Stefanus Alliance International
Stefanusalliansen, or Stefanus Alliance International, is a Christian mission and human rights organisation, with a special focus on freedom of religion and belief as expressed in §18 of the UN Human Rights Declaration.
The history of the Stefanus Alliance International
The Stefanus Alliance International was established in November 1967 as Misjon bak Jernteppet (‘Mission behind the Iron Curtain’). The aim was to support Christians behind the Iron Curtain with Bibles and advocacy.
“The Iron Curtain” was a political border dividing Europe into two, after the second world war ended in 1945. As the Iron Curtain fell apart from1989, the name of our organisation was changed to Norsk Misjon i Øst (‘Norwegian Mission to the East’) in 1990. The work expanded to new countries where the freedom of religion or belief were violated, the first country was Vietnam. We also acquired partners in the Middle East, e.g. in Egypt.
As our work expanded, the organisation has since 2012 been named after the first martyr of the Christian church, St. Stephen. In 2017 we celebrated our 50th anniversary, and we are continuing to grow.
Together for the persecuted
Stefanus Alliance International is ecumenical and independent. Our motto is: «Together for the persecuted.» We provide support, care, and practical help for churches and individuals that are being persecuted or oppressed because of their religious beliefs. Through focusing on incidents where freedom of religion or belief (FORB) is violated, we aim to put pressure on the authorities in countries where such violations are taking place.
With our Christian foundation we are advocating freedom of religion or belief for everyone. We lobby towards the Norwegian government and parlamentarians to address these issues. We also challenge individuals to write letters of appeal for people imprisoned for their religion or belief. This way we advocate on behalf of those who have had their religious rights violated. We also address FORB internationally through networks and partners. In addition to this, we have supporters who pray regularly for people suffering for their belief.
Stefanus Alliance International is based in Oslo, Norway. We support projects, have partners and are included in a vast network in many countries throughout Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Asia, Middle East and North-Africa.
We also support churches and organisations doing Christian mission and sharing their faith in countries where FORB is violated.
Funding and partners
Most of our income comes from from private donors, most of them ordinary people, and from church-congregations and groups.
Some projects are financed with support from Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD), through Digni.
Resources for FORB-education and Access to justice are developed in cooperation with a nordic ecumenical network, NORFORB. From 2018 this is done with financial support from the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
We have for example highlighted FORB and womens rights.
The digital resources for training of FORB-trainers are used in a lot of countries in many parts of the world. It is translated to arabic and contextualised for use ín the Middle East and North Africa by our partner Adyan Foundation in Lebanon.
Check out our digital learning platforms.