The Role of Communities, Civil Society, and South-to-South Solidarity
When traditional humanitarian frameworks falter, how can South-to-South solidarity and local innovation
reshape the future of crisis response? This panel calls for a commitment to amplify non-traditional voices,
strengthen horizontal partnerships, and recognize communities not as beneficiaries, but as drivers of
sustainable change.
In the face of eroding international humanitarian legitimacy and shrinking donor engagement, it is
communities, community-based organizations (CBOs), and local NGOs, often outside traditional aid
frameworks, that are sustaining health, rights, and social cohesion on the ground. This panel explores how
these local actors, together with emerging South-to-South partnerships and non-traditional solidarity
networks, are innovating to address complex crises and systemic failures.
These actors navigate political constraints, resource gaps, and exclusion from formal decision-making, yet
remain indispensable in delivering services, advocating for rights, and rebuilding trust at the community
level. The discussion will highlight how South-to-South cooperation fosters knowledge exchange, capacity
building, and collaborative action among affected countries and communities, challenging the dominance
of Global North-driven aid models.
By centering local and regional perspectives, this panel invites a critical reflection on how humanitarian
legitimacy and effectiveness can be redefined through equitable partnerships that empower communities
as leaders, innovators, and rights holders, shaping solutions rooted in context, solidarity, and justice.
