Faith-based – C4D Network

Engaging local faith actors in urban response (ALNAP webinar)

March 28, 2019

Urban areas are home to a diverse range of stakeholders, from civil society to first responder groups, academics and many levels of government. Local faith groups/leaders are one of several different urban stakeholders that humanitarians often fail to engage with effectively. Reflections on recent humanitarian crises, such as the Ebola response in West Africa, have highlighted the critical role local faith actors can play. In particular, when sharing information and changing mindsets and behaviours, both of which are incredibly difficult to do. Secular organisations often do not know how to engage with these local faith actors, and miss opportunities as a result.

This webinar, part of ALNAP’s ongoing webinar series on urban crises, is jointly organised with the Joint Learning Initiative on Faith and Local Communities (JLI), a network of actors who do research on religion, humanitarianism and development. The webinar will bring together a panel of speakers from ALNAP and JLI Member organisations, to share experiences engaging local faith actors in urban response, and to answer questions from the audience.

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Thematic Review: Community Based Awareness, Attitudes and Behaviour (Girls’ Education Challenge, 2018)

February 11, 2019

This paper is one of a series of thematic reviews produced by the Fund Manager of the Girls’ Education Challenge, an alliance led by PwC, working with organisations including FHI 360, Nathan Associates and Social Development Direct.

The Girls’ Education Challenge (GEC) was set up to support improved attendance and learning for up to one million marginalised girls and has provided the opportunity to develop evidence on what works in girls’ education. Overall across a number of GEC projects, evidence was found of communities’ motivation, investment and commitment to educate their children, for example donating land, raising funds for bursaries and increasing their workload to pay for school fees. In general, GEC projects have not found communities are opposed to the principle of girls’ education, but that their support interacts with other norms that can make it harder for girls to attend school and learn. In particular, there is a perceived (or actual) low return for the family as the investment is sometimes considered to be lost when girls get married.

There are several key considerations for practitioners and policy makers in light of the literature and GEC findings; projects implementing community interventions should target the most prevalent and relevant attitudes and behaviours rather than generic ones, and projects should be prepared to adapt activities where required, recognising that norms are affected by changes in context and power dynamics.

Click here for full paper.

Protecting Children from Online Sexual Exploitation: A Guide to Action for Religious Leaders and Communities (ECPAT/Religions for Peace, 2016)

October 7, 2018

Information and communications technologies (ICTs) and the Internet have become an integral part of modern life, and play an important role in the educational and social development of children. However, they also expose children to new and evolving forms of sexual exploitation.

Child sexual exploitation has soared in recent years as reflected by the ever-increasing production and distribution of child sexual abuse materials (CSAM) due to the use of more advanced ICTs by perpetrators. According to police reports, the number of CSAM now in circulation is staggering. Practices such as ‘sexting’ (the self-production and sharing of sexualised messages or images) also place children at risk of sexual abuse and exploitation.

The SDGs provide a historic opportunity to prioritise efforts and investments to eliminate online child sexual exploitation (OCSE).

This guide recognises that faith-based organisations and religious leaders are in a unique position to mobilise moral authority on this issue, influence thinking, generate debate and set standards for others to follow.

Click here for full report.

Le rôle des leaders religieux dans la réalisation de la justice de genre (Side by Side Brief, 2018)

October 6, 2018

Ce brief a été réalisé par Side by Side, un mouvement global de leaders religieux, d’organisations confessionnelles et d’individus religieux dévoués à lutter contre les injustices liées au genre. Il s’agit d’une contribution à la discussion émergente concernant le rôle distinctif des représentants religieux et confessionnels dans la promotion de la justice de genre. Ce brief expose le contexte et les défis auxquels nous devons répondre, et présente des
exemples où les leaders confessionnels font partie de la solution plutôt que du problème. Il conclut en proposant des recommandations aux leaders religieux, à la société civile, aux gouvernements et aux organisations intergouvernementales.

Cliquez ici pour le brief complet.