Seminar: Localising Humanitarian Responses – Exploring Perceptions and Practice (København)

With humanitarian needs increasing faster than funds to respond, the international humanitarian aid system is incapable of adequately addressing current humanitarian needs.

At the World Humanitarian Summit in 2016, a Grand Bargain was negotiated to push changes towards a more effective humanitarian aid architecture.

In particular the workstream ”More support and funding tools to national and local responders”, often referred to as the localisation workstream, has increasingly garnered global attention from international NGOs, national and local responders and multi-lateral and bilateral donors.

As a result donors are starting to adjust funding mechanisms.

However, the global attention has also revealed that there are multiple interpretations of “localisation”, as well as a wide variety of implementation methods, that go well beyond funding objectives.

Different approaches range from international NGOs strengthening decision making power and capacity of their country offices to initiatives aimed at transforming power relations between international NGOs and national and local responders.

On this background the event “Localising Humanitarian Responses” unpacks “localisation”, by critically engaging different perceptions of what localisation is and how it can be operationalised. It brings together six experienced practitioners and researchers, who engage with the localisation agenda in various ways and with different points of departure.

The event is open to anyone who is currently engaged, or looking to engage, with the localisation debate, and participants of a variety of fields are welcome to share their perspectives on the issues presented.

This event is a collaboration between ActionAid Denmark, Oxfam IBIS, Save the Children Denmark, Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Danish Grand Bargain Cluster for Strategic Partners and Danish Institute for International Studies, funded by the Globalt Fokus initiative for capacity development/Danida and DIIS.

It is the first in a series of four that seek to better understand localisation and its many manifestations. They aim to challenge assumptions and explore the wealth of experience and knowledge on localizing aid. The events are designed to support humanitarian policy makers, practitioners and researchers to gain from a broader knowledge base and understanding, when working with different approaches to localised humanitarian responses. It is also the first of four DIIS seminars in 2019 about current challenges and approaches in humanitarian practice.

Agenda

Keynote speakers and agenda (estimated timeslots):

13.30-13.40: Welcome by Save the Children Denmark and Danish Institute for International Studies, DIIS, Finn Stepputat

13.40-14.00: Coree Steadman, ICRC, Senior officer, Localisation, Coordinator of the Grand Bargain Localization workstream on behalf of IFRC as co-convenor

14.00-14.20: George Ghali, ALEF (Act for Human Rights), Lebanon, Executive Director

14.20 – 14.40: Grace G. Ireri, East Africa Humanitarian Programme Co-ordinator, ActionAid / former programme manager of the Shifting the Power project in Kenya

14.40 – 15.00: Break

15.00 – 15.20: Anthony Nolan, Save the Children Global Education Cluster Coordinator/ Former UNICEF Global Technical Lead, Localisation, Child Protection Area of Responsibility

15.20 – 15.40: Veronique Barbelet, Senior Research Fellow and John Bryant, Research Officer, Humanitarian Policy Group/ Overseas Development Institute

15.40 – 16.20: Q and A session facilitated by DIIS, Finn Stepputat, Senior Researcher

16.20-16.30: Wrap up and how to engage further

Practical Information

The event will be in English and livestreamed.

Participation is free of charge, but registration is required.

NB: Arrangøren oplyser at der ikke er flere pladser til seminaret. Men det fortsat er muligt at følge det via livestream på nettet. Adgangen til livestreamen kræver også tilmelding på nedenstående mailadresse.

Please register your participation with Maria Barkholt at [email protected], and indicate your attendance (in person or livestream), no later than the 30th of January 2019.