As a partner of CORÉOM alongside the AFD, the Fondation de France brings to the program its experience in supporting local actors, empowerment and crisis and disaster prevention. Élodie Paillé, head of the Crisis & Disaster Prevention Collective, and Louise Laporte, co-leader of the same Collective, They revisit the contribution of the Fondation de France to CORÉOM, the lessons learned from this first phase and the links between regional cooperation, territorial resilience and climate issues.
The participation of the Fondation de France in CORÉOM is part of a cooperation initiated with the AFD following major crises, in particular the earthquake that occurred in Haiti in 2010, which was formalized by a first partnership agreement in 2018.
Initially focused on post-emergency care, this collaboration has gradually expanded to human rights, the environment, agriculture and the strengthening of civil society organizations.
The 2022-2025 convention marked a a new step by initiating a joint support mechanism for overseas associations, including CORÉOM – program run by The Guild – constitutes a concrete translation. This orientation is confirmed by the third agreement signed in September 2025, which places the localization of responses, territories, and crisis prevention among the priorities shared by both institutions. It aligns with the long-standing commitment of the Fondation de France to environmental issues and the creation, in 2023, of his collective Crises et Catastrophes, dedicated to strengthening the capacities of local actors, protecting populations and preserving natural ecosystems in the face of disaster risks.
In the Overseas Territories, particularly exposed to the impacts of climate change, CORÉOM is thus extending a coherent trajectory: supporting cooperation with neighbouring countries while strengthening, in French territories, the power to act, global citizenship education and collective resilience capacities.
What was the specific contribution of the Fondation de France to the CORÉOM program?
The Fondation de France contributed to CORÉOM additional funding to that allocated to international solidarity. While the latter primarily supported actions conducted with partners in neighboring countries, his contribution made it possible to co-finance initiatives carried out in the French overseas territories, particularly around empowerment and education for citizenship and international solidarity – ECSI.
This complementarity is central to the program's logic. Regional cooperation is not built solely within the partner country; it is also prepared and implemented in Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Martinique, Mayotte, and Réunion. It requires mobilize local public actors and residents, to raise awareness among the population, to create spaces for dialogue and to strengthen the capacity of associations to take part in regional dynamics.
«"Our ambition is to support initiatives that not only address a specific need, but that sustainably strengthen the capacity of individuals and organizations to take action."»
Elodie Paillé
The Fondation de France has thus contributed to supporting both dimensions of this cooperation: actions carried out with neighboring countries and their integration within the overseas territories. This integration involves public participation, the mobilization of local stakeholders, and strengthening the capacity of associations to bring about change in their own environments.
This intervention is part of the ongoing commitment of the Fondation de France to non-profit organizations. Our ambition is to supporting initiatives which do not only meet a specific, one-off need, but which sustainably strengthen the capacity of individuals and organizations to act. CORÉOM has made it possible to apply this approach in the field of regional cooperation, by recognizing Overseas associations as actors in social change.
The multi-stakeholder and multi-territorial nature of the program was also a key objective. The partners shared a common goal, while operating from different frameworks, cultures of action, and points of reference. This is also the strength of this type of program: allowing each partner to contribute their specific expertise to the same transformative ambition.
How does this commitment fit into the interest of the Fondation de France for societal change projects and climate issues?
The initial reflections of the Fondation de France regarding CORÉOM were linked to its experience in the field of crisis and disaster prevention. The overseas territories are particularly exposed to the impacts of climate change, such as extreme weather events and sea-level rise, and are also highly vulnerable to biodiversity loss and various forms of social and economic vulnerability.
«"A better-structured association, more connected to its environment and capable of forging regional partnerships, becomes a resource for its territory."»
– Louise Laporte –
The resilience of these territories However, it does not rely solely on infrastructure or technical solutions. It also depends on the ability of local actors to anticipate, cooperate, and mobilize. the inhabitants and to build collective responses. From this perspective, Strengthening the associative fabric is a real challenge. of societal change.
A better-structured association, more connected to its environment and capable of forging regional partnerships, becomes a resource for its territory. It can circulate knowledge, raise public awareness, mobilize communities, and build solidarity across borders.
Empowerment and global citizenship education (GCE) contribute directly to this dynamic. They enable citizens to better understand interdependencies regional, to take hold of common issues and to recognize themselves as actors in the transformations to be carried out.
This approach is particularly relevant in the face of climate challenges. Natural hazards, ecosystem protection, resource management, and the social consequences of crises do not stop at administrative borders. Overseas territories and neighboring countries share many realities. Regional cooperation allows them to exchange experiences, pool their expertise, and develop appropriate responses at the scale of their respective basins.
SAF Trans-Amazonia, Guyana-Brazil. Through agroforestry and the transmission of forest knowledge, the project led by Nature Rights illustrates regional cooperation that combines empowerment, ecosystem protection and adaptation to climate challenges, at the heart of the priorities supported by the Fondation de France.
The Fondation de France hoped to see more projects directly dedicated to climate change adaptation, disaster prevention, or environmental resilience. Experience, however, shows that This resilience can also be strengthened indirectly. : supporting the structuring of associations, their integration with the population and their ability to cooperate contributes to better preparing territories for crises.
What lessons would help to strengthen this coherence within the program?
CORÉOM brought together several ambitions. The program was intended to support international solidarity projects, increase the visibility and strengthen overseas associations, develop their capacity to act, structure local ecosystems and contribute to the resilience of the territories.
These ambitions are not contradictory. On the contrary, they outline a coherent chain of transformation: strengthened associations can build more balanced partnerships; these partnerships make it possible to develop regional responses; these responses can produce sustainable social, civic and environmental transformations.
One of the challenges of the program is that partners must share not only a general intention, but also a common understanding of the desired changes, the activities that contribute to them, and each partner's role to ensure greater coherence. For example, The power to act and global citizenship education could be more visible in the program's pathway, while’'a more explicit place could be given to projects more directly related to climate, to crisis prevention and resilience.
The challenge, therefore, is not to juxtapose several interventions, but to to build a common framework in which each partner contributes, with its own tools and expertise, with the same ambition: to enable overseas associations and their regional partners to become sustainable actors in the social and ecological transformations of their territories.
Key points to remember
- Additional funding, enabling support for actions carried out in overseas territories in conjunction with projects conducted in neighboring countries.
- Empowerment and global citizenship education as levers for territorial anchoring and societal change.
- A desire to better link regional cooperation, territorial resilience and climate issues.