Formal Organization- International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent

In order to fulfill the basic needs and promote diverse interests of people, a large number of organizations have come up with modern complex societies. These organizations are of two kinds-the formal and informal organizations. There are economic, political, educational, industrial and other kinds of formal and informal organizations. Due to the growth and demand of the societies, the number and size of the formal organizations have increased tremendously. A formal organization is a group that is deliberately constructed to achieve the objectives through explicitly defined roles and specified rules. One such organization is the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent(IFRC). This organization belongs to the sub category of voluntary organizations (aka voluntary associations) that draws people who give time, talent, or treasure to support mutual interests, meet important human needs, or to achieve a not- for- profit goal.

Every organization, whether profit or non- profit have a definite purpose or goals which bring individuals together to establish a definite pattern and a system of interaction. The IFRC vision: to inspire, encourage, facilitate and promote at all times all forms of humanitarian activites by National Societies, with a view to preventing and alleviating human suffering, and hereby contributing to the maintenance and promotion of human dignity and peace in the world. They have seven fundamental principles which guides the actions, attitudes and behaviors of individuals and the organization as a whole. Below is a video that states these seven principles.



The IFRC have come a long way. It was born in 1859, when Henry Dunant, a young swiss man, came upon a bloody battle where 40,000 men lay dead or dying on the battlefield and the wounded lacked medical attention. Below is a short film combining animation and images, which brings life to the history of Red Cross Red Crescent from Henry Dunant till today.

The IFRC is the world’s largest humanitarian organization, providing assistance without discrimination as to nationality, race, religious beliefs, class or political opinions. Their strategy in the future aims to save lives and change minds.