Community Engagement and Accountability in REPAIR
Community Engagement and Accountability (CEA) is a way of working which the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement as a whole is committed to integrating across its activities.
CEA principles place people affected by crises at the centre of our work, and recognise community members as equal partners, whose diverse needs, priorities, preferences and capacities are essential elements guiding what we do and how we work.
All too often people affected by crises are viewed as passive participants of humanitarian assistance – CEA approaches seek to help end this by ensuring people are listened to, informed about our work, included in the design and implementation of activities, and able to actively participate in decisions which affect their lives.
From its very inception the REPAIR project sought to integrate CEA principles into partners’ work in family reunification as fundamental to the project.
This included components such as:
- A participatory needs assessment designed and implemented in each country together with people with lived experience of family reunification.
- The prioritisation of information sharing and communication, and the development of information materials together with family members seeking reunification, covering multiple languages and channels, including videos and social media.
- Recognition of and reaching out to diaspora communities as crucial partners in supporting people through the family reunification journey.
- Recognition of the important skills, capacities and lived experiences of Red Cross Red Crescent staff and volunteers from diaspora communities.
- The development and delivery of multiple CEA trainings to partners and wider Red Cross Red Crescent Movement staff, including the piloting, together with the ICRC, of a specific CEA in Family Reunion/Tracing training.
- The creation of a diverse Transnational Steering Group for the project, including representation from diaspora-led organisations.
As participatory needs assessment findings highlighted, transparent processes, open communication, and regular updates not only help keep people informed, but can also build trust between families and the institutions handling their cases. Similarly, supporting families to have a voice in the process, and listening and acting to make sure priority needs and concerns are addressed in ways that match people’s preferences, is key to ensuring families seeking reunification are able to access trusted, effective support.
