Together We Stand

[ 52 ] Building regional resilience in crises: how a think tank fits in the humanitarian puzzle Adel Elsayed Sparr and Dr Erica Harper, West Asia-North Africa Institute A cting on the phrase ‘one cannot do everything, but everyone can do something’ epitomizes what humanity has been dared by destiny to do; this is the time to live up to our promise to each other. The first ever World Humanitarian Summit is hence timely in the sense that the scale of humanitarian crises in 2016 is unprecedented. This requires not only large-scale responses and sustained financing, but also evidence-enabled, proactive and tailored policies that expect the next humanitarian crisis. At the West Asia-North Africa (WANA) Institute, we work towards finding such humanitarian modalities based on knowledge from the region, and are resolute in our belief that regional resilience requires indigenous solutions. Indeed, the most pressing question is how we can grow resilient to crises in the midst of one. The people of the WANA region face an unprecedented set of interconnected challenges. These include the consequences of climate change such as water scarcity, heat surges, energy shortages and food insecurity, as well as protracted conflict, increasing levels of violent extremism and exceptional human displacement. Coupled with resource and institutional defi- cits, socioeconomic stagnation and fracturing polarization, this region lacks the ability to weather the storm and help itself to rise from it. Against this backdrop, any response needs to be comprehensive and holistic to allow the region to grow resilient together. Moreover, solutions for the region need to be from the region and thus inclusive. Resilience is the capacity of individuals, peoples, organiza- tions and states to endure and evolve in response to shocks, be they exogenous, internal, environmental, economic or social. It is the holistic and comprehensive framework and toolbox that WANA needs to confront these challenges, but this is contingent on policymakers shifting the way they think about crises, stresses and shocks. However, resilience cannot remain the latest catchword in development circles; it is up to us to fill it with content and translate it into meaningful policy action and interventions for the people that need it the most. From the WANA Institute’s perspective as a not-for-profit policy think tank, we present here a few recommendations and preconditions to achieve resilience in practice, and show how a progressive think tank can be a crucial and constructive actor in a chaotic environment. First, standing together in the region cannot merely include governments and conventional humanitarian actors. It will necessitate that think tanks, civil society organizations, thought leaders, community representatives, researchers, journalists and private sector actors come together with governments and humanitarian actors to create synergies that build resilience. Inclusivity in drafting strategies for building resilience and sustainable development — recall- ing the uniquely inclusive process in drafting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) — will be key for them to be legitimate and effective by being tailored to specific local circumstances. In recognizing this, at meetings, workshops, roundtables and conferences that the WANA Institute organ- izes, we strive to invite a wider array of different actors with a stake in the issue at hand. This is our strength: we provide a platform where diverse stakeholders, who otherwise would not meet, can engage candidly so that inclusive policy recom- mendations and action can be produced. Second, complex and unprecedented humanitarian chal- lenges require serious outside-the-box, innovative thinking and policy research. A think tank can do this by supporting evidence-based policy and programming and taking a middle Knowledge-sharing is as important as knowledge-generating: an enthusiastic crowd at the Amman Baccalaureate School during a WANA Institute workshop Image: WANA Institute T ogether W e S tand