On 24 October, a webinar on working in countries and cities in crisis was co-organized by the CIB working group and the UCLG Working Group on prevention and management of territorial crisis and hosted by FCM. This virtual environment provided an opportunity to share experience and good practices in working in countries and cities in crisis and to learn from each other. Below a summary on what was shared by our three speakers:

The Humanitarian-Development Nexus
Mr. Simoné Giovetti (cités Unies France and member of the UCLG Working Group) explained the important role of local governments in disaster risk management, since they are on the frontline. One of the Working Group’s focuses is the localization of the Humanitarian-Development Nexus, being also part of the Global Alliance for Urban Crisis – born at the World Humanitarian Summit in 2016. The UCLG Working Group currently works on a policy paper designed to direct local authorities on what issues to consider in terms of disaster risk management. A second working product is a Protocol of engagement between Local Authorities and Humanitarian Actors. Its idea is to redefine the playing field of different actors according to their roles, responsibilities and ways of working.

Opportunities and challenges in Uganda
In the second part of the session Mr. Moses Muwanga, governance expert, focused on the NEXUS programme in Uganda. NEXUS empowers local governments to manage the transition by focusing on social cohesion, planning aspects and the circular economy. The programme’s challenge lies in the fact that districts have the mandate to provide social services, but are restricted by the limited resources available. On the other hand, many opportunities can be found in the open attitude of the local and national government on capacity-building and the overall acceptance of refugees’ presence by host communities.

Opportunities in crisis
Lastly, Mr. Jaap Gräber, an urban and strategic planner working in the field of migration, refugees and displaced people, shared his knowledge about scenario planning for the Al Za’atari camp in Jordan. The creation of alternative future scenarios revealed that refugee camps are not sustainable in the long term due to high running costs and investments. Scenario planning helps in deciding upon future strategic options to facilitate decision-making. It is about finding a possible opportunity for everybody in tragic times of crisis.

Click here for the webinar recording