Advancing localisation online

Omarang Charity Association for Multipurpose and DanChurchAid launches new localisation learning tool

By Peter Talbaki Appolo and Xaver Wegler 

Localisation is one of the most pressing initiatives in the humanitarian-development-peace sector. Its purpose is to shift decision-making and resources towards local actors and enable more locally-led responses to the multitude of protracted crises that communities face.

From idea to action

Localisation is an idea that developed over many decades until it was finally approved as an official agenda in the World Humanitarian Summit in 2016, endorsed by nearly 150 local and national organisations from 43 countries, INGOs signatories, and donor countries.

It creates trust-building opportunities between international organisations, donors, and local or national organisations, and it serves as a learning space linking NNGOs, community-based organisations and grass-root networks in peer-to-peer learning, capacity development, and experience sharing at all levels of leadership and management.

Collaboration between OCAM and DCA

The idea for the Localisation Learning Tool was initiated by Peter Talbaki Appolo, the Executive Director of the Omarang Charity Association for Multipurpose (OCAM), who has over 20 years of working experience in the non-profit humanitarian sector.

OCAM is based in the Nuba Mountain Region in Sudan and seeks to support and capacity build the local community on peace and conflict topics. Peter Talbaki says, “There is a high value in connecting organisational strategies to meaningful learning ways through communities of practice by joining and sharing existing knowledge and skills”.

The tool was then operationalised by Fabo Learning Lab and the International Department of DanChurchAid, facilitated by the ACTLearn Partnership; altogether a team of passionate experts that works with partners to transform their learners into skilled knowledge-holders and practitioners through effective, evidence-based, and user-centred design.

Raising awareness

The Localisation Learning Tool raises awareness about the localisation agenda and provides relevant resources for individuals and both local and international organisations. It serves as an entry point for organisations new to the localisation agenda and offers material to continue the conversation for those who already commit to it.

Hosted on the Fabo learning platform, the tool enables the collaboration of experts and co-creates digital and analogue resources for users to provide context-appropriate delivery to end beneficiaries. It also ensures that learning is regularly captured by users through feedback loops designed in the tool. In this way the tool becomes user friendly and context adaptive as learning on localisation is ever changing and dynamic.