The humanitarian sector promised to put local organizations at the heart of humanitarian action. The Grand Bargain presented commitments for local leadership under the frame Localization; these commitments should provide local organisations the means and opportunities to take over control. So far, actual transformation seems to be limited.
However, after the tsunami in Sulawesi in 2018, the Indonesian government took control of the access of international aid organisations to the affected areas. A remarkable example of local leadership.
This podcast is based on the recordings of a public debate with the humanitarian expert Jemilah Mahmood (IFRC), reflecting upon the Sulawesi response and the relationship and interaction between local and international aid organisations.
Jemilah Mahmood is Under Secretary General of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). She is founder of MERCY Malaysia and worked as the chief of the World Humanitarian Summit secretariat at the United Nations in New York.
The interviewer is Roanne van Voorst, researcher at the International Institute of Social Studies (Erasmus University Rotterdam).