For over a decade, the hub-based fora – including the Northwest Syria (NWS) NGO Forum, Northeast Syria (NES) NGO Forum, Damascus-based INGOs (DINGO), Partnership Coordination Group (PCG), and the Syria Regional INGO Forum (SIRF) – have played essential roles, coordinating efforts amid fragmented operational contexts.
These fora provided critical spaces for advocacy, representation, and coordination, often under exceptionally challenging conditions. Their contributions laid the groundwork for this new chapter.
Recognizing both the achievements and limitations of past coordination structures, and the changing realities since December 2024, the NWS NGO Forum, NES NGO Forum, DINGO, PCG and SIRF, have jointly agreed to consolidate under one national coordination structure, the Syria NGO Forum, to strengthen our collective impact.
This merger reflects a shared commitment to:
- Unify efforts, amplify voices, and share resources across humanitarian and developmen actors operating in Syria.
- Strengthen principled, inclusive, and effective coordination.
- Promote the collective leadership of NGOs, including National NGOs, in shaping the response and influence humanitarian and development policy making at local, national, and international levels.
This merger marks the culmination of an inclusive and consultative process led by the NGOs themselves through their respective NGO Fora. We acknowledge that these regional fora played a vital role in sustaining principled, field-driven coordination during the most challenging years of the Syria response. With this historic transition, we affirm that, while their legacy is still profoundly appreciated, these fora have fulfilled their mandates and concluded a chapter of meaningful support to NGOs across Syria, handing over to the Syria NGO Forum, the body to carry coordination, representation, and advocacy efforts forward.
The Syria NGO Forum brings together International and National NGOs under one platform that is grounded in humanitarian principles and whose members are committed to the values of local leadership, inclusivity, accountability, and collective action. The Forum will support collective representation, facilitate technical and policy dialogue, and engage with a broad range of stakeholders–including UN agencies, donors, and authorities–within the humanitarian and development architecture.
In this moment of transition, we reaffirm our shared responsibility to respond to the evolving needs of communities throughout Syria. Today, as we recognize the needs of communities in Syria who are eager to live with dignity and exercise their rights, we come together to stress the importance of uniting our voices through an inclusive and effective space.