Several CIB members are currently active in the Middle East, supporting local governments which are dealing with the Syrian refugee crisis. The region has been heavily impacted by the crisis which creates considerable challenges for local governments. Both the Province of Barcelona and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM), as well as VNG International, have launched projects in the region, of which you will find short descriptions below.
Province of Barcelona develops peer programme in Lebanon
The Province of Barcelona, together with UCLG Lebanon, is currently developing a programme in the Bekaa region in Lebanon, which will provide support to The Federation of municipalities of Al Sahl. This federation consists of 12 municipalities within the Bekaa region, an area where a huge number of Syrians are seeking refuge at the moment. The project aims to strengthen the municipal institutions in the region through enhancing the capacities of locally elected officials and promoting local participation of young people, both natives and Syrian refugees. The goal is to create a space for open dialogue and to promote peace and coexistence. In order to achieve this objective, several Catalan municipalities will provide technical assistance in the next years. The municipalities, for example, provide training for local municipal officials regarding legislation, communication and mediation.
FCM activities in Jordan: empowering women
In October, the Government of Canada launched the Jordan Municipal Support Project (JMSP); a five-year program aimed at strengthening the resilience of municipalities in the central and southern parts of Jordan that have been impacted by the influx of Syrians displaced by the war. The project in Jordan will help 12 of the municipalities most affected to deliver services to more people and empower women as part of the solutions. Over the course of the program, FCM and its members aim to i) strengthen the leadership and administrative capacity of Jordanian municipalities; ii) work in selecting host communities to implement more effective strategies for managing solid waste using new technologies and approaches and by enhancing citizen engagement; iii) promote sharing of knowledge, good practices and lessons learned that will benefit other municipalities throughout the country.
More information can be found here.
VNG International
Since September 2015, VNG International is implementing a three year regional programme in Jordan and Lebanon: the Local Government Resilience Programme (LOGOReP). LOGOReP’s overall objective is to strengthen resilience at local government level in order to improve living conditions of the local population and refugees in host communities and refugee settlements. Its purpose is to maintain service delivery levels at local government level and enable longer-term planning for spatial and economic development, in the context of increased urbanization and pressure on resources. It does so through the deployment of municipal expertise in areas such as spatial planning, municipal service delivery, local economic development and governance. The LOGOReP Jordan country programme is implemented in partnership with the municipality of Amsterdam and targets both the Zaa’tari refugee camp and municipalities in the northern Al Mafraq region. In Lebanon VNG International cooperates with the Dutch municipalities of The Hague and Almere in order to make available relevant municipal expertise to local communities in the Beqaa valley.
For more information on the programme’s approach and results achieved, please visit the website