Resources

Ce guide s'adresse principalement au personnel de l'UNICEF qui souhaite s'engager de manière plus stratégique avec les acteurs de la foi, notamment pour le changement social et comportemental et le plaidoyer de haut niveau, mais aussi pour des efforts programmatiques…

Esta guía está dirigida principalmente al personal de UNICEF cuyo objetivo es implicar a más agentes religiosos estratégicos, especialmente para lograr un cambio social y de comportamiento, así como conseguir una abogacía de alto nivel, pero también para las labores…

Este guia destina-se principalmente a funcionários do UNICEF que pretendem se envolver mais estrategicamente com agentes religiosos, particularmente para mudança social e comportamental, bem como defesa de agendas de alto nível, mas também para esforços programáticos mais amplos. Este guia…

What is the role of local faith actors (LFAs) in the pursuit of SDG 16, the promotion of peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, providing access to justice for all and building effective, accountable, and inclusive institutions at all…

COVID-19 heightened interest in faith partnerships as governments and international agencies sought rapid behavior change to reduce the spread of the pandemic. It illuminated the unique capacity of local faith groups to reach people quickly, effectively, and relevantly. To increase…

This review article looks at trends from academic articles published on religions and the COVID-19 pandemic between March 2020 and October 2021 in relation to their relevance for international development and global health researchers, policy makers, and practitioners. It focuses…

This article focuses on the challenges of gathering, presenting, and using evidence that shapes deliberate and systematic religious engagement linked to international development and humanitarian programs. It sets the topic in a historical context, exploring the abrupt shift from a…

In November and December 2021, over 80 Inter-Religious Council (IRC) and Faith-Based Organization (FBO) nominees from eight countries were trained as national Mind-Heart Dialogue teams and equipped to support the Faith and Positive Change for Children (FPCC) initiative. Facilitators were…

This book illuminates the intersection of religion and gender within the development sector, exposing challenges in both policy and practice and suggesting implementable solutions. This book argues that a better understanding of the religion–gender nexus is needed by development sector…

Towards Achieving Positive Change for Children, Families, and Communities This guide is primarily for UNICEF staff who aim to engage more strategically with faith actors, particularly for social and behaviour change and high-level advocacy, but also for wider programmatic efforts.…

Chapter in the Book: Adapting Gender and Development to Local Religious Contexts – A Decolonial Approach to Domestic Violence in Ethiopia by Romina Istratii Social norms theories have been increasingly employed in the areas of gender and development and public…

Second chapter of the Book: Adapting Gender and Development to Local Religious Contexts - A Decolonial Approach to Domestic Violence in Ethiopia by Romina Istratii Since the 1970s, development practitioners have steadily embraced participatory and community-centred methods of analysis, influenced…

A Decolonial Approach to Domestic Violence in Ethiopia This book provides a critical and decolonial analysis of gender and development theory and practice in religious societies through the presentation of a detailed ethnographic study of conjugal violence in Ethiopia. Responding…

First chapter of the Book: Adapting Gender and Development to Local Religious Contexts - A Decolonial Approach to Domestic Violence in Ethiopia by Romina Istratii Since its mainstreaming in the 1990s, the effectiveness of the gender and development paradigm has…

Roland Hoksbergen, Chief Editor of CRDA Journal, reviews 'International Development and Local Faith Actors: Ideological and Cultural Encounters', edited by Kathryn Kraft and Olivia J. Wilkinson. The book addresses the relationships between faith-based organizations in the Global North and local…

Network Paper Number 84 May 2021 Discussions in the run-up to, during and subsequent to the 2016 World Humanitarian Summit (WHS) recognised that the humanitarian system as we know it is not suited to meet the tasks and challenges at…

Task Force 7 - G20 SUPPORT FOR SDGS AND DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION There is an urgent need to better recognize and integrate the significant involvement of faith-based actors in development initiatives through effective policy-driven responses. These responses require novel and inventive…

Religious organizations have an important role in development aid. For a long time, this role was not acknowledged by the main players in the development arena, but this has changed over the last few decades. Yet, this role is not…

Situated within post-colonial development critique, this article explores prevalent attitudes of development practitioners towards religion and their potential policy and practice impacts. The discussion draws on evidence from interviews and document analyses of government aid agencies, their recipient organisations, and…

The book addresses developments in the discourse on religion and development, globally. It outlines the major debates and highlights the emerging consensus that religion remains important. An overview of development in Zimbabwe and the controversies regarding politics, particularly under the…

Religions are increasingly being regarded as relevant partners in international development cooperation due to their special attributes. However, to date there has been little research into what the special attributes of religious development agencies actually are or how such organisations…

Religion can, has, and does play a key role in motivating and framing diverse forms of support for refugees and asylum-seekers around the world. This report draws on over 300 in-depth interviews conducted with refugees, members of local host communities…

The Philippines is a deeply religious society, and institutions and beliefs permeate social, economic, and political institutions. Religious actors are thus deeply engaged in development, from debates and ideas about directions to politics and on the ground implementation. A large…

The SMC (Swedish Mission Council) was founded in 1912, following the 1910 mission conference in Edinburgh, and has since then been working in the intersection between religion and development. Religious actors – whether Muslim, Christian, Hindu, or any other confession…

From 16 to 19 June 2019, 52 participants from 22 countries and from different confessional and faith traditions gathered in Wuppertal, Germany for a conference entitled “Together towards ecotheologies, ethics of sustainability and eco-friendly churches”.1 1 In Wuppertal we were…

Christians are not alone in wanting a better world. In this respect, we stand alongside countless people of other faiths in wanting to see justice, freedom and well-being for all. However, despite the strong presence of faith in the world,…

A companion to From Faith to Action, Journeys of Faith features: 12 strategies for supporting the needs of orphans & vulnerable children Inspiring examples of how churches in the United States are getting involved Stories of partnership between U.S. churches & African orphan…

This study analyses the needs, hopes and agency of older people in Rwanda in the context of a planet that will soon have more older people than under 16s and a nation where the number of over 65 year olds…

Important insights expressed by the churches in this study include: the need for partnership; ecumenical unity and creativity in working together for community healing and transformation; establishing peace and long-term peacebuilding; and a focus on the youth to bring hope…

“Faith and Development in Focus: Tanzania” was inspired by the unique social, political, and economic successes and challenges facing the country at present. Religious institutions have long played central roles in peoples’ lives and in efforts to provide basic services…

A Review of the Literature This report provides an overview of the key themes and existing knowledge on the topics of the Triple Nexus, localization, and local faith actors. The intersection of these topics is particularly important to contemporary aid…

This report presents findings from field research conducted in South Sudan on the intersection of operationalizing the triple nexus (humanitarian-development-peace nexus), localization and, the particular role of local faith actors (LFAs). The report is based on twenty-one interviews with NGO…

This book gives an in-depth analysis of the role of faith in the work of Tearfund, a leading evangelical relief and development NGO that works in over 50 countries worldwide. The study traces the changing ways that faith has shaped…

An Introduction to Climate Resilience curriculum syllabus that ERD designed for their partner and peer agencies' 2018 workshop on Climate Resilience. The following readings and video clips were part of a pre-workshop assignment schedule to introduce a group of development…

A Discussion Note prepared for the Second International Seminar on Environment, Culture and Religion – Promoting Intercultural Dialogue for Sustainable Development (23 – 24 April 2016, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran)

The December 2016 international conference held in Nanjing to discuss the theme “Religion, Values, Ethics and Development” was one of the few in China to bring together both scholars of religion and faith-based development practitioners. Co-organized and hosted by the…

In the recent years, the widespread use of  faith-based non-governmental organizations (FBNGOs) in development is considered as a significant swing in development approaches. The previous disappointing result of the secular-based development strategy persuaded the international donor agencies to put a…

Improving aid delivery through localization in Somalia