Amid accelerating political, economic, and humanitarian transformations, the theme of the Al Nahda Localization Award 2025 is titled “Localization of Humanitarian Action: From Theory to Practice in Times of Transformation.” The theme underscores that localization is no longer merely a theoretical framework, but a practical, community-led approach that integrates humanitarian response, development, and resilience building.
This year’s theme celebrates organizations and individuals who have translated the principles of partnership, equity, and trust into tangible practices, despite challenges such as shrinking funding and instability, while safeguarding the independence of local actors and their central role in leading change within their communities.
In this context, the Arab Renaissance for Democracy and Development (ARDD), in partnership with the Jordan National NGO Forum (JONAF), honored UN Women Jordan, led by Mr. Nicolas Burniat, by awarding it the Al Nahda Localization Award 2025, in recognition of its pioneering efforts in advancing local leadership and promoting the localization of humanitarian and development action in Jordan.
The award recognizes UN Women’s sustained contributions, including its leadership of the Humanitarian Localization Working Group in Jordan, its role in supporting the implementation of the National Action Plan for UN Security Council Resolution 1325, and its systematic support to national and women-led organizations,including many JONAF members. It also acknowledges UN Women’s role in strengthening women’s empowerment and promoting local ownership of humanitarian and development efforts. This recognition further reflects ARDD’s and JONAF’s shared commitment to equitable partnerships, a strong civil society, and positioning local actors at the forefront of humanitarian and development action at national and regional levels.
The award was presented during a meeting held on Sunday, 14 December 2025, where Mr. Nicolas Burniat, Representative of UN Women in Jordan, received the award. In his remarks, he emphasized that the localization of humanitarian action is essential to ensuring sustainable impact and enhancing the effectiveness of responses, highlighting the importance of investing in national capacities and building partnerships grounded in trust and shared responsibility.
During the award presentation, Ms. Sawsan Al-Majali, Senior Advisor at Durat Al-Manal for Development and Training and a Board Member of JONAF, noted that this recognition reflects the pioneering role played by UN Women in strengthening local leadership, fostering trust-based partnerships, and supporting the participation of women and national organizations in developing sustainable solutions.
Ms. Louise Piel Mckey, Programme Manager /Team leader at the European Regional Programme for Development and Protection, emphasized that localization is gaining increasing importance amid rapid political and economic transformations in the region. She stressed the need for a genuine collective commitment to move from theoretical acknowledgment of localization toward practical, sustainable, and community-led implementation.
In turn, Dr. Walid Al-Tarawneh, CEO of Partners for Better and a member of JONAF, affirmed that the award reflects one of the alliance’s core values and underscores the importance of localization as an integrated humanitarian and development approach. He noted that JONAF has become one of the leading models of collaborative engagement between government and civil society in Jordan.
Ms. Samar Mohareb, Executive Director of ARDD and a Board Member of JONAF, stated that the award serves as an annual platform to recognize efforts that strengthen local leadership and reinforce a nationally rooted approach to humanitarian action. She highlighted that UN Women has set a strong example by adopting localization as both a strategic direction and a daily practice in Jordan.
She added that this year’s theme reflects the profound regional and global transformations underway, affirming that localization has become a strategic necessity that moves beyond discourse to action, particularly at a time when humanitarian and development agendas are increasingly interconnected.
The Al Nahda Localization Award was launched in 2021 to honor individuals or organizations that have made exceptional contributions to advancing the localization of humanitarian and development action at the national and regional levels, based on criteria that include innovation, inspiring leadership, collaborative practice, and the highest standards of integrity.
The fifth edition of the Award was held as part of the project “
Future Forward: Unlocking sustainable local opportunities ,” implemented by the ARDD and funded by the European Regional Programme for Development and Protection, in partnership with JONAF.
