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Localization Advocacy Group

The Localization Advocacy Group is an independent, local initiative working to improve the work of civil society through localization.

As the Localization Advocacy Group, we work to strengthen and coordinate local organizations.

The World Humanitarian Summit in 2016 laid the foundation for the Localization Advocacy Group. The group was officially launched in 2020 through the Support to Life Association initiative.*

We propose durable and sustainable local solutions to improve the lives of vulnerable and disadvantaged groups, particularly refugees and humanitarian needs arising from the Syrian crisis. We work to strengthen and coordinate local organizations, as strong local actors are needed. We advocate for equitable and strategic partnership agreements instead of the subcontracting model to implement cooperation between local organizations and international non-governmental organizations (INGOs), United Nations (UN) organizations and donors (funding institutions) in a fair and equitable relationship. We are committed to ensuring that more humanitarian funds reach local organizations and affected communities during a humanitarian crisis.

*The Localization Advocacy Group, which was launched in 2020 on the initiative of the Support to Life Association, is supported by the Human Resource Development Foundation (İKGV) and the Civil Society Development Center (STGM) as part of the 'Civil Society Capacity Strengthening Project'. To contact the secretariat, you can send an e-mail to [email protected].

Our work

Our work and work results are as follows:

  • We have created the 'Localization Advocacy Strategy Document', which develops common advocacy methods in humanitarian aid. We update the strategy document at regular intervals.
  • We have produced the 'Working Principles' document, which sets out our structure, working methods and actions.
  • We have produced four Terms of Reference on funding, advocacy, partnerships, and capacity, in which we have defined the purpose and scope of the working groups.
  • We have created an action plan that includes short, medium, and long-term goals and activities.
  • We created a Minimum Standards Document to serve as a reference for equal partnership in cooperation between local actors and donors. We regularly update the minimum standards document.
  • We wrote an advocacy letter on the 2022 Salary Policy to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
  • We organized a workshop to discuss localization and received a grant for this in collaboration with the Watan Foundation, the International Blue Crescent Foundation and the Support to Life Association. As a result of the workshop, we published the Policy Briefs and Durable Solutions Report.
  • At the end of 2021, we came together and talked about the vision, mission, common goals and objectives of the group. We then published the Localization Advocacy Group 2021 Workshop Report. You can watch the video in which the workshop participants share their ideas on localization here.
  • On the 6th anniversary of the World Humanitarian Summit, which took place in Istanbul, we brought together local NGOs, donors and international organizations in Ankara on 24 May 2022. We talked together about what needs to change to strengthen local NGOs and then published the Localization 2022 Report From the World Humanitarian Summit to Today.
  • We organized partnership strengthening activities and meetings with the US Embassy's Bureau for Population, Refugees and Migration (BPRM), the European Union Delegation to Turkey (ECHO), the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Food Program (WFP).
  • We prepared advocacy texts on wage policies to ensure that the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Food Program (WFP) adapt their wage policies to the conditions in the country.
  • We conducted research in Turkey for the State of the Humanitarian System Report, which is published every three years by the Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance in Humanitarian Action (ALNAP).
  • Together with the Refugee Council of Turkey (TMK), we organized an extensive consultation process with local and national non-governmental organizations to design the Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan (3RP) 2023-2025 Turkey Country Chapter for Response to the Syrian Crisis and published its report.
  • Together with the Refugee Council of Turkey (TMK) and the 3RP Coordination Team (UNHCR and UNDP), we established the National Reference Group, which is one of the commitments of the Grand Bargain 2.0 and will create an environment in which we can make real progress on the localization agenda.
  • We have published the activity report and history of the National Reference Group, which we launched with the event "From Global to National: Progressing Localisation in Türkiye through the Launch of the National Reference Group", where we sat around the table with funding actors, United Nations agencies and international non-governmental organizations.
  • We took an active role in coordinating the response to the humanitarian crisis triggered by the Kahramanmaraş earthquakes and supported the establishment of the Local Humanitarian Forum( LHF).
  • Together with the Refugee Council of Turkey (TMK), we published a report on the reconstruction after the Kahramanmaraş earthquakes and gathered the opinions of NGOs.
  • For the international donor conference that took place in Brussels, we prepared a common statement together with the Refugee Council of Turkey (TMK) with the NGOs' proposals for post-earthquake reconstruction. As TMK, LAG and LHF, with the signatures of a total of 57 institutions, we said that we should urgently take joint action for better reconstruction and investment in the future.

 

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March 2024