Regional Offices Highlights
ACT Alliance regional offices strengthen coordination, support forums and members in each region, advance localisation of our humanitarian and development work, and connect national and regional priorities to ACT Alliance's global advocacy and humanitarian agenda.
Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
Across the MENA region, the regional office supported members through capacity strengthening, regional dialogue, humanitarian coordination, and engagement on climate justice, gender justice, and quality and accountability
Localisation and Membership Growth
Gender Justice and Community Engagement
Climate Justice and Faith-Based Collaboration
Quality, Accountability, and Learning
Humanitarian Coordination
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- CAPNI in Iraq
- Compassion Protestant Society in Lebanon
- YWCA in Palestine
- Council of Services and Development, Synod of the Nile (CSD) in Egypt
bringing the total number of local ACT members in the region to eleven. The expansion strengthened ACT Alliance’s localisation agenda and supported the establishment of the Egypt Forum.
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Strengthening Regional Capacity and Collaboration: Regional trainings and convenings focused on gender justice, CHS, investigations and complaints handling, resource mobilisation, and training-of-trainers approaches. More than 45 participants, including church leaders, judges, academics, women-led organisations, and ACT members, took part in a regional workshop on family status laws and gender justice.
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Advancing Humanitarian Coordination and Ecumenical Engagement: Despite ongoing conflict and instability across the region, ACT Alliance members maintained humanitarian responses in Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria, including in hard-to-reach areas. The regional office also strengthened engagement with churches, faith-based organisations, and ecumenical partners through climate justice initiatives, dialogue platforms, and regional collaboration.
2026 Areas of Work
- Deepening Localization: Continuing to expand local membership, with active engagement underway with the Anglican Church in both Palestine Egypt, and potential new YWCA membership in Jordan or Lebanon.
- Advancing the Triple Nexus Approach: Building on lessons from the pilot, with a focus on applying learnings from the Nexus appeal to strengthen the humanitarian-development-advocacy linkage across the region.
- Strengthening Field-Level Capacity: Continuing capacity building for local staff, with planned workshops including a focus on disability and inclusion.
- Climate Engagement: Exploring targeted climate work at regional and country level, with a focus on identifying where ACT Alliance can meaningfully engage in strategic decision-making processes.
- Ecumenical and UN Collaboration: Deepening cooperation with UN agencies and ecumenical partners to broaden the region’s collective influence and visibility.
Africa
The Africa region has the highest number of ACT national members. In 2025, the secretariat enhanced coordination and strengthened forum engagement, deepening member engagement at both forum and regional level through capacity strengthening, peer learning, and programmatic work.
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Strengthening regional engagement of national members: ACT Alliance’s Africa Region convened its inaugural meeting of CEOs and General Secretaries, bringing together 27 members for a two-day workshop. Participants committed to strengthening forum engagement, implementing ACT’s Mandatory Policies, advancing quality and accountability, promoting localisation and locally led responses, and enhancing resource mobilisation through a consortium approach.
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Sub-regional engagement of members in Southern Africa: The ACT secretariat took part in the Southern Africa Regional Forum (SARF) meeting held in Johannesburg, South Africa, on 17 to 18 June 2025, with strong representation from forums across the sub-region and active discussion of the issues facing members’ work there.
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Meeting of General Secretaries of National Councils of Churches (GS-NCCs): Held on 30 July, this meeting strengthened collaboration between ACT Forums and NCCs, reflecting the ACT Forum Policy’s provision that NCCs have a permanent invitation to the forums. The meeting deepened understanding of the role councils of churches play in ACT Alliance’s work and the need to collaborate with ACT Forums, whether or not they are ACT members.
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The region welcomed 4 new members, from Malawi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, and Angola, extending ACT Alliance’s reach into more communities.
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Strengthening African Union Advocacy: Monthly coordination meetings continued to enhance members’ engagement with the African Union and AU-EU processes. In 2025, members jointly developed a briefing paper ahead of the Nordic-African Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, demonstrating the strength of coordinated regional advocacy briefing paper.
Asia Pacific:
The regional office focused on strengthening national forums, deepening ecumenical collaboration, and reinforcing locally led coordination across the region amid ongoing funding and organisational transitions. The secretariat continued accompanying members and forums through strategic engagement, peer exchange, and alliance development, while strengthening ACT Alliance's relationships with national and regional ecumenical bodies.
Forum Accompaniment and Alliance Development
Ecumenical Diakonia and Faith-Based Engagement
Regional Coordination and Strategic Engagement
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Reactivating and Strengthening National Forums:
ACT Secretariat engaged with national forums across the region, contributing to the reactivation of forums in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Nepal, and Thailand, all significantly affected by the long-term impacts of COVID-19 and organisational transitions. The reactivation of the Thailand Forum also led to the approval of the membership application of the Church of Christ in Thailand (CCT), strengthening ACT Alliance’s national presence and local engagement in the country.
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Strengthening Ecumenical and Regional Partnerships:
The region made important progress strengthening relationships with ecumenical bodies and national councils of churches. ACT Forums, members, and the Secretariat deepened engagement with key ecumenical partners, including the National Council of Churches in India (NCCI) and the Communion of Churches in Indonesia (PGI), both non-ACT members, while continuing active collaboration with the National Council of Churches in the Philippines and the National Christian Council of Sri Lanka, both ACT members. These partnerships strengthened regional dialogue on ecumenical diakonia and collaboration between ACT Forums and broader faith-based networks.
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Expanding Engagement in East Asia and the Pacific:
The regional office continued exploring opportunities to strengthen ACT Alliance’s presence and coordination in East Asia and the Pacific. In China, engagement with Amity Foundation advanced through its active participation in ACT meetings and alliance platforms. Discussions also progressed on strengthening member coordination across East Asia, including China, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and the Philippines, alongside the exploration of new regional partnerships. In the Pacific, the ACT agenda remained a strategic priority for the PANZ Forum and the Secretariat, with plans to strengthen ACT visibility, communication, and engagement in the sub-region through ecumenical partners such as the Pacific Conference of Churches (PCC), and to expand collaboration with the broader partnership networks of PANZ members.
2026 Areas of Work
- Strengthening Ecumenical Cooperation: The regional office will continue advancing ecumenical cooperation processes initiated in 2025, focusing on strengthening relationships between ACT Forums, national councils of churches, and regional ecumenical bodies.
- Asia Pacific Regional Forum Meeting: A face-to-face Asia Pacific Regional Forum meeting will be convened in Sri Lanka in September 2026, bringing together forums and members to strengthen regional collaboration and discuss strategic priorities for the region and the wider Alliance.
- Strengthening Localisation through the Rapid Response Fund (RRF): The office will continue supporting localisation efforts across the region, with particular attention to the ongoing strengthening and reform of the Rapid Response Fund as a key mechanism for locally led humanitarian response.
- Expanding Regional Partnerships and East Asia Engagement: Building on progress made in 2025, the regional office will further explore partnership opportunities and strengthen coordination across East Asia and the Pacific, including through planned engagement by the ACT General Secretary in 2026.
2026 Priorities
- Strengthening Regional Coordination and Strategic Alignment: An annual regional online meeting will be convened to follow up on key regional priorities, including strengthening forum sustainability through peer learning and experience sharing on resource mobilization. The meeting will also provide an opportunity to reflect on emerging African contextual developments and contribute regional perspectives to the implementation of the new ACT Strategic Plan.
- Revitalizing the West and Central Africa Regional Forum (WARF): A key priority for 2026 will be the reactivation and strengthening of the West and Central Africa Regional Forum (WARF). In collaboration with regional leadership and members, a face-to-face meeting will be organized to strengthen member engagement, enhance coordination, and identify opportunities for joint action on shared priorities.
- Establishing the Greater Eastern Africa Sub-Regional Forum: Building on interest expressed by national members, the ACT Regional Office will facilitate the establishment of the Greater Eastern Africa Sub-Regional Forum. The initiative aims to foster closer collaboration, improve coordination, and strengthen collective action among members in the sub-region.
- Enhancing Engagement with National Forums: The Regional Office will continue regular engagement with national forums through their existing meeting platforms, providing updates on regional initiatives, strengthening information sharing, and ensuring effective communication between members and the ACT Secretariat.
- Promoting Sustainable and Collaborative Action: The region will continue supporting forums to explore collaborative approaches to programming, advocacy, and resource mobilization, with a focus on strengthening member ownership, localization, and collective impact across Africa.
Europe
The Europe region focused on strengthening member collaboration, advancing localisation commitments, supporting national Forums, and creating more space for youth engagement within ACT Alliance. Through collaboration between the ACT Europe Forum, ACT EU, national Forums, and thematic Communities of Practice, the region contributed to shaping key Alliance priorities emerging from the 2024 General Assembly.
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Advancing Localisation and Humanitarian Reform:
ACT Europe Forum, ACT EU, and the Humanitarian Directors Meeting convened in Dublin to advance discussions on localisation and the future of humanitarian response within ACT Alliance. Members explored ways to strengthen the Rapid Response Fund (RRF), expand locally led response mechanisms, and increase the role of local actors in humanitarian decision-making and resource allocation.
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Supporting National Forums and Regional Coordination:
The Secretariat continued accompanying the national forums in Ukraine and Armenia, strengthening coordination among members and keeping national priorities connected to ACT Alliance’s broader humanitarian and advocacy agenda.
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Elevating Youth Voices in Advocacy and Ecumenical Spaces:
Youth representatives engaged directly with the ACT Europe Forum and the Advocacy and Policy Group, contributing perspectives on youth-led advocacy and organisational leadership. The Youth Community of Practice also convened a lecture series on youth leadership, climate justice, and gender justice, and took part in broader ecumenical initiatives with the World Council of Churches and the Season of Creation closing event.
2026 Areas of Work
- Finalise and advance the ACT Alliance Youth Policy through consultations and focus group discussions informed by the 2025 survey findings.
- Continue supporting implementation of localisation commitments, including strengthening the Rapid Response Fund and locally led humanitarian approaches.
- Deepen engagement with national forums, particularly in Ukraine and Armenia, to strengthen coordination and humanitarian response.
- Expand collaboration between youth leaders, the Advocacy and Policy Group, and regional forums to strengthen youth participation in ACT governance and advocacy.
North America
The North America Forum's 2025 work began with a meeting the week before the US presidential inauguration. The operating context shifted more than anticipated in the early months of the second Trump administration, creating particular challenges for US members, especially those focused on migrant and refugee rights. The Forum focused much of its planning on a January 2026 conference with Latin American members in Bogotá, the first joint meeting bringing together members from across the Americas. ACT Canada Forum continued to support the Locally Led Climate Fund, alongside ELCA, completing the second year and planning the third year of the programme. Canadian members also followed up on General Assembly outcomes, particularly the advocacy messaging supported by members before the Assembly, ensuring that support did not waver and that appropriate follow-up steps were taken.
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Advancing Localisation and Humanitarian Reform:
ACT Europe Forum, ACT EU, and the Humanitarian Directors Meeting convened in Dublin to advance discussions on localisation and the future of humanitarian response within ACT Alliance. Members explored ways to strengthen the Rapid Response Fund (RRF), expand locally led response mechanisms, and increase the role of local actors in humanitarian decision-making and resource allocation.
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Supporting National Forums and Regional Coordination:
The Secretariat continued accompanying the national forums in Ukraine and Armenia, strengthening coordination among members and keeping national priorities connected to ACT Alliance’s broader humanitarian and advocacy agenda.
03
Elevating Youth Voices in Advocacy and Ecumenical Spaces:
Youth representatives engaged directly with the ACT Europe Forum and the Advocacy and Policy Group, contributing perspectives on youth-led advocacy and organisational leadership. The Youth Community of Practice also convened a lecture series on youth leadership, climate justice, and gender justice, and took part in broader ecumenical initiatives with the World Council of Churches and the Season of Creation closing event.
2026 Areas of Work
- Finalise and advance the ACT Alliance Youth Policy through consultations and focus group discussions informed by the 2025 survey findings.
- Continue supporting implementation of localisation commitments, including strengthening the Rapid Response Fund and locally led humanitarian approaches.
- Deepen engagement with national forums, particularly in Ukraine and Armenia, to strengthen coordination and humanitarian response.
- Expand collaboration between youth leaders, the Advocacy and Policy Group, and regional forums to strengthen youth participation in ACT governance and advocacy.