Amid ongoing national debates, including the Norwegian government’s efforts to rethink Norway’s engagement with humanitarian and development aid, there has been increasing attention to localization, refugee‑led assistance, and innovative funding mechanisms. In this context, PRIO, in collaboration with the Norwegian Council for Africa and the Karibu Foundation, hosted a seminar on 23 April at Vega Scene. The event invited discussion on how humanitarian assistance could be localized and how the voices of those directly affected by local crises, particularly refugees and refugee‑led organizations, could be better included in shaping support for their own communities.
Uganda, which hosted Africa’s largest refugee population of nearly two million people, was a central focus of the seminar. A short documentary, Filling the Gap or Taking the Lead?, was screened, highlighting initiatives developed by refugees and refugee‑led organizations to support their communities. These initiatives included farming groups, savings schemes, and other forms of collective action, alongside more formalized efforts that often received far less attention than the international aid system.
The documentary was produced by the Refugee Law Project (RLP) in collaboration with NTNU and Makerere University as part of the PRIO‑led AidAccount project. The film raised broader questions about the humanitarian localization agenda and explored what changes would occur if refugee‑led actors were recognized as central actors rather than supplementary components of aid systems. The screening was followed by a panel discussion, with brief reflections provided by State Secretary Stine Renate Håheim.
The panel included Kuol Arou Kuol, a refugee leader featured in the film and a South Sudanese refugee, activist, and former leader of the Refugee Led Organisation Network (RELON). Anne Muthoni Wairimu also participated, bringing extensive experience in participatory grantmaking, including her role in co‑designing the Karibu grantmaking pilot and other innovative funding mechanisms.
The discussion was facilitated by Cindy Horst, Research Professor at PRIO, who had broad expertise in locally led crisis response and led Research Council of Norway-funded projects on accountability and the humanitarian‑development‑peace nexus (EXPAND).
The event was a collaboration between the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO), the Norwegian Council for Africa, and the Karibu Foundation.
