Why localisation is key to countering violence and extremism

By Teresa Welsh, 21 December, 2020

ST. PAUL, Minn. — While the Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund has only been operating for six years, it has shown the effectiveness of localization in preventing and countering violence extremism, according to former GCERF Board Chair Carol Bellamy.

“You can really provide funding in modest, very significantly small amounts at a local level, and you can build resilience at a local level. It is demonstrated that it actually can produce results,” Bellamy said in a recent exit interview with Devex upon retirement. “[The development sector has] been talking about localization for quite a while. We have to work in partnership.”

Geneva-based GCERF, which now has over 20 government donors, was announced at the Global Counterterrorism Forum in 2013 by former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and former Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu in recognition of the insufficient international funding streams for P/CVE work. GCERF exclusively provides funds to local organizations that have support from their national government to ensure alignment with national objectives in preventing violent extremism…

This article first appeared in Devex. Subscribers can read it in full here. The author, Teresa Welsh, has reported from more than 10 countries and is currently based in Washington, D.C. Her coverage focuses on Latin America; U.S. foreign assistance policy; fragile states; food systems and nutrition; and refugees and migration.

Photo by: Erik De Castro / Reuters