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 humanitarian experts reflecting upon the Sulawesi response and the relationship and interaction between local and international aid organisations.
Speakers:
Jemilah Mahmood, Under Secretary General of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). She was founder of MERCY Malaysia and worked as the chief of the World Humanitarian Summit secretariat at the United Nations in New York.
Christine Pirenne, Head of the Department for Humanitarian Affairs at the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Saskia Harmsen, works for the Global Team of Oxfam International on Localization.
Moderator is Roanne van Voorst, researcher at the International Institute of Social Studies (Erasmus University Rotterdam).