As part of Human Rights Day activities whose motto is “Dignity, Freedom, and Justice for All” and in acknowledgement of his efforts in localizing the humanitarian action in Jordan and advocating for local actors and civil society, the Arab Renaissance for Democracy and Development (ARDD) and the Jordan National NGOs Forum (JONAF) presented the Al-Nahda Award for Localization of Humanitarian Action 2022 to Baptiste Hancorat, Coordinator of Jordan INGO Forum (JIF).
The award, launched last year, comes in recognition of the efforts of prominent individuals and/or organizations to promote and advocate for the localization of humanitarian action and to acknowledge their role in the promotion of local actors and civil society organizations on the local and international levels.
Hancorat, whose professional experience in international and regional humanitarian work exceeds 20 years, said that the localization of humanitarian work should be the main pillar of international organizations’ work. Local organizations are best equipped to support their communities and should be better represented in international conferences and internal discussions aiming at setting the priorities of Jordan’s civil society. He expressed the special meaning of the award for him and his opinion about the “courage” of the Jordanian civil society and its clear role in supporting decision-makers.
Dr Sawsan, Al Majali, Senior Consultant at Durrat Al-Manal and member of JONAF’s Administrative Committee, commended Hancorat’s work in contributing to “guiding the collective leadership of international organizations into providing more effective and comprehensive support by working with actors and partners in Jordan to promote local action that is based on human rights and the national ownership of these efforts.”
Al Majali said that localizing humanitarian action is not limited to aid and emergency work but is essential to achieving sustainable development. The partnership between JONAF and JIF resulted in the establishment of the National Platform for Donors and Civil Society to address the consideration that localizing humanitarian action is a contractual one between international and local actors and move towards a more comprehensive approach.
Senate and JONAF member, Asia Yaghi stressed the importance of partnership building and the continuation of dialogue between local and international civil society. This could increase the chances of success and development of local organizations.
Dominik Bartsch, UNHCR’s Representative and Resident Coordinator in Jordan, stressed the importance of developing partnership mechanisms between states and civil society organizations. He noted Jordan’s strong civil society, which requires some empowerment and capacity development.
ARDD’s CEO, Samar Muhareb said: “we acknowledge your continuous support to JONAF towards improving the participation of actors in decision-making and the humanitarian sector, your efforts in mobilizing resources to support local actors, and your advocacy for the international civil society to adopt the Grand Bargain’s principles and commitments. This all helped motivate us and encourage other actors in the region to do more in support of localizing humanitarian action.”
The Al-Nahda Award for localization of humanitarian action was launched in 2021 in recognition of the exceptional and meaningful efforts of individuals and organizations in localizing humanitarian action on the national and regional levels. The selection considers courage, creativity, ability to inspire, leadership, and commitment to integrity, as well as being a worker in the humanitarian field.
The award could be offered to any individuals who work in the humanitarian or development sectors including staff and volunteers of local and international organizations, vendors, donors, community organizations, and governmental organizations.
