Most of Italy’s global development NGOs are relatively small, with less than 100 staff. But they’re influential nevertheless, especially through networks such as CINI, FOCSIV, COCIS, CIPSI and LINK2007.

Proof of the Italian NGO community’s clout: The country’s first-ever minister for international cooperation and integration, Andrea Riccardi, is a seasoned nonprofit leader.

Italy’s NGO community includes a good number of religious groups, as the country hosts the Holy See. These organizations have an impressive track record of mobilizing and raising funds and working in international missions.

Here are some of the largest and most prominent Italian NGOs engaged in humanitarian aid and international cooperation. Visit the Devex jobs board to find jobs with these or other groups.

AVSI

Founded: 1972
Secretary-general: Alberto Piatti
Headquarters: Milan

AVSI’s mission is to support human development in developing countries in accordance with the Roman Catholic Church’s social teaching. It operates in 38 countries, implementing more than 100 projects in the areas of education, urban development, health, agriculture, food security and water, energy and environment, humanitarian assistance, and migration. AVSI, which has an office in Washington, D.C., is registered as a private voluntary organization with the U.S. Agency for International Development and holds general consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council.

CESVI

Founded: 1985
President: Giangi Milesi
Headquarters: Bergamo

CESVI implements humanitarian, reconstruction and development projects in 30 countries. In 2010, it implemented 192 projects, which involved 145 local partners in 28 poor nations and directly benefited more than 2.2 million people. CESVI’s workforce in the same year included 40 at headquarters, 191 expatriates, 894 local staff and 970 active volunteers.

Doctors with Africa Cuamm

Founded: 1950
Executive director: Dante Carraro
Headquarters: Padua

The first health-focused NGO recognized by Italy is also the country’s largest organization working to improve the health conditions of people in sub-Saharan Africa. It runs long-term programs in Angola, Ethiopia, Mozambique, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda, which it says “are strongly integrated with the health care culture and social tissue” of these countries. The projects are mainly preformed in hospitals and rural areas and focus on maternal and child care. It also provides training to health care providers.

Emergency

Founded: 1994
President: Cecilia Strada
Headquarters: Milan

Emergency seeks to provide high-quality and free health care to poor people and those caught in war, including various types of surgery, physiotherapy and internal medicine. It constructs and operates hospitals catering to war victims and for surgical emergencies, physical and social rehabilitation centers for land mine and war injury victims, first aid posts for emergency treatment, health centers for basic medical aid and pediatric centers. It also offers training to national staff so they can meet high professional standards and vocational training to landmine amputees. It is active in Afghanistan, Cambodia, the Central African Republic, Iraq, Sierra Leone and Sudan.

Gruppo Volontari Cristiani

Founded: 1975
President: Patrizia Santillo
Headquarters: Bologna

GVC is among the first NGOs to be recognized by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It implements international cooperation projects in more than 20 countries in Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America, in the areas of education, food security, sustainable development and water and sanitation. It also manages humanitarian initiatives on behalf of the European Commission, Italian foreign ministry and United Nations.

International Volunteer Service for Development

Founded: 1986
President: Carola Carazzone
Headquarters: Rome

VIS is active in 53 countries where its volunteers implement development cooperation projects, mainly in the education and training sector. It has tapped 350 volunteers for its international activities over the last 20 years. It holds special consultative status with ECOSOC and is funded by Caritas, the Italian foreign ministry, European Union and Italian Episcopal Conference.

INTERSOS

Founded: 1992
Secretary-general: Marco Rotelli
Headquarters: Rome

This humanitarian agency holds special consultative status with ECOSOC. Aside from providing aid to those affected and displaced by natural disasters and armed conflict, INTERSOS performs humanitarian mine clearance activities and assists in the restoration of public services following crises. It is mainly funded by the European Union, Italian and other donor governments, U.N. agencies, and regional, provincial and city governments in Italy. It is a member of NGO networks LINK 2007, AGIRE and CONCORD. INTERSOS regularly seeks candidates for project managers, water experts, logistics officers and administrative operators.

LVIA

Founded: 1966
President: Alessandro Bobba
Headquarters: Cuneo

LVIA’s 40 volunteers and 150 experts work with local partners to provide access to water and health services, strengthen agriculture, support vocational training, help local enterprises, and improve the urban and rural environments in 12 African and Eastern European countries. LVIA is supported by the European Commission, Italian foreign ministry, United Nations, USAID and other international organizations, as well as by private businesses, individuals and foundations in Italy and Europe.

Oxfam Italia

Founded: 2010
President: Francesco Petrelli
Headquarters: Arezzo

Oxfam Italia is an observer member or an organization that is working toward becoming a full member of Oxfam’s international confederation. It is formerly known as UCODEP, which had a 30-year history of fighting poverty, supporting health and education rights, and helping people in humanitarian emergencies. Outside Italy, Oxfam Italia works in 17 countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Middle East.

Terre des Hommes Italy

Founded: 1989
Secretary-general: Donatella Vergan
Headquarters: Milan

TdH Italy is a relief and development NGO working to protect children in developing countries. It is one of 10 national organizations that make up the Terre des Hommes International Federation. Its 70 projects in 22 countries benefit 100,000 children and 400,000 people, according to the group.

Other notable humanitarian and development NGOs and NGO networks in Italy:

• ActionAid Italia
• Agenzia Italiana Risposta Emergenze
• AMREF Italia
• Association of Italian NGOs
• Caritas Internationalis
• COCIS
• Community of Sant’Egidio
• Cooperazione Internazionale
• Cooperazione Rurale in Africa e America Latina
• Coordinamento di Iniziative Popolari di Solidarietà Internazionale
• Coordinamento Italiano Network Internazionali
• FOCSIV
• International Committee for the Development of Peoples
• Istituto per la Cooperazione Universitaria
• Link 2007
• Medici Senza Frontiere
• Un ponte per
• World Vision Italia
• WWF Italia

Read more Italian aid news:

• Italian development cooperation: What you need to know
• Top global development groups in Rome: A primer
• Civil Society Gains Unprecedented Power in Premier UN Food Security Body
• Italy’s Aid Cuts Prompting Existential Crisis, NGO Chief Says
• Italian Cooperation Chief Belloni: No Money Until 2012
• The Curious Case of Afghanistan’s Detained Emergency Workers

More on aid and relief careers in Italy:

• Italy’s Youth Struggles to Enter Development Arena
• Italy Seeks Recent Graduates for Temporary Assignments with UN, Partners
• Ending Global Hunger: Preparing for a Career in Food Security

More on getting a job with Italian aid groups:

• How to Get a Job With IFAD
• How to Get a Job With the World Food Program
• Mid- to Senior-Level Jobs With the World Food Program
• Working with Progeco

More on Italian aid organizations:

• An Italian Development NGO Navigates Europe
• Italian Missionary Champions Nairobi’s Street Children

Did we forget any aid NGO in Italy? Please let us know by placing your comments below. Also check our lists of top aid groups in other global development hubs.

Elena Pasquini contributed reporting.