HUMANITARIAN NEWSLETTER 
March 17, 2016
LETTER FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Dear friends,

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) movement is made up of 190 national societies throughout the world, with more than 100 million members. It has, for nearly twenty years, been a strong partner in our training, sharing its expertise and sending its members for our courses. On February 25, I joined IFRC Secretary General, H.E. Elhadj As Sy, in signing a Memorandum of Understanding between the IFRC and Fordham University. This agreement recognizes the work we have done together and formalizes our partnership in training, research and other areas of mutual interest. 

We are also pleased to announce a signed Memorandum of Understanding with Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS). Founded in 1975, JRS has, as its mission, "to accompany, serve and advocate on behalf of refugees and other forcibly displaced persons." We have worked with JRS for many years, training their country directors and regional directors, and, as an Institute within a Jesuit University, our goals are similar.

In both cases, our partners not only want to offer assistance to those in need, but to also allow them to retain their dignity and to be a part of their own recovery process. With the IFRC, they enable the national societies to rebuild their own capacity. With JRS, they accompany those they serve, and bear personal witness to those trials and tribulations.

Our Institute began with the idea that we had as much to learn as we did to teach, and our growth, through the IDHA, the MIHA, the undergraduate programs and our publications, is directly connected to the personal relationships we've fostered over the last twenty years. These two memoranda build on that.

Best,
Brendan Cahill  (IDHA 9)
IIHA Executive Director
Last month, the IIHA welcomed 16 new graduates into the IDHA Alumni Family. The graduation ceremony, held at Château de Bossey in Switzerland, celebrated the hard work and determination of the participants, and also looked ahead to the future of the graduates' efforts in the humanitarian sector. The remarks offered throughout the graduation ceremony by IIHA Executive Director Brendan Cahill, H.E. IFRC Secretary General Elhadj As Sy, and IIHA Humanitarian Programs Director Larry Hollingworth, C.B.E., did not shy away from the complex realities of the humanitarian sector and indeed the world, but they did, in the words of Course Administrator Suzanne Arnold, "present a determined and concerted declaration to work together, as a group and as a family, always remembering and applying what they learned from each other in order to improve their care for the most vulnerable." Read more about the graduation ceremony on our blog, or catch up on the course on Twitter and Instagram! Congratulations IDHA 47!
With an estimated 15.1 million refugees around the world, refugee camps have been and have become a fact of life for many. History reveals that refugee camps are rarely if ever truly temporary. Statistics show that the average stay of refugees is now roughly 17 years - almost two decades that can hardly be thought of as a temporary solution. It is now more than ever time to rethink how refugee camps are built and managed. As the IIHA continues its Spring 2016 Event Series, Challenges and Opportunities: Migration in the 21st Century, we encourage you to comment on this timely debate.
HUMANITARIANISM & ACADEMIA
IIHA ALUMNI UPDATES
Patricia Schiavinato (IDHA 39, MIHA), now working for IOM and Anissa Toscano (IDHA 11, IDHA Lecturer), with DFID, recently met during a cash distribution in Nepal! Anissa was even sporting the infamous IDHA cap!
Last year, Gisele Menye Ntsama-Langue (IDHA 39) was working with Oxfam Mali in response to the Ebola Crisis. One year after Mali was declared Ebola free, Gisele co-authored a Joint Policy Paper, Lessons learned on preparedness, first phase emergency response, and coordination from the management of the Ebola crisis in Mali
The Report of the High-level Panel on the Global Response to Health Crises: Protecting Humanity from Future Health Crises, was released this January and is now available. IDHA alumna, Dr. Elin Gursky (IDHA 40) was one of the main members of the secretariat that helped to prepare the report.
Ishmeal Charles (IDHA 40),  HIRF In-Country Director, recently shared his February 2016 report on Sierra Leone, which details the health sector of Sierra Leone in their post-emergency status, and the places where improvement is still necessary.
Dr. Tathiana Flores (IDHA 10), is now based in Bangui, CAR as an International Consultant on Gender Based Violence with IOM. Previously, Tathiana has served as a Consultant for UNDP in the fields of Rule of Law and International Humanitarian Law at the Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines.
Barbara Bemer (IHS Major), a 2015 Fordham College Rose Hill graduate was recently featured in the Fordham News article "Restless for Life: Tanzania School Taps Student for Help" which discusses Barbara's new fellowship with Mama Hope. Barbara, who will spend three months working at Queen Elizabeth Academy in Tanzania, is excited about the opportunity to expand her knowledge of the humanitarian field.
For the duration of the Spring 2016 semester, the IIHA Newsletter will be published on a monthly schedule. For the latest news, events, and opportunities, follow our blog and our Facebook and Twitter platforms! 
UPCOMING IIHA TRAINING COURSES
April 4 - 8
Barcelona, Spain
April 11 - 15
Barcelona, Spain
April 18 - 22
Barcelona, Spain
April 25 - 29
Barcelona, Spain
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Photo Credit: NYT 
The IIHA and CIHC take this chance to remember the life of former UN Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali. Mr. Boutros- Ghali was a long time friend and Board Member of the CIHC, and frequent speaker on the IDHA course. He died on February 16 at the age of 93.
WHS 2016 UPDATE
Given the growing scale of humanitarian needs around the world and an ever more complex humanitarian landscape, the UN Secretary-General called for the first-ever World Humanitarian Summit, to be held in Istanbul, Turkey on May 23 & 24, 2016. The WHS has released the Final Report of the Global Consultation and the UN Secretary General launched his report on the Summit, One Humanity: Shared Responsibility. Recently, the Deputy Secretary-General, Jan Eliasson provided a briefing to member states on the WHS preparations. The WHS encourages individuals and organizations to keep current with the latest news via the WHS website.
THE HUMANITARIAN INNOVATION CORNER
It's been a busy few months as we continue to expand our efforts to encourage and promote humanitarian innovation worldwide! IIHA and HTH will be participating in the HumTech 2016 Exhibit Session and HTH began to explore a partnership with the  Buckminster Fuller Institute. HTH was also invited to intervene in the Drones in Humanitarian Action: Mapping Drones Consultation workshop in Geneva, organized by FSD, ECHO, and CartONG. HTH is also joining forces with the Global Innovation Exchange  to collaborate on resources and improve inter-communicability between the two platforms. View the Featured Humanitarian Open Tool! Wondering what an Open Tool is? Find out here!   
NATIONAL EVENTS  
Saturday, March 19, 2016 | 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM

The Institute for Women and Girls at Fordham University GSS is hosting its annual symposium in connection with the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women events. The symposium aims to further the conversation on women's roles in reaching the sustainable development goals and suggest ways in which women's participation can be increased through empowerment strategies that contribute to a lasting impact. They keynote address will discuss women's trafficking, and violence against women refugees, identifying current challenges and best practices in addressing these issues.

Location: Fordham University School of Law | 150 W. 62nd Street | Constantino Room
Saturday, April 9, 2016 | 9:30 AM

For the last two years, Team IIHA has won Concern's University Challenge, as the University team that raised the most funds. Help us continue the trend while contributing to the incredible work of Concern Worldwide. Team IIHA is open to all who would like to join, including family and friends. Please join us and spread the word!

For more information about Concern Worldwide and the Spring Run, please visit the Event website.

Location: Central Park | 102nd and East Drive | New York, NY   
Saturday, April 16 - Sunday, April 17, 2016

The Global Health & Innovation Conference is the world's leading and largest global health conference as well as the largest social entrepreneurship conference, with 2,200 professionals and students from all 50 states and more than 55 countries. This must-attend, thought-leading conference convenes leaders, changemakers, professionals and students from all sectors of global health, international development, and social entrepreneurship.

Location: Yale University | New Haven, CT
Monday, April 18 - Wednesday, April 20, 2016  

Registration is now open for InterAction's 32nd Annual Forum. This event will bring together leaders from not-for-profits, governments, philanthropy, corporations, and civil society and aims to advance the effectiveness of ending global poverty through cooperation and sustainable efforts. InterAction is also offering a Young Professionals Summit at this year's forum with a variety of different workshops offered throughout the three day event. 

Location: Washington Marriott | Wardman Park 2660 | Woodley Road, NW | Washington, D.C.
Thursday, June 16 - Saturday, June 18, 2016

Hosted by the Academic Council on the United Nations System (ACUNS) in cooperation with Fordham University, this annual meeting will address current issues of "faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small." The event will discuss the the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the aims of the World Humanitarian Summit (WHS) to be held this May.

Location: Fordham University | 113 West 60th Street | New York, NY 10023 
INTERNATIONAL EVENTS
Humanitarian Innovation Jam 2016
Monday, March 21 - Wednesday, March 23, 2016
 
This event, hosted by UNHCR Innovation, Makerere University, and MIT-D Lab, brings together humanitarians, academics, and people from the private sector to discuss humanitarian innovation. This years event will have a special focus on refugee and host community innovators devoted to finding better solutions for the refugee crisis. Two questions will be asked, "How can we, as local innovators increase impact?" and "How can humanitarian organizations build up the creative capacity of communities, and empower them to innovate for themselves?"  
 
Location: Makerere University - Wandegeya Campus | School of Food Technology | Conference Center | Kampala, Uganda
Monday, March 21, 2016
 
This event held by Save the Children UK will be a forum to discuss the gap in humanitarian's response to global urban crises. By 2030, 60 percent of the global population is expected to live in cities, so the response and preventative measures for crises is now more important than ever. This issue is something that humanitarians must start considering more carefully.  

Location: Augustana Centre | London, UK
Monday, May 16 - Thursday, May 19, 2016  

The 2016 confrence held by the Catholic Relief Services will be hosting a discussion based around finding new ways to use information and communications technology to reach the recent Sustainable Development Goals. The objectives for this event will be to bring together humanitarians from the public, private and civil society organizations in order to explore partnerships and conversations on the SDG's.  

Location: Safari Park Hotel | Thika Road, Kasarani | Nairobi, Kenya
ONLINE EVENTS
Tuesday, March 22, 2016

This online webinar is the second in a four part series hosted by ALNAP and focusing on humanitarian coordination. A growing problem in the field of humanitarian work is the "one size fits all" mentality towards solving crises. This webinar will specifically focus on how national government and NGO's can address this issue in order to become more accommodating for specific needs.
Wednesday, March 23, 2016 | 8:00 - 9:00 AM (EST)

The Senior Transformative Agenda Implementation Team (STAIT) will be hosting a webinar to speculate on how the World Humanitarian Summit will help deliver humanitarian assistance more effectively to people who need it. This webinar welcomes questions, particularly ones coming from field workers.

Questions can be emailed to: transformativeagendawebinars@un.org
Wednesday, April 6, 2016 | 9:00 AM (EST)

As a part of ALNAP's urban response webinar series, this installment will focus on how humanitarians can address social cohesion in urban areas. The webinar will explore case studies from Jordan and the Central African Republic (CAR) where social cohesion programs have been successfully installed and mainstreamed.