On October 22, 2024 in Brussels, a panel discussion “Partnering for local ownership in Ukraine” was organized by the Ukrainian Community of Dialogue Practitioners (UCoDP) as a part of the annual meeting on peace mediation convened by the EU EEAS. This panel has showcased several partnerships of the UCoDP where a desired modus operandi with the international partners has been achieved. In these cases, local actors took the lead both on the process and the content of the engagements, while international partners integrated the outcomes and recommendations into their programs.
Moderated by Dr.Tetiana Kyselova, panelists included Natalia Bezkhlibna (UCoDP), Jakub Walenda (Danish Refugee Council, Ukraine), and Christoph Lüttmann (CSSP, Germany).
Natalia Bezkhlibna, Head of the Secretariat (UCoDP), has introduced a unique case of a partnership with Robert Bosch Foundation (RBF). She shares:
“It is a very special experience for us - we did not know relations like this are possible. Explicit goal of both partners has been to help establish a long-term self-sustainable local structure that originates inside Ukraine rather than implement specific projects.
Flexible start-up grant has enabled organizational development of the network through two interconnected streams of financing. The first one is resourcing of the Secretariat to drive or execute consistent advocacy, communication, strategy work, organizational development, administration etc. The second one was to enable joint actions of the network members incl. sub- grants for development of pilot projects. This unique way of support has enabled UCoDP to develop in a consistent manner, encouraging and empowering Ukrainian experts and practitioners”.
Jakub Walenda, Programme Manager for Humanitarian Disarmament and Peacebuilding at the Danish Refugee Council (DRC) Ukraine, spoke about the conflict sensitivity analysis conducted in partnership with the UCoDP. He highlighted the added value his organization has experienced from joint decision-making, mutual learning, and working on equal terms with local partners, rather than engaging local experts as “only” implementing partners.
“As an international actor we have to rely on the networks and knowledge of cultural, socio-political and other nuances that local partners have to be as conflict-sensitive as possible…That’s why we have engaged local experts from the very beginning of the project, starting with the project design process. Throughout the project, we have not only benefited from the UCoDP’s access to key local stakeholders that the conflict sensitivity analysis was informed by.
The UCoDP also provided training on conflict sensitivity to our national and international experts, which has been very enriching. Activities - especially when they are as sensitive as peacebuilding - need to be designed and conducted in a way that is locally led, evidence-driven, and sensitive to the complex dynamics at play. Localization does not have to be a buzzword, it has been a real success for us!”
Dr. Tetiana Kyselova, Advisor at UCoDP, shared experience from the partnership with CMI-Martti Ahtisaari Peace Foundation. She highlighted the strengths of the collaboration: it was confidential, initiated by Ukrainians, flexible with no pre-set goals, allowing for organic development. This collaboration continues to date and enables Ukrainian experts to contribute to advancement of important and sensitive topics and recommendations.
Dr. Kyselova has also proposed actionable points to international NGOs who aspire to consistently empower local experts.
“There are simple and specific steps to empower local leadership and ownership. Publicly acknowledge local contributors in the reports. Pay for knowledge transfer and local expertise. Transfer more project management functions to local partners. Hire local experts for conflict analysis and mediation,” was her appeal. She also stressed the need for flexible funding to support local dialogue efforts.
Christoph Lüttmann, Managing Director of CSSP, has shared transformation experience of the organization he is leading, shifting from exclusively outsider driven organisation into a more and more locally rooted and co-driven approach. His organization has found ways to meaningfully support Ukrainian colleagues despite limited possibilities for direct and immediate engagement due to scarce funding and donor restraints.
“As the current stage of the war started, we did not know what we could do to help. So, we have asked our friends and colleagues. We have discovered that amplifying local voices, messages and analysis was what they were looking for. We could do it with our limited resources and capacities, even as a small NGO.
Our value for the Ukrainian colleagues has been in us being local in Germany, having access to political circles – so we have provided safe space, opportunity to talk to German influencers and our political advice.”
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