Global Network of Civil Society Organisations for Disaster Reduction (GNDR)
GNDR is the largest international network of civil society organisations (CSOs) committed to strengthen resilience and reduce risk in communities. We connect frontline CSOs with policymaking institutions and governments, influence policies and practices, and strengthen capacities.
Description
The idea of GNDR was born at the UN World Conference for Disaster Reduction in Kobe, Japan in January 2005, during the adoption of the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA). Many of those who would become GNDR’s founding members were present at the conference as representatives of CSOs. The network was formally launched at the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction in Geneva in May 2007. Currently, more than 1,300 organisations are members of GNDR, many of them grassroots and local community groups as well as national, regional and international organisations and networks. Together our network is making an impact in over 120 countries.
Our vision is a world in which everyone works together to strengthen the resilience of people most at risk and prevent hazards from becoming disasters. We connect frontline CSOs with national and international policymaking institutions and governments. We influence policies and practices by amplifying the voices of people most at risk. We strengthen our capacities by creating knowledge and through collaborative learning and action.
In practice, we work in three areas. The first one is to strengthen the collaboration, solidarity and mobilisation of CSOs. Specifically, we work so that: CSOs recognise the benefit of collaboration over competition; CSOs are able to collaborate; Mechanisms and policies are in place to enable collaboration; and CSOs are held to account to collaborate. The second area is to champion a localisation movement. Our work is to achieve that: Governments and INGOs believe CSOs should lead; Local CSOs have capacity to lead and be accountable to communities most at risk; The enabling environment for local CSOs to lead exists; and Global and national actors are held accountable for localization. Finally, the third area of work is to strive for risk-informed development. Our work is achieved if: Different sectors believe they must build resilience whilst advancing development; Evidence-based knowledge exists and is applied on how to do effective; Risk-informed development in six critical contexts; Different sectors at different levels have the opportunity to collaborate; and All actors, not just DRR practitioners, have clear roles for taking risk into account.
Did the Sendai Framework change or contribute to changes in your activities/organization? If so, how?
The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction assigns a pivotal role to civil society, volunteers, organized voluntary work organizations and community-based organizations. It calls them to: collaborate with public institutions; to provide specific knowledge and pragmatic guidance; to engage in the implementation of local, national, regional and global plans and strategies; to support public awareness; and to advocate for resilient communities and an inclusive and all-of-society disaster risk management that strengthen synergies across groups. We contributed for these contents to be included in the Sendai Framework and currently work on their implementation.
What led you to make this commitment/initiative?
What was your position before making this Voluntary Commitment / prior to the Sendai Framework?
We are motivated by four values: Commitment to work together in a collaborative, inclusive, and participatory manner; Transparency and accountability; Equity and respect for diverse identities, needs and perspectives; and Trust and openness to listen, share and learns from one another.
We have a longstanding relationship and collaborate closely with Ä¢¹½´«Ã½. We are an organising partner for global and regional conferences and platforms, which ensures the voices of civil society are brought to the highest possible level in the UN system. Through our ECOSOC Special Consultative status, GNDR members can formally participate in all formal UN processes – among these the High Level Political Forum for Sustainable Development through the Sendai Stakeholders Group.
Our flagship programme Views from the Frontline is the largest independent global review of disaster risk reduction at the local level. Led by GNDR members, we have mobilised 199 organisations in 39 countries, and engaged 96,000 stakeholders in at-risk communities.
Deliverables and Progress report
Deliverables
Deliverables are the end-products of the initiative/commitment, which can include issuance of publications or knowledge products, outcomes of workshops, training programs, videos, links, photographs, etc.
For more than a decade our network of civil society organisations, working to strengthen resilience and reduce risk in communities most at risk worldwide, has steadily grown in size and impact. We are now more than 1,200 organisations, many of them grassroots and local community groups who are working in over 120 countries. We are excited to share this member-led global network strategy that will guide our collective work over the coming five years.
For a complete list of events and blogs, please visit the link below.
In the members' portal of GNDR you can find out more about the benefits of membership and how to join the network, connect and collaborate with other members.
For more information, please visit the link below.
We produce knowledge products to share and assess the impact of GNDR's work around the world.
To access these products, please visit the link below.
Since forming in 2007, the GNDR has sought to increase the effectiveness of civil society to contribute towards the building of resilient nations and communities - putting the concerns, needs and priorities of vulnerable people at the heart of disaster risk reduction policy and practice. Focus has been on three core objectives in which GNDR is working hard towards reducing risk and increasing the resilience of the most vulnerable by:
- Strengthening the way GNDR members work together
- Enhancing engagement between civil society and other key stakeholders
- Communicating the day-to-day reality of life for people most at risk.
All this translates into how GNDR, as a network, facilitates member's interaction, helps them with advocacy efforts on different platforms at all levels, and supports our organisations working at the frontline with local risk profiles, and the implementation of action and learning programmes. See the link below to discover GNDR current main lines of work.
Organizations and focal points
Implementing Organization(s)
Focal points
Partners
- Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade - Australia
- United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
- Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, Federal Department of Foreign Affairs
- Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit
- Department for International Development
- Swedish Agency for International Development Cooperation
