Churning up fresh ideas at the 12th Global Dialogue Platform

For three days the conversations crackled through the Bolle Festsäle, a former dairy in central Berlin. Both online and at the venue, participants from around the world herded themselves into the breakout rooms and social spaces to reflect on the central theme at the 12th Global Dialogue Platform: how we can mainstream anticipatory action, especially in complex contexts.  

Opening the final day, Christoph Baade from WFP shared his reflections from the first two days. “I am up for a bit of friendly competition, but when it comes to saving people’s lives from predictable hazards, we shouldn’t worry about who gets there first,” he noted. “Mainstreaming means we have to maximize every synergy, find spaces for coordination and collaboration, share our wins and losses – and trust each other.” 

But how do we do this? At the conclusion of three days of ideas, debates and collaboration – not to mention juggling, rapping, cartoons and crate-climbing – what needs to happen next? Which of the many recommendations will be the ‘cream of the crop’? 

Mainstreaming anticipatory action: what happens next? 

There was strong agreement among the participants that we do need to mainstream anticipatory action within the systems each country and region has for disaster risk management. “Anticipatory action is a necessity, not a choice, in this era of climate chaos,” stated Mohamed Yarrow from the Centre for Peace and Democracy in Somalia. “It presents a golden opportunity to change the aid system, which remained static for ages, to be more effective, efficient and dignified.”  

During the event, several countries showcased how they are already working towards this. But how do we ensure that mainstreaming happens more broadly? “The 12th Global Dialogue Platform has shown that to achieve scale and sustainability for anticipatory approaches, we need to support government efforts at the national level and integrate these approaches into existing policies, strategies and plans,” argued Ben Webster, Risk-informed Early Action Partnership, which is based in Switzerland. “The international community can help to provide the necessary resources and technical assistance to make this happen, and local actors can ensure that support reaches the right people at the community level in times of crisis.” 

This was reiterated by Tasnima Mukit, Center for Natural Resource Studies in Bangladesh. “As a representative of local actors working at the grassroots level, I would like to emphasize the importance of prioritizing localization and community-led approaches,” she noted. “This can be achieved by ensuring inclusive and participatory decision-making, which creates space for genuine co-creation and co-ownership. Flexible and adaptive funding mechanisms, capacity building for local actors, and advocacy at the policy level are also crucial for mainstreaming anticipatory action effectively.”  

From local to national to regional 

At the same time, governments must remain integral to the process, and their strong presence at the Global Dialogue Platform was encouraging. “With about 40 governments participating, the discussions about anticipatory action and its development must now shift towards [them], with the priority being to build on existing governance systems as entry points,” claimed George Otieno, Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD). “And regional intergovernmental organizations are instrumental in enhancing coordination for the effective delivery of this approach.”      

So what are the concrete steps that each country – the governments, the practitioners and the communities that live in them – must take to mainstream anticipatory action? “One, set up legal and policy environments for forecast-based anticipatory actions,” suggested Bazarragchaa Duudgai, National Emergency Management Agency of Mongolia. “Two, increase communities' understanding of anticipatory action. Three, set up a financial and investment system to decrease the potential damage and loss caused by slow-onset and sudden disasters. And finally, governments should show leadership by increasing budget allocations for anticipatory action, while also improving the coordination between various stakeholders.”