Forced displacement is among the most pressing challenges in the Eastern Mediterranean region. In the Middle East and Turkey, the Syrian refugee crisis involves humanitarian challenges coupled with significant spillover effects in neighboring regions. After six years of Syrian conflict and displacement, Syrian refugees are seen as medium-term stayers and urban communities are especially affected by their presence, as refugees mostly reside in towns and cities. The insufficient socio-economic inclusion of refugees with regards to access to labor and income limits their contributions to host economies and increases their chances of falling into poverty. Instead of providing stand-alone solutions in camps or rural areas, the challenge is to support host local governments to scale up existing services, shelter and jobs to meet the needs of both the original residents and the displaced. Approaches that target assistance for refugees only may heighten social tensions between displaced and host communities and do not help host local governments cope with the new needs arising from rapid population growth.

As shown by several surveys and consultations made by the Center for Mediterranean Integration (CMI) since 2016 among municipal representatives members of the Mediterranean Host Municipalities Learning Network (HMLN) in Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine and Turkey, local governments are carrying the biggest burden of the displacement crisis. They are struggling with an increased pressure on services and try to find solutions to unemployment on the one hand, and to strengthen social cohesion between original residents and refugees on the other.

However, the challenges deriving from forced displacement go beyond the Eastern Mediterranean region. Local governments in South Asia and the Horn of Africa are also concerned with ensuring a safe environment and responding to the shocks caused by sudden influx of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and returnees. Local governments in Afghanistan, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda are struggling with similar barriers that hinder a safe environment for IDPs and returnees (e.g. insecurity, unemployment, breakdown of basic infrastructure and service delivery). Hence, they are experiencing socio-economic pressures on local communities and services (e.g. weak public services, increasing pressure on resources, lower wages, social cohesion at risk).  The international evidence is that displaced people will need substantial assistance in terms of soft and technical skills and job matching and improved local service delivery and connectivity focusing on infrastructure that will lead directly to economic employment.

In the cases of Eastern Mediterranean countries, Afghanistan, and countries in the Horn of Africa, local governments hosting forcibly displaced (refugees, returnees, or IDPs) are struggling with missing planning and response capacities as well as ineffective organizational arrangements: they are lacking skilled staff, financing and incentives to create a better economic environment for both the host and displaced community. Solutions could come from developing local economic development strategies and attracting private investors, which could lead to job creation for all the displaced and the original residents. The specific capacity challenge being similar, local governments coping with refugees, IDPs, and returnees have all to come up with innovative solutions that can be shared and adapted to the different contexts.

In this context, a specific development challenge is to strengthen local governments’ capacity in finding innovative and sustainable solutions to ensure peaceful coexistence between the two communities and to take the most from the newcomers, including through an increased level of local development which targets both the local and refugee community.

This knowledge exchange initiative aimed to support the institutional capacity, networking, and preparedness to crises of local authorities facing forced displacement challenges by exposing them to initiatives and programs implemented in other regions facing similar challenges. The knowledge exchange specifically included public authorities’ representatives from Afghanistan and Horn of Africa countries in several consultations, workshops, webinars, field visits, peer-exchanges and trainings of the HMLN, composed by representatives of municipalities hosting refugee in the Middle East and Turkey. After consultations with World Bank focal points in the knowledge-receiving countries, the following activities were implemented:

Workshops and webinars

The 3rd Annual Workshop of the HMLN focusing on “Local Economic Development (LED) in Host Communities” was held in Gaziantep, Turkey, in November 2018: this annual event hosted for the first time representatives from regions outside the Middle East and Turkey. It aimed to continue the peer-learning on LED in host communities initiated by municipalities members of the HMLN and to initiate cross-regional discussions on the topic by showcasing successful experiences in implementing LED approaches or strategies inclusive of displaced populations, including approaches aiming at increasing self-employment and entrepreneurship. The event notably reconnected HMLN members from Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine and Turkey, set the knowledge priorities and action plan for the year 2019, and presented experiences from Afghanistan and the Horn of Africa to initiate the cross-regional knowledge exchange.

Several webinars were also implemented throughout the full knowledge exchange, with participation from all the targeted regions. These two-hour webinars consisted in technical presentations on sub-topics chosen by participants, and aimed to keep the knowledge exchange active even in an online format. Topic covered were: Stakeholders Mobilization for LED Planning; municipal examples of LED in Host Communities; Private Sector Mobilization; Refugee-led Businesses and Private Sector Engagement.

Field visits

During workshop and trainings, one full day was dedicated for participants to visit and see first-hand an experience developed by the hosting municipalities. Participants from the Middle East, Turkey, Afghanistan and the Horn of Africa benefitted from field visits to several projects incentivizing refugee-led and hosts’ businesses in Sarhan, Jordan; to a vocational training center for refugees and a set of factories established by Syrian refugees in Gaziantep, Turkey; to a business incubator led by the International Rescue Committee in partnership with the Municipality of Greater Amman, Jordan; and to a waste sorting plant in Madaba, Jordan.

Trainings

Two editions of the Training Workshop on Strategic Planning for Local Economic Development were implemented in 2018 and 2019, targeting selected representatives from Afghanistan, the Horn of Africa, and HMLN members. The training workshops aimed to improve municipal capacities on LED planning following a curriculum delivered by the CMI and designed in collaboration with experts.

A core group of 16 representatives of municipalities in Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine and Turkey (who already participated to the previous training) were selected as the "best in class" and benefitted from an ad-hoc follow-up assessment of their LED Strategies and an ad-hoc Training on Entrepreneurship in Forced Displacement Settings. The same group also volunteered to constitute a “group of core members” of the HMLN as key change agents within their countries and coordinators of the HMLN (see below for details).

An online workshop training series on “Jobs, Entrepreneurship and Private Sector Engagement in Host Communities” informed participants from the Middle East, Turkey and the Horn of Africa on main actions for municipalities to support the local business environment and engage the private sector. The series also featured a special focus on challenges and municipal actions during the COVID-19 crisis.

Consultations

Throughout the knowledge exchange, several online and face-to-face meetings were held with task team leaders from the World Bank and selected change agents from the knowledge-providing and knowledge- receiving countries. These meetings aimed to introduce the knowledge exchange roadmap to participants; build trust and networking; show experiences from HMLN members who are providing knowledge; collect expectations; and confirm knowledge priorities.

Surveys and benchmarking

Before each workshop and training, a survey was launched among participants to collect data on their main challenges and priorities relevant to the theme of the event. An ad-hoc quick needs assessment was also launched among core members of the HMLN (knowledge providers) regarding the new challenges arising from the sudden COVID-19 crisis.

In addition, a benchmarking survey documented for two years the effectiveness of the exchange with reference to the knowledge shared and the capacities improved; and a follow-up results survey was launched among participants of the Training Workshops one year after training completion to assess the effectiveness of the training.

Reports and analysis

Some of the experience showcased and lessons learned from the knowledge exchange were collected in reports or online publication: web stories and blogs on “Municipalities Exchange Knowledge on Hosting Refugees” and “Women Make Change Happen in Host Municipalities across MENA and Turkey” documented lessons learned and achievements from the exchanges, and the Compendium “Experiences in Hosting Refugees: Local Economic Development in Host Communities” collected examples of what municipalities members of the HMLN are doing.

In addition, a Report “Local Economic Development in Municipalities Hosting Refugees: Challenges, Opportunities and Actions” was published, collecting findings on challenges and proposed solutions to hosting refugees deriving from three years of exchanges and surveys with the knowledge-providing municipalities from the Middle East and Turkey.

Overall, the monitoring surveys showed that the satisfaction among participants is high. All participants indicated that they were satisfied with the work done by CMI and found that CMI contributed at least moderately to enhanced regional integration.

The exchanges were also useful to identify new learning needs and plan for the future strategic orientation: some respondents requested for more practical engagement by CMI and HMLN, specifically to help them identify innovative solutions and access funding.

What went well for Middle Eastern and Turkish participants

The success of the exchanges is captured in a number of interviews and monitoring surveys. As shown by selected interview answers below, representatives from the Middle East and Turkey appreciated the exchange of experiences with other region and recognize that they face similar challenges. The spontaneous creation of informal twinning groups reflects an increase in regional connectivity, cohesion, and commitment among participants from the Middle East and Turkey. The inclusion of more participants from Palestine as knowledge providers contributed to their greater confidence in their own skills, as they realized to have more advanced LED approaches than other members.

What went well for new participants from Afghanistan and the Horn of Africa

Representatives from Afghanistan have documented the usefulness of the exposure to a new set of knowledge in interviews and surveys (some responses are reported below). They notably reported to have acquired knowledge transferable to their work in assessment of their own policies and funding possibilities, and learnt best practices, technical regional knowledge, and public policies on the subject. Likewise, participants from the Horn of Africa reported changes in awareness and understanding as a result to the knowledge exchange, useful for the applicability of the new technical knowledge in their own contexts. Knowledge-receiving countries agreed on the usefulness of the exchanges. Afghan representatives identified their priority themes for exchanges with knowledge-providing countries. African representatives showed the willingness to create a similar exchange with other African countries, echoed by the World Bank task team leaders.

Areas for improvement

Although the knowledge exchanges were successful in many ways, there is still room for improvements and relevant recommendations were formulated in this regard.

Monitoring - It  is recommended to monitor more closely the single activities developed by the participants, and to monitor the effectiveness of trainings with a follow-up survey to participants one year after training completion.

Workshop design - Participants recommended shorter workshop hours or longer breaks, as the technical content is very condensed, and this would allow them to have time to digest and learn better. While appreciating the cross-country exchanges, some participants expressed the need to better understand how to apply the experiences showcased to their own national context. Some participants also asked to visit or hear about projects in Europe, the U.S., or the Gulf countries.

Logistics and coordination - Participants expressed the willingness to get to know details on the field visits ahead of the visits. More coordination with COs is suggested in the future to ensure actual participation of representatives from new regions and smooth communication around the exchange’s objectives.

Participants members of the HMLN from the Middle East and Turkey, who are engaged in the exchange and participated actively:

Participants from new regions (Afghanistan and Horn of Africa), identified in collaboration with the WB operations:

With funding support from the South-South Facility ($300,000 over three years), a CMI team composed by one Task Team Leader (Janette Uhlmann until 2019, then Giulia Marchesini), one Knowledge Management Officer (Nicolas Meyer), three Consultants (Gilda Borriello, Sara Boughedir and Astrid Öhnfeldt), and an admin support (Marion Wahl), managed the knowledge exchange among the participating countries in MENA and Turkey. The CMI team also facilitated the exchange with the other regions (AFR and SAR), in close collaboration with the TTL for World Bank programs in the Social and Urban GPs respectively. The contribution from the South-South Facility served to cover consultants fees, conference costs, and webinar costs.

Core knowledge providers from Jordan, Palestine, Lebanon and Turkey finalized the HMLN charter, which also includes operative mode and themes of interest of participants. In this regard, the CMI is looking into the possibility to consolidate the HMLN and provide direct financial support to participants in the future. Participants from the Horn of Africa, with the support from WB focal points for AFR, expressed interest in creating a separate subnational platform or network for Africa, following the example of this knowledge exchange. This new network has not been created to date, but it represents a possibility for the future to be explored by the World Bank AFR team.

Improved technical capacities

80 municipal representatives from all targeted regions (Middle East, Turkey, Horn of Africa and Afghanistan) have been trained in developing a LED Strategy in forced displacement contexts, following the methodology developed with CMI in collaboration with GIZ, UN-Habitat, and World Bank. In results reporting surveys, participants have reported that the training actually led to increased technical knowledge necessary to drafting a LED strategy applicable to their own contexts. The success of the trainings is captured in a number of results within participating municipalities: the municipality of Madaba and Jerash, Jordan, Yatta, Palestine, and Qrayeh, Lebanon, included directly parts of the training material to their LED strategies or strategic approaches. These are some of the 16 municipalities who documented to have implemented the training material one year after the first training event in 2018. In addition, six municipalities from Jordan and Palestine, who participated to in the first edition of the training in 2018, drafted a new LED Strategic Plan which was reviewed in a follow-up training with the help of experts. While results from the second training in 2019 have yet to be assessed, a similar progress is expected.

In addition to this, members from 16 municipalities from Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine and Turkey also benefitted from a one-day training on fostering entrepreneurship for refugees and locals in their town, and  from Jordan whose strategy was assessed and reviewed during the follow-up training in July 2019.

Finally, participants have also been supported in facing the sudden COVID-19 crisis. Out of 70 representatives of municipalities from Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Turkey, Morocco, Tunisia, Djibouti, Kenya and Uganda, who participated to at least one of the three events of the workshop training series on private sector engagement in times of COVID-19, 45 were awarded a certificate for their successful completion of the three events.

Enhanced networking and spontaneous collaboration across regions through twinning groups

As a result of the knowledge exchange, six cross-country twinning groups have been spontaneously formed between 12 participating municipalities in Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, and Turkey. The twinning groups are mostly informal bilateral exchanges among two municipalities of different countries sharing information and technical knowledge on sub-thematic linked to LED. One of the twinning groups, between Madaba Municipality, Jordan, and Ramallah Municipality, Palestine, signed an official MoU for the implementation of a project to develop tourism across the two cities.

Consolidation of the cross-country network of municipalities

Compared to the start of the cross-regional exchange, the HMLN grew in terms of numbers and members’ involvement. It is now composed of over 170 municipalities, with more than 300 representatives participating to at least one activity since the start of the South-South knowledge exchange. The most active members and participants engaged in spontaneous activities and exchanges, such as keeping in contact through non CMI-managed communication channels, such as WhatsApp groups, Facebook, and emails.

Recognizing the need to strengthen the governance system of the HMLN (knowledge-providing countries), a group of 16 participants from Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine and Turkey volunteered to form a group of core members. Core members are actively exchanging, collaborating and participating in activities, and act as the focal point from their respective country. They created a “Network’s Charter” that specifies the HMLN objectives, membership criteria, governance aspects, and priority topics for future exchanges and trainings. Core members periodically met within their own countries and among themselves to finalize the charter, communicate results to the CMI for future implementation, and mobilize more municipalities in their country to participate in activities.

Quotes from interviews with participants

Maroun Antoun, Mayor of Qrayeh Municipality, Lebanon “The problem [different Network members face] is common: we all have a displacement issue to deal with. The format of the workshop is perfect as it’s an opportunity for us to widen our choices by getting to know new experiences and exchange ideas with our peers. Small ideas can give you big solutions about a problem you are facing.”

Raida Hanania, SDIP (strategic plan, ndr) coordinator and quality manager and general secretary of LED council of Bethlehem district, Bethlehem Municipality, Palestine “I am very proud to be invited and selected to be one of the participants. It is a very brilliant opportunity for me to invest in order to improve my responsibilities toward my city, my municipality, and my district. I can actually invest the methodology and tools of this workshop during my daily job in order to improve my skills and to achieve the best results concern Bethlehem’s strategic plan. As Palestinians, we discovered [through the Workshop], and we are proud of this, that we achieved better and much advanced steps in strategic planning and economic development compared to other cities, even Jordan. This motivates us to work harder and harder, to keep our level and effectiveness in strategic planning and LED.”

Imad Issa, Advisor and MSSRP Coordinator, Ministry of Municipal Affairs (MoMA) “The main challenge in Jordan is the lack of knowledge among municipal staff on how to implement a plan. This workshop is crucial for employees to actually open their eyes and see what a LED plan is, what are the steps needed and elements, who should be involved in the plan. Normally they used to do a plan on themselves, without involving any stakeholder. All municipalities have also a lot of Syrian refugees, and they should be part of the plan as well. Finally, all sectors of the society have to be considered, especially women and youth. This workshop teaches how to do all this, this is why is crucial for Jordanian municipalities.”

Tugba Acar, Project Coordinator, World Academy For Local Government and Democracy, Turkey “The workshop was beneficial for me as I had the chance to learn perspectives from different countries and experiences about different topics, not only during workshop sessions, but also during social activities we had. This made me think at what kind of model can be implemented in each country, as there are different perspectives and problems in each country.”

Shoaib Rahim, Deputy Mayor [now Acting Mayor], Kabul Municipality, Afghanistan“Exchanging with local governments with other displacement issues is very useful for me. Some of these countries have very successful experiences in dealing with displaced population, such as Turkish municipalities, and all of them have a different spectrum of solution that we could apply in Afghan municipalities. We [Afghan participants] can learn much because there is a more organized effort in these countries than in Afghanistan: governmental approach, and donors approach is more complex than in Afghanistan. More has been tested here, we can see the results of these programs and, if they work, we can try to implement them back in our local situation.”

Roshaan Wolusmal, Mayor, Kandahar Municipality [now Acting Minister of Urban Development and Housing], Afghanistan “The LED toolkit is going to be very successful for us. The experience of some small enterprises was very good: we will take this example back to our country and try to apply it. For instance, the field visit to the textile company was a very good example: not too expensive so to secure a sustainable job for women and can be applied in Kandahar”.

Yunus Kul, Director of Foreign Relations Department, Sancaktepe Municipality, Turkey “The peer-learning with countries with different backgrounds than Turkey is extremely needed to share experiences and methods of implementation of projects related to LED in forced displacement contexts. This is the first CMI event I join: the HMLN is the most effective thing for us, as we don’t have many chances to work together, networking among and within countries, and collaborate.”

Flavia Nabwire, Desk Officer, Hoima District, Uganda: “This workshop helped us realize that refugees can be seen as an opportunity for host countries.”

Reyaz Darmal, Mayor of Jalalabad Municipality, Afghanistan: “We absorbed a lot of information from other countries. We realized that there are a few areas where we can work with other regions.”

Apart from the core team composed by the CMI and World Bank units in AFR and SAR, the exchange greatly benefitted from additional financial and technical support from GIZ, and collaboration with CEWAS, IFC, IRC Jordan, UNCTAD, and UN-Habitat.

• Video showing the HMLN achievements and mentioning new South-South Knowledge Exchange, presented at the CMI Annual Meeting FY19
• Video showing the HMLN achievements and mentioning new South-South Knowledge Exchange, presented at the CMI Annual Meeting FY20