The 22nd General Assembly of Caritas Internationalis (May 11-16) in Rome has elected Kirsty Robertson, CEO of Caritas Australia, as the new Vice President of Caritas Internationalis, to serve the Confederation over the next four years across 162 national Caritas member organisations.
Ms Robertson is currently the CEO of Caritas Australia, with over 20 years of experience in humanitarian aid and development. She started her career at Caritas Australia in the justice resources team, and has since lived, worked and travelled in over 50 countries, including in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, working with the development arm of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, and at Machermo, a health post in the Gokyo Valley in Nepal, looking into the protection of the rights of porters for the International Porters Protection Agency.
Ms Robertson has worked at Anglican Board of Mission, Act for Peace, and spent five years as CEO of Mary MacKillop Today. She returned to Caritas Australia in September 2019 to become the first female CEO of the organisation.
“It’s a wonderful privilege to be taking on this role, a privilege to be serving the members of the Caritas Confederation across the world, and a privilege to be serving the Church and all of the supporters of Caritas Internationalis,” said Ms Robertson.
“We are an amazing confederation, one united by our mission in service to the world’s poor. As a woman it is a particularly important day for us in the confederation. By every measure possible, women are disproportionately affected by poverty. As a confederation we are committed to serving women in villages, parishes, and communities, but also in leadership. My appointment today reflects that commitment.”
Alistair Dutton, Executive Director of SCIAF (Caritas Scotland), was elected as Secretary General of Caritas Internationalis, having been elected on May 15. The election of Mr Dutton and Ms Robertson comes two days after that of Archbishop of Tokyo, Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi, as the new President of Caritas Internationalis.
“I would like to congratulate Alistair Dutton for his election to the role of General Secretary of the Confederation. I believe that Caritas is in safe hands with him leading the Confederation over the coming years,” said Ms Robertson.
Ms Robertson will continue in her role as CEO at Caritas Australia.
CONTACT: Jessica Stone 0490 684 867 / jessica.stone@caritas.org.au
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