CALLS Network
Our vision
A world of solidarities between grassroots communities in Europe and refugees in the Global South to support refugee agency in humanitarian action.
Our mission
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CONNECT - Our network connects Local Solidarity Groups (LSGs) in European countries and different types of donors with Refugee-Led Organisations (RLOs) in the Global South to build communities engaged in transformative relationships that contribute to reshaping the humanitarian ecosystem.
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MOBILISE - Our network leverages the partnerships built by the LSGs to co-create new forms of solidarity with refugees in the Global South, amplify their voices, mobilise support for community-based initiatives led by refugees, in particular women, youth and persons with disabilities in the Global South, raise funds for RLOs in humanitarian action, reframe the narrative around refugees, and contribute to a power shift in the humanitarian sector.
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SUPPORT – We promote collaboration among LSGs in Europe to build a social movement in solidarity with refugees in the Global South, pool expertise to strengthen the capacities of RLOs, build refugee leadership, support innovative partnerships in humanitarian action, and produce a solid evidence-basis to scale up the approach.
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ADVOCATE - We work for human dignity and respect for refugees as key actors in humanitarian action; for a recognition of the principle of agency; for locally-led humanitarian responses inclusive of RLOs; for adequate resourcing for refugee community-based initiatives; for grassroot solidarities that acknowledge our common humanity.
We believe in humanity and solidarity and stand for agency and inclusion.
CALLS is animated by connections between volunteers, donors and others concerned in Europe, and refugee communities in the Global South that co-create transformative forms of solidarity.
Our approach
Our approach is unique because of the values on which it is founded and our intentional practice. We centre common humanity, agency over charity, and collective responsibility, while actively seeking to shift power to refugees and their organisations in the humanitarian ecosystem. How we work is just as important to us as the gaps we aim to bridge in the humanitarian ecosystem.
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We affirm our common humanity and recognise the interconnectedness of the living, including the environment that sustains us. We champion agency, not charity. We stand together with refugees; they are not “Others against Us,” but part of a shared world we all inhabit.
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We embrace our responsibility for each other, for the living systems around us, and acknowledge that the humanitarian system delivers common goods that benefit all of us.
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We seek to shift the power to refugees and their organisations in humanitarian action. For us, refugees are not beneficiaries of assistance; they are frontline responders and community leaders with agency.
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We foster transformative solidarities in action to protect human dignity, foster resilience, and support affected communities and the environment that binds us all.
Our method
Our name
CALLS stands for Calls for Agency, Locally-Led humanitarian action inclusive of refugees and Solidarities with Refugee-Led Organisations in the Global South.
