Sinaloa Resilience Dialogues 2022

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The Sinaloa Resilience Dialogues 2022 sought to empower key actors and to develop their operational capacity to build resilient networks in communities affected by organized crime and violence.

Civil society leaders, human rights defenders, collectives searching for missing persons and journalists, among others, gathered in the city of Culiacán, the capital of the state of Sinaloa, Mexico, for the third edition of The Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC)'s Resilience Dialogues.

Five years ago, the GI-TOC held its first Resilience Dialogues as part of a pilot programme intended to support community-based responses to organized crime in four countries: Mexico, Guatemala, South Africa and the Philippines. The success of the first two dialogues led to the creation of the GI-TOC's Resilience Fund, a grant-making mechanism that finances, nurtures and assists local initiatives across the world in their responses to organized crime.

One of the main challenges of working against organized crime is finding a way to coordinate civil society activities towards a common goal. Civil society and non-state actors play a critical role on the front line against organized criminal activities.

However, they are often isolated and they do not have sufficient resources to support their work while being exposed to threats and aggressions.

The Resilience Dialogues were held over two days, and comprised workshops and cultural events. Participants included organizations that are also beneficiaries of the Resilience Fund, such as RecuperArte, which re-appropriates public spaces through artistic and community interventions; Iniciativa Sinaloa, which promotes research and advocacy in transparency and anti-corruption policies; and Construyendo Espacios para la Paz, which seeks pacification in high-risk areas.

The activities developed during the Dialogues allowed for the strengthening of support networks among participants, who recognized the need to broaden their support base, as collaborative work allows for more sustainable long-term progress.

Artists created a mural in memory of Javier Valdez, a Mexican journalist who gave voice to the victims of organized crime and who was murdered in 2017.

To commemorate him on the anniversary of his death, participants organized recitals, music performances and a press conference at the memorial dedicated to the journalist, where a wreath was placed.

These activities strengthened the network of local stakeholders through the exchange of lessons learned, tools and best practices focused on collaborative actions.

To learn more about the Resilience Fund click here

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Credits:

Fotografía: David Quintero