The global COVID-19 outbreak requires us to rethink our (inter)national programmes and activities, in order to adequately tackle the current crisis and its aftermath. To be able to enhance information exchange on COVID-19 measures and approaches, the CIB secretariat now uses the following tools:
- CIB whatsapp group
The CIB whatsapp group is used for daily exchange on developments in your home countries, in international programmes and within the international donor community. It has become much more active since the COVID-19 outbreak – members share news items, announcements of webinars and useful templates for activities related to COVID-19.
Do you want to become a member of this group? Please email uclg.cib@vng.nl
- Google Drive for exchange on COVID-19 measures and approaches
The Google Drive bundles approaches, action plans and activity ideas shared in the CIB whatsapp group, by email, in news items or on your websites. The ultimate goal of creating such a space for exchange is to increase the impact of our interventions, enhance coordination and to avoid duplication of efforts. You can access the Google Drive here. The drive is divided into different categories and sub-categories, such as action plans/measures, gender & COVID-19, templates for coronavirus related activities, and useful online resources. In order to upload a file on the Drive, you will have to log in with a Google account. In case you experience any technical difficulties, do not hesitate to contact us and we will upload the file for you. We invite everyone to keep sharing and uploading their valuable materials!
- Dedicated CIB circulars
To make sure that all the valuable materials shared in the Whatsapp group and the Google Drive reach a big audience, the CIB secretariat has started sending out CIB COVID-19 circulars. We aim to send these out at least once a month. If you want to receive circulars from the CIB secretariat, please sign up here.
- COVID-19 coordination calls: Nepal, Mozambique, Sahel region
The CIB work plan 2020 mentions that we plan to organize country coordination calls for Nepal, Mozambique and one or more countries in the Sahel region. These calls will allow participants to exchange experiences and ideas regarding ongoing projects and activities in these countries. In the current context, we think the central question in these calls should be: how do we support local governments in this specific country in their COVID-19 crisis management and response and in their recovery planning, in ongoing or future international programmes.
Are you working in Nepal, Mozambique or in the Sahel region and would you like to coordinate your COVID-19 activities? Please let us know by sending an email to uclg.cib@vng.nl
- Virtual discussion on COVID-19 at CIB annual meeting
The impact of COVID-19 on our work field will also be the main topic of the next virtual CIB annual meeting, which takes place on 17 June. You will find more information on this meeting here.
Additional ideas?
In case you have additional ideas or suggestions regarding CIB COVID-19 exchange, please let us know! Its all learning by doing in this crisis.