international network of churches and mission societies in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East, EMS promotes partnership-based cooperation across borders. Transparency is key to making this cooperation understandable and providing a reliable foundation for joint action.

Launched in 2010, the Transparent Civil Society Initiative is supported by Transparency International Germany. Many organisations have already joined, committing themselves to shared principles such as integrity, accountability, and transparency.

Here you can find the ten transparency points of the Transparent Civil Society Initiative that we are committed to publishing: https://ems-online.org/ueber-uns/transparenz