Last April, Réunion vibrated to the rhythm of regional cooperation. Five associations won the program's first call for projects. COREOM – Overseas Regional Cooperation were able to exchange with representatives of the Indian Ocean Regional Directorate (DROI) of the French Development Agency (AFD) to present their structures and share their international solidarity initiatives, sources of inspiration on the scale of the Indian Ocean.
A day of meetings and sharing
Far from an institutional presentation, the delegation composed of Jerome Dupuis, project manager for partnerships with civil society organizations (CSOs) at DROI, Julie Couriaut, regional development officer at DROI and Frédéric Leblé, project manager at the Partnerships, Studies and Communication Division at AFD Réunion was led throughout the day by Clara Chépeau, coordinator of the COREOM program for La Guilde, meeting with committed community actors, program implementation partners and key contacts in the region. Maëlle Marblé, Meeting Coordinator for CIRRMA also participated in this day of meetings during a strategic meeting, as did the firm 3A Tips, in charge of supporting the winning associations in Reunion.
Going beyond the scope of project files, this series of meetings between program partners and associative actors around the different facets of the COREOM ecosystem made it possible to revisit the genesis and ambitions of the five winning structures of the first COREOM call for projects, the challenges of the Reunion Island associative fabric and the prospects for developing regional cooperation at the territorial level.
Five projects to draw a common horizon in the Indian Ocean
Each of the winning projects reflects in its own way the richness and diversity of possible cooperation in the region. With Chancegal, the challenge is to promote a more equal practice of sport in Madagascar, Mauritius, the Comoros and Reunion. The association strives to open the game to everyone, whether on the field, in refereeing or within training courses, by making sport a vector of equality and emancipation.
With Autism Reunion, health is at the heart of the action, through a project designed to improve access to somatic care for autistic people in several islands of the Indian Ocean, from Mauritius to Mayotte. Beyond the direct beneficiaries, this project also aims to strengthen the quality of life of caregivers, recalling that regional cooperation can also be a response to public health and inclusion issues.
The consortium composed of’O'Sphere and the CCSTI Sciences Reunion proposes to anchor cooperation in the educational and environmental fields. Their initiative, carried out in Antsanitsia (Madagascar), aims to develop among young people a better understanding of biodiversity and natural heritage, based on the model of educational areas. A project that brings together the transmission of knowledge, awareness raising and environmental preservation, based on the know-how developed by the association in Entre-Deux, on the Bras de la Plaine site.
In another sector, Tsiky Majunga works to improve accident prevention and emergency care in rural schools in Majunga (Madagascar). The goal is to create a true healthcare circuit linking schools, health centers, and the university hospital. Through this project, cooperation becomes synonymous with solidarity and innovation in school health, in areas often lacking suitable structures. The association, notably supported by the West Reunion Hospital Center, strengthens cooperation between islands in the same basin through its actions.
Finally, with the association Bek La Barre This is an original perspective that opens up through the mobilization of street sports or "street workout", as a lever for social and professional integration for young people on the outskirts of Durban (South Africa). By transforming informal sports practices into structuring opportunities, the association illustrates the capacity of local initiatives to reinvent the tools of integration and to speak a universal language: that of the body in movement. Echoing the work carried out by the association in the city of Port, it is also a bridge between the youth of the two territories that is formed, like an invitation to mobility.
An open dialogue with Reunion Island stakeholders
This meeting in Réunion was not only an opportunity to highlight five characteristic projects. It also allowed for a broader dialogue to be opened with local institutional stakeholders and program partners. With the CIRRMA, the discussions focused on multi-actor dynamics and on how to mobilize, animate and support the Reunion Island associative network around the issues of regional cooperation and international solidarity. With the operational management of regional cooperation of the Reunion Region, the discussion explored the possible synergies between COREOM and the regional cooperation strategy, highlighting the role of the program as a lever and catalyst for actors and initiatives. These complementary dialogues reflect a growing interest in cooperation conceived as a space for convergence between citizen initiatives and public policies.
Lessons for the future
At the end of this day, several observations were clear. First, the marked interest of Reunion Island stakeholders in this program dedicated to overseas territories, perceived as an opportunity to expand, strengthen, or give another dimension to their actions, particularly thanks to its funding mechanism. Second, the strong potential of the program to contribute indirectly to public policies for regional cooperation, by offering a flexible and responsive framework. Finally, the need for reinforced strategic support, to allow associations to further structure their actions and maximize their impact. In other words, COREOM opens up perspectives but must also be accompanied by appropriate tools and support to achieve its full potential.
From Reunion to Mayotte, the momentum continues
A few weeks after this meeting in Reunion, the program continued its journey to Mayotte, where a training cycle dedicated to the design and monitoring of international cooperation projects was opened, organized by the Mayotte Environmental and Sustainable Development Education Network (REEDD 976) and the office Territorial Development Council, partners in implementing the program in the region. This new action perfectly illustrates the COREOM approach: after meeting with stakeholders and gathering needs, comes the time to develop skills through concrete tools.
In this month of April 2025, Réunion and Mayotte have each in their own way set the tone: that of a vibrant overseas cooperation providing solutions, with the potential for deployment across the entire Indian Ocean.