HUMANITARIAN NEWSLETTER
October 1 - 15, 2014 
Training Humanitarians Around The World
HUMANITARIAN SPOTLIGHT: 2015 SOHS SURVEY AND CONSULTATIONS
Calling all humanitarian practitioners! ALNAP is now working on its next State of the Humanitarian System (SOHS) review. Commissioned by ALNAP and authored by Humanitarian Outcomes, the report offers a comprehensive picture of the shape and size of the system and insights into the 'bigger picture' of trends and performance in the sector. It incorporates perspectives from those who receive aid, as well as practitioners from across the globe and at all levels of seniority. To ensure a diverse and comprehensive sample size, ALNAP asks all humanitarian professionals directly involved in operational humanitarian assistance to complete the 2015 SOHS survey and disseminate the survey within their respective networks. Humanitarian Outcomes will hold its next live online consultation tomorrow (10/2), which will focus on the areas of protection, innovation, and gender and diversity.
EBOLA UPDATE
Dr. Alexander van Tulleken on MSNBC
On Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported the first diagnosed case of Ebola in the United States. Dr. Alexander van Tulleken (IDHA 16), IIHA Helen Hamlyn Senior Fellow and Academic Director, remains a frequent commentator on the ongoing situation, and has recently been interviewed by Al Jazeera English as well as MSNBC. You can catch Dr. van Tulleken live tomorrow morning (10/2) on CNN at 6:30 AM (EST) and Al Jazeera at 7:20 AM (EST).

For more information, please visit: 
Follow the most recent news and developments 
using the hashtag #IIHAEBOLA
HUMANITARIANISM & ACADEMIA
Call for Papers

Deadline: October 15, 2014   

  

Jesuit Universities Humanitarian Action Network 2015 Conference 

Deadline: December 15, 2014

 

Humanitarian Technology 2015 

Deadline: December 15, 2014


Forced Migration Review - Climate Change, Disasters and Displacement 

Deadline: January 12, 2015

 

Noteworthy Books, Articles & Research Opportunities


This notable addition to the International Humanitarian Affairs Book Series, edited by University Professor and President of the Center  for  International  Humanitarian  Cooperation (CIHC), Kevin M. Cahill, M.D., provides a better understanding - both within and outside academia - of the multifaceted demands posed by humanitarian assistance programs. For more information and to obtain a copy, please view the informational flyer.  

 

This article, written by the president of M�decins Sans Fronti�res' Canadian chapter, Dr. Leslie Shanks, describes the history of MSF's move towards professionalization in response to the challenges it faced in the field and explores the sometimes unintended organizational consequences that accompanied this move. It works to highlight key questions linked to professionalization and accreditation of aid agencies that are part of an ongoing debate in the humanitarian sector.

  

Forced Migration Review: Innovation and Refugees

This special FMR supplement reflects the focus of the Humanitarian Innovation Project (HIP). The eleven articles include contributions from HIP's Humanitarian Innovation Conference (held in Oxford in July 2014) and reflect some of the thinking behind humanitarian innovation for displaced people, and some of its current manifestations.  

 

2014 Global Humanitarian Assistance Report

How much is spent on humanitarian assistance? Is it enough? Where does it go? How does it get there and what is it spent on? Knowing who is spending what, where, and how is an essential first step in ensuring that resources can best meet the needs of people living in crises - yet this information is often hard to access. To answer these questions, the Global Humanitarian Assistance (GHA) Report 2014 uses unique methodologies to gather and analyze data to provide the most up-to-date and comprehensive picture of global humanitarian financing.

 

Ebola Quick Guide

DisasterReady.org has recently created a free online "Ebola quick guide." Simply constructed, the quick guide increases awareness of this outbreak for the general public as well as aid workers with no healthcare training. It incorporates information readily available from the CDC, World Health Organization, ONE, International SOS, and others. 
ALUMNI UPDATES
Joe Lowry (IDHA 12) recently wrote a blog post, "Migration is a Solution, not a Problem", in which he highlights the importance of migration to development as well as the migration policy lapses that must be addressed as part of the new set of sustainable development goals. Joe currently serves as a Senior Media and Communications Officer for the International Organization for Migration. You can read more from him on his personal blog.
In his recent article, "Mayor of Qom takes action", Andy McElroy (IDHA 16) highlights the Iranian City of Qom as a dynamic example of local leadership following consultations on the post-2015 international framework for disaster risk reduction. Qom joined UNISDR's Making Cities Resilient Campaign last year and has since made significant progress in reducing disaster risk.

OCTOBER 11 - 17
Amman, Jordan
*Please note date change*
  VIEW THE 2015 COURSE CALENDAR!
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WORLD
HUMANITARIAN SUMMIT 2016

The UN Secretary-General will convene the first-ever global humanitarian summit in Istanbul in 2016. The goal of the World Humanitarian Summit is to find new ways to tackle humanitarian needs in our fast-changing world. This three-year initiative is being managed by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and Dr. Jemilah Mahmood, IDHA Honoris Causa recipient, will head the WHS Secretariat at the United Nations headquarters in New York. The summit will set a new agenda for global humanitarian action. It will focus on humanitarian effectiveness, reducing vulnerability and managing risk, transformation through innovation, and serving the needs of people in conflict.  

 

The WHS discussions continue on with a series of live webinars organized in collaboration with Professionals in Humanitarian Assistance and Protection (PHAP), which will include key humanitarian specialists from around the world.

If you would like to listen to the archived sessions of previous WHS webinars, you can find the sessions along with accompanying summaries here. For more information about  upcoming consultations and events, please see the Events section below.
NEW YORK EVENTS
NYC Bar: Presentation by Ambassador Maged Abdelaziz
Wednesday, October 8, 2014 | 6:30 - 8:30 PM

Ambassador Maged Abdelaziz, Special Adviser to the U.N. Secretary-General on Africa, will be giving a presentation focusing on partnerships in the implementation of the African transformative agenda. The presentation is meant to follow up on the emphasis of the three-day U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit that took place on August 4-6. The Summit worked to advance the Administration's theme of trade and investment in Africa, and emphasize America's commitment to Africa's peace and security, democratic development, and good governance. 

For more information: Please view the event flyer.

To RSVP: Please e-mail elizabethbarad@gmail.com

Location: House of the Bar Association, Evarts Room, Second Floor, 42 West 44th Street, New York, NY 10036
Book Reading and Discussion: "A Poisonous Thorn in Our Hearts"
Wednesday, October 22, 2014 | 6:00 PM

Join the IIHA for a book reading, Q & A, and book signing with former BBC corespondent and author James Copnall. Mr. Copnall's book,  A Poisonous Thorn in Our Hearts: Sudan and South Sudan's Bitter and Incomplete Divorce, chronicles the separation of the once unified countries that sent South Sudan spiraling into a devastating civil war while leaving Sudan to deal with crippling economic challenges.

For more information: Please view the event flyer.

To RSVP: Please visit the event website. 

Location: Lowenstein PL 100 (Formerly Faculty Dining Room, Plaza Level) Fordham University Lincoln Center, 113 W. 60th Street, New York, NY, 10023
Friday, November 21 - Sunday, November 23, 2014

Machik Weekend is an annual gathering for dialogue, exploration and understanding among people who share a passion for the ideals of service and civic engagement in Tibet. It is a unique space to share and learn about path-breaking service projects, dynamic leaders and resilient communities in Tibet.

 

For more information: Please visit the Machik Weekend website.  

 

To register: Please click here and follow the prompts.

 

Location: Fordham University School of Law, 140 W. 62nd Street, New York, NY 10023
NATIONAL EVENTS
UNICEF's Chicago Humanitarian Awards Luncheon
Friday, October 17, 2014 | 11:00 AM - 1:15 PM

The Midwest Regional Office of the U.S. Fund for UNICEF will host UNICEF's Chicago Humanitarian Awards Luncheon at the Ritz-Carlton Chicago. This year's honorees are Francie Comer, Philanthropist, Comer Family Foundation, and Sue Duncan, Founder and Chairman Emeritus of the Sue Duncan Children's Center for their admirable work on behalf of children.

For more information: Please visit the U.S. Fund for UNICEF website or contact
Elisabeth Kasdorf-Torney at ekasdorf@unicefusa.org

Location: Ritz-Carlton, 106 East Pearson Street, Chicago, IL, US
The Aid & International Development Forum's 6th Annual Disaster Relief Summit
Wednesday, November 19 - Thursday, November 20, 2014

The Aid & International Development Forum's 6th annual Disaster Relief Summit is the world-leading gathering for international humanitarian experts at relief agencies, NGOs and charity associations, UN and government agencies, development banks and donors and innovative technology and service providers. AIDF summits are designed to create a mutual platform to facilitate and encourage exchange of thoughts, share expertise and present the lessons learned through first-hand experiences. The summit strives to enable quicker and better response during crisis and catastrophes in a more effective, sustainable and cost-efficient way.

 

To register: Please visit the Disaster Relief Summit 2014 website.

 

Location: Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington DC, 20004
INTERNATIONAL EVENTS
The World Humanitarian Summit Consultations and Events

The World Humanitarian Summit has been conducting a series of Regional Consultations that will bring together individuals and groups, giving them a chance to identify humanitarian challenges and promote solutions. In each region, individuals and organizations will have the chance to contribute their ideas in the discussion forums on this website, and in numerous events in each region.

 

Key Dates:

 

 
 
 
 

 

For more upcoming consultation dates: Please visit the World Humanitarian Summit website.

Humanitarian Congress Berlin - "Protection: A Broken Promise?"
Friday, October 10 - Saturday, October 11, 2014  


The Humanitarian Congress Berlin is an international platform for exchanging information, experiences and ideas of humanitarian aid. Each year the Congress brings together experts from medical, humanitarian and international organisations, politics, media as well as a large number of students from different subject areas.

With around 700 participants and speakers from around the world in 2013, the Humanitarian Congress has established itselfas an important forum in the world of humanitarian aid. The congress offers a unique mix of medical and political keynote speeches and debates. Besides that, a number of workshops inform about the most recent (medical and logistical) developments in humanitarian assistance.
 
For more information: Please visit the Humanitarian Congress website.

Location:  Charit� - Universit�tsmedizin Berlin, Campus Virchow-Klinikum, Lehrgeb�ude, Forum 3, Augustenburger Platz 1, 13353 Berlin-Wedding, Germany

History of Modern Humanitarian Action: Regional Conference on Latin America 

Wednesday, October 29 -Thursday, October 30, 2014

 

Hosted by the Humanitarian Policy Group, the aim of this conference is to improve understandings of the history of 'humanitarianism' across the region, and may include discussions of the origins of and influences on modern humanitarianism in Latin America, historical precedents for such action, the influence of religion on a humanitarian or charitable sensibility, and the conceptual history of the word 'humanitarian' in the region. Discussions will investigate the subject from a variety of perspectives, including developmental, religious, human rights and social and political movements.

 

For more information: Please visit the event website.

 
Location: Bogot�, Colombia 
UNESCO World Conference on Education for Sustainable Development
Monday, November 10 - Wednesday, November 12

The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the Government of Japan are organizing this event to carry out a review and assessment of the implementation of the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD) and celebrate the Decade's achievements. The Conference will showcase initiatives, actors, networks and ideas that were stimulated by the DESD. Examples of good practice from all over the world will play an important role in identifying viable approaches to ESD, as well as key areas for future action.

 

For more information: Please visit the UNESCO website.

Location: Aichi-Nagoya, Japan
Tuesday, November 18 - Wednesday, November 19

 

This annual conference, put together by the Thomson Reuters Foundation, brings together global corporations, lawyers, and pioneers in the field of women's rights to take action and commit to empowering women worldwide. Attending the conference provides you with the opportunity to be a part of the solution to issues of women's rights, network with a diverse group of people from around the world, and hear inspiring stories from survivors as well as speeches from high-profile speakers. This year's event includes a broad range of topics from economic empowerment of women, to access to land, to human trafficking and modern-day slavery. 

 

For more information: Please visit the Trust Women website.

To register: Please visit the click here and follow the prompts.


Location: London, England
ONLINE EVENTS
Thursday, October 2, 2014 | 8:00 - 9:30 AM (EST)

Join the Professionals in Humanitarian Assistance and Protection (PHAP) for a live online consultation for the State of the Humanitarian System report, commissioned by ALNAP. As a partnership with Humanitarian Outcomes, this consultation will focus on the areas of protection, innovation, gender, and diversity. The consultation will provide humanitarian practitioners from around the world a platform to share their views on some of the most important topics of humanitarian action today as well as discuss how the system has changed over the years. 

For more information, and to register: Please visit the PHAP website.
Tuesday, October 7, 2014 | 12:00 PM (EST)

Join the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) for the launch of ALNAP's new study "Putting affected people at the centre of humanitarian action: rhetoric or reality?". This new study finds that improving accountability to affected populations is possible and significant improvements can be made. Join ALNAP and the authors of this study to continue the conversation started at ALNAP's 29th annual meeting in March of this year inEthiopia.The event will include a panel discussion and drinks, and can also be viewed online via live-stream. 

For more information: Please visit the ODI website.

To register for the event or the live-stream: Please click here and follow the prompts.

Location: 203 Blackfriars Road, London, UK, SE1 8NJ or streamed live online.