SMILY’s South-South Cooperation: a new era of shared growth

SMILY‘s South-South Cooperation: a new era of shared growth

SMILY Academy

Claudia Laricchia

The global cooperation and humanitarian sector is under unprecedented strain. Major donor countries are cutting bilateral aid budgets, because of the current geopolitical scenario.

Moreover, we are forced to observe a pathetic reverse of common sense on the reality we are facing. It is the case of billionaires like Bill Gates, who posted before the COP30, a new statement on climate change which apparently is not a priority anymore. The “apocalyptic approach to the issue” should be abandoned as we need to stay focused on tackling poverty, as if these topics would not be connected.  According to Bill Gates a “shift seen by some as deprioritising large-scale climate action”.

There is more. The humanitarian system is nearing breaking point: the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that cuts in funding are forcing life-or-death choices in relief operations. Unog Aid organisations themselves note that mid-2025 funding for humanitarian responses has fallen dramatically, leaving millions without support.

This convergence of funding retreats, shifting priorities and mounting crises poses a sharp risk to the traditional “North-to-South” model of development cooperation and opens urgent space for alternative approaches, including the rise of South-South partnerships.

Climate crisis? Humanitarian system? We care.

South to South Cooperation pathway to justice

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That’s because if someone, decision makers, billionaires, policy makers, put in discussion the reality as it is, the risks we are facing, the human rights, the need of equity and the importance to act to find profound and stable solutions, it doesn’t mean that these issues disappear. It means that we need to find alternative ways to solve them, to raise our voice as the representative system is the only one which imploded, not us or our needs and priorities.

That’s why “South-South cooperation” and bottom up solutions coming from CSO civic society organizations are running fast and creating a new wave of power to act.

South South cooperation refers to collaboration among developing countries (often collectively referred to as the Global South) in political, economic, social, cultural, environmental and technical domains. It is defined by the United Nations Office for South‑South Cooperation (UNOSSC) as “a process whereby two or more developing countries pursue their individual and/or shared national capacity-development objectives through exchanges of knowledge, skills, resources and technical know-how”. In simpler terms: rather than the traditional “North-to-South” model (developed → developing), South-South seeks partnerships of equals, sharing experience, innovations, local solutions, and building together.

It matters. We matter.

Why does it matter? Because it elevates self-reliance and local ownership: we don’t have recipients anymore, none needs a top down charity which does not listen to the people involved nor empower them. We need active partners, exchange of competencies, respect of identities, diversities, cultures, traditions. It also allows for solutions that are context-relevant: countries facing similar challenges (e.g., climate vulnerability, agricultural transitions, youth unemployment) can learn from each other’s ways of coping and innovating.

South leadership means humans’ prosperity.

Not by chance, the World Food Programme reports that through its brokered South-South and triangular cooperation (SSTC) efforts, over USD 11 million between 2019-2023 has been  mobilized.

In this context the 4D development model of the SMILY Academy is particularly needed and indeed it already is in action.

This model shows how you can shift from “development aid” to “shared development learning”. The partners are equally engaged in mutual discovery, innovation and scaling. Decolonisation, Decentralisation, Decarbonisation, and Democratisation are the core of our approach on cooperation beyond technocratic or charitable frames, towards systemic transformation. Effects are: Indigenous wisdom and local knowledge are validated, not overridden. Youth, women entrepreneurs and local communities become not just beneficiaries, but leaders, co-designers and future drivers. Solutions are not transplanted — they are contextualised, adapted, scaled, and owned locally. A clear example is represented by SMILY fellows in collaboration with partner organisations in Benin developed bio-engineered ponds powered by solar panels for water management and ecological regeneration. These fellows were drawn from entities such as Aadifé and the Circle of Great Pioneers. Such a project demonstrates how local ingenuity and sustainable technical solutions can be shared across geographies.

Testimonies of change. Ghana and Cameroon in Assam (India).

With this spirit and vision, a delegation from Ghana led by SMILY Ghana Director Kofi Don Agor (just appointed as leader during the Women Economic Forum for Mediterranean held in Palermo, Italy, from October 30 to November 1st, organized by WEF Italy and its outstanding President H.E. Marilena Citelli Francese) and a delegation from Cameroon, led by our main partner Awat Bertrand Abanyi, will be in Assam (India) to attend the “Earth Mother Experience”, from March 20 to 26 2026. Kofi Don-Agor is the President of Climate Communications and Local Governance-Africa and the Lead Advocate on Climate Change in the Ghanaian Parliament and also a member of the Climate Reality Project founded by Nobel laureate Al Gore. Awat Bertrand Abanyi is the Chairman of the Awarded Green Globe Organisation.  Following WEF Mediterranean, I was also appointed Chair for Italy of the G100 Group on Indigenous Communities and Integration, an additional sign that SMILY’s path aligns with global leadership efforts to empower communities and reimagine sustainable development.

Be the change. Come with us.

The initiative is aimed to empower women and support the rise of South–South cooperation networks rooted in shared learning, indigenous wisdom, and regenerative innovation. Together, we are building the next generation of leaders for people and the planet. Supported by Mahabahu Magazine as media partner, Emperia Industries and GammaDonna for the female entrepreneurs involvement, the initiative is a deep dive journey in the history, culture, connection with the land and nature and with tribes and their wisdom and knowledge. The outcomes are the co-design of a Women Manifesto for Mother Earth and the opening of the Hydroponic Forest and School for green jobs for vulnerable communities, in cooperation with Got Produce Inc. led by Deborah Walliser. To join the experience: The Earth Mother Experience Tickets, Fri Mar 20, 2026 at 8:00 AM | Eventbrite

We care. We don’t care.

As SMILY’s Ghana-Cameroon-India path shows, the South-South axis is increasingly where innovation, regeneration and female and young leadership will emerge, expanding peer-to-peer learning: not only from North to South, but among South actors; invest in locally led institutions, grassroots networks, social enterprises with global reach; embedding climate justice, indigenous knowledge, youth voice and gender-equity at the heart of cooperation, even if this is not the priority anymore in someone opinion. But we better trust reality and facts over opinions, regardless to the clusters and secondary interests they represent to point out this unproven opinion. In fact, we do not need help. We need co-creation. As South to South Cooperation teaches us.

 About SMILY Academy

An acronym for Sustainable Mindset and Inner Level for You/Youth, SMILY Academy is an innovative platform leveraging experiential education as a catalyst for the creation of international cooperation projects. Launched during COP28 in Dubai (2023), SMILY Academy was founded by Claudia Laricchia and Matteo Salerno, and developed together with Rituraj Phukan, the legendary Jadav “Molai” Payeng– known as The Forest Man of India—and his daughter Munmuni Payeng, as a special project of the World Forum of Indigenous Peoples on Climate Justice, representing about 400 million people across 90 countries.

Claudia Laricchia, Women Economic Forum Italy – Public Affairs Director; SMILY Academy, President; Global Forum of Indigenous Peoples’ Climate Justice Forum, Head of Strategic International Cooperation; European Institute of Innovation for Sustainability and Rome Business School, Professor.  

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