- What is Pledge for Change?
Pledge for Change is an initiative aimed at rethinking the role of international NGOs in the humanitarian aid system and committing signatories to specific actions that will promote localization.
- The Pledge for Change 2030 document consists of three chapters: equal partnership, authentic narrative, and fostering further change. Participants have committed to achieving the set indicators by 2030, hence the name of the document. Currently, the document has thirteen international organizations as signatories.
Signing the pledge has led to the creation of an ecosystem that monitors its implementation, measures progress, and offers new approaches to execution. It includes the Accountability and Learning Mechanism, which provides an independent assessment of the level of localization and collects cases from participants and their local partners, as well as four working groups. The working groups aim to unite local organizations and give them the opportunity to become consultants in the localization process.
You can read more about it on the website: https://pledgeforchange2030.org.
- Why is it important to have this document in Ukrainian?
Firstly, among the signatory organizations, there are those working in Ukraine, such as CARE International, Christian Aid, Mercy Corps, Save the Children, and others. This document can serve as an additional resource for advocating the interests of Ukrainian organizations before these international NGOs.
Secondly, having a Ukrainian translation means being represented in the international dialogue. Localization movements began in Latin American countries, so now international organizations tend to look at their experience as a leading one in this field. Ukraine is considered part of Europe, i.e., part of the “colonial world.” It is important for us to reiterate that we also have the right to be part of the dialogue and are suffering from the condescending approach to aid provision from donors.
- Philanthropists and the Pledge for Change Team
Our organization got acquainted with part of the Pledge for Change team during the creation of the open letter and used their experience as an example of creating a document that should drive the localization processes.
A year later, we met with the executive director of the Pledge for Change initiative, Kate Mogher, and suggested translating the document so that Ukrainian organizations could also use it as an advocacy tool. We are grateful that she supported this idea.
The document will be useful for you if you work with international organizations that are signatories of the letter and strive to make your partnerships more equal and transparent.
We encourage you to familiarize yourself with the document at the following link:
