Guide urges aid charities to ‘decolonise’ local operations in bid to tackle racism

International aid body Bond has published guidance urging charities to “decolonise” their local operations to better tackle racism in the sector.

Earlier this year MPs found that racism was “particularly pertinent” in aid organisations, which has its roots in colonialism.

Their report found that “discriminatory attitudes within these organisations will have a negative impact on the communities they work with and the programmes they deliver”.

In response to concerns around racism in the sector Bond, along with the Social Investment Consultancy (TSIC), has produced a guide for international charities on ‘becoming locally led as an anti-racist practice’.

“Locally-led development is an anti-racist practice. We need to understand that the two are inherently linked,” states the guide.

Locally led development is an #antiracist practice. The two are inherently linked. Read our guide to #BeLocallyLed and check out what a locally led organisation can look like, with lots of useful resources and questions for your team https://t.co/bK5Schc0aw pic.twitter.com/2RWzWcrEHX
— Bond (@bondngo) October 4, 2022

The guide stresses that decolonisation will help charities combat ideologies of “superiority and privilege of Western thought and approaches”.

It discusses the need for charities to ensure community development is locally led to effectively combat racism. This can be where operations are owned by local people, who set priorities, or locally managed, where the overall approach to work is centralised but managed by local communities.

Advice includes ensuring charities are “open to challenge, to new ways of working and to change”.

Questions charities need to ask themselves include whether they are “centring Black and people of colour’s voices” and assessing “what anti-racist practices do we actively engage in”.

“The guide is for international organisations of varying sizes based in higher-income countries, such as the UK, which work in partnership with colleagues from around the world and want to shift their practices and use of power to become more locally led,” said Neelam Dave, head of programme funding at SOS Children’s Villages UK.

Bond is looking for charities to pilot its approaches to promote locally led arrangements. Interested charities are urged to contact Bond sector change and funding adviser Yolaina Vargas Pritchard yvargaspritchard@bond.org.uk