In Guatemala the localization project supported by NEAR was executed within the framework of COCIGER (Citizen Convergence for Risk Management) which is a space for social and academic organizations that promote the development of capacities for Disaster Risk Management in Guatemala, of which four are members of NEAR: ADAM, ASECSA, ACCSS and ASEDE. All legally constituted and with legal personality. At the beginning of 2026, a new organization, Sagrada Tierra, has joined.

It is very important to say that COCIGER shares the concept of “localization”, understood according to the OECD as “the process of recognizing, respecting and strengthening the leadership of local authorities and the capacity of local civil society in humanitarian action, in order to better address the needs of affected populations and prepare national actors for future humanitarian responses”. That allows us to generate conditions to promote a “transformative change”, which allows us to design a new system of international solidarity based on the principle of complementarity and that works as requested by local and national agents to finance, provide resources and complement existing systems, structures and capacities. Localization requires a radical change in the role of international actors and their systems. This concept has been discussed and adopted by NEAR, which is shared by COCIGER. “Transformative Change.”