In the webinars 'The decolonization of aid' KUNO, Partos, and The Institute of Social Studies (ISS) take one step back and approach the discussion on the decolonization of aid in a series of talks. Step by step, we highlight an aspect of this debate. We ask two experts to engage in a conversation with one another to explore the controversies and perhaps find some common grounds. This fifth dialogue focusses on the role of the donor with regards to the decolonisation of aid with Smruti Patel (...
In the webinars 'The decolonization of aid' KUNO, Partos, and The Institute of Social Studies (ISS) take one step back and approach the discussion on the decolonization of aid in a series of talks. Step by step, we highlight an aspect of this debate. We ask two experts to engage in a conversation with one another to explore the controversies and perhaps find some common grounds. This podcast is the recording of the opening statements of Smruti Patel (Founder & Director Global Mento...
In the webinars 'The decolonization of aid' KUNO, Partos, and The Institute of Social Studies (ISS) take one step back and approach the discussion on the decolonization of aid in a series of talks. Step by step, we highlight an aspect of this debate. We ask two experts to engage in a conversation with one another to explore the controversies and perhaps find some common grounds. This podcast is the recording of the opening statements of Aarathi Krishnan (Strategic Foresight Advisor at UNDP) a...
In the webinars 'The decolonization of aid' KUNO, Partos, and The Institute of Social Studies (ISS) take one step back and approach the discussion on the decolonization of aid in a series of talks. Step by step, we highlight an aspect of this debate. We ask two experts to engage in a conversation with one another to explore the controversies and perhaps find some common grounds. This fourth dialogue focusses on ethical and moral perspectives related to the decolonisation of aid with Aarathi K...
The International Humanitarian Studies Association (IHSA) recently published a special issue of International Migration journal, based on contributions to their conference in The Hague (2018). On the 9th of September IHSA and KUNO organized a webinar in which key findings of a special issue of the International Migration Journal on 'Politics, humanitarianism and migration to Europe' were presented. When some one million people crossed the Mediterranean in the course of 2015 to seek refuge, Eu...
In the webinars 'The decolonization of aid' KUNO, Partos, and The Institute of Social Studies (ISS) take one step back and approach the discussion on the decolonization of aid in a series of talks. Step by step, we highlight an aspect of this debate. We ask two experts to engage in a conversation with one another to explore the controversies and perhaps find some common grounds. This podcast is the recording of the ‘superb’ (as indicated on Twitter) opening statement of Tammam Aloudat (...
In the webinars 'The decolonization of aid' KUNO, Partos, and The Institute of Social Studies (ISS) take one step back and approach the discussion on the decolonization of aid in a series of talks. Step by step, we highlight an aspect of this debate. We ask two experts to engage in a conversation with one another to explore the controversies and perhaps find some common grounds. This third dialogue focusses on the perspective from humanitarian aid with Nanette Antequisa (director ECOWEB and a...
In the webinars 'The decolonization of aid' KUNO, Partos, and The Institute of Social Studies (ISS) take one step back and approach the discussion on the decolonization of aid in a series of talks. Step by step, we highlight an aspect of this debate. We ask two experts to engage in a conversation with one another to explore the controversies and perhaps find some common grounds. This scond dialogue focusses on the perspective from development cooperation with Tulika Srivastava (Director...
In the webinars 'The decolonization of aid' KUNO, Partos, and The Institute of Social Studies (ISS) take one step back and approach the discussion on the decolonization of aid in a series of talks. Step by step, we highlight an aspect of this debate. We ask two experts to engage in a conversation with one another to explore the controversies and perhaps find some common grounds. This first dialogue focusses on a historical perspective with Arua Oko Omaka (fellow at the Alex Ekwueme Federal Un...
Three years of conflict and lawlessness in Yemen brought the Yemeni hunger, diphtheria and cholera. Nearly three of four Yemenis rely on humanitarian aid to survive. The dire situation is deteriorating every day. In March 2018, the UN Security Council made a strong plea for humanitarian access: Humanitarian support and peace must take the place of destruction. Four representatives of NGOs from Yemen, who visited a pledging conference in Geneva (April 2018), also visited Brussels ...
At the request of the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), the UK-based platform for mobilising funding at times of major international humanitarian crises, Ed Schenkenberg of HERE-Geneva visited Bangladesh in January 2018. HERE reviewed the humanitarian response to the Rohingya refugees. The preliminary findings and emerging conclusions are reason for alarm. Few of the lessons that arose out of the 1994 response to the Rwandan refugees in Goma, then Zaire, seem to have been applied in this r...
In February 2018, prof. Alex de Waal presented his new book “Mass Starvation” that provides an authoritative history of modern famines: their causes, dimensions and why they ended. He analyses starvation as a crime, and breaks new ground in examining forced starvation as an instrument of genocide and war. Alex de Waal is a world-renowned expert on humanitarian crisis and response, Executive Director of the World Peace Foundation and professor at The Fletcher School, Tufts Univers...
De Covid-19-crisis is een ongekende uitdaging voor de wereld. Het zal zeker ook het werk van internationale noodhulp veranderen. Deze ontwikkelingen komen aan de orde in het Covid Café, een initiatief van Oxfam Novib en KUNO. In deze aflevering van het KUNO Covid Café vertellen Michiel Servaes (directeur van Oxfam Novib) en Tineke Ceelen (directeur van Stichting Vluchteling en voorzitter van KUNO) hoe Covid hun werk in de humanitaire sector verandert. Het gesprek wordt gefaciliteerd d...
Supporting the detained populations in Greece and Libya is the most – or at least one of the most - urgent and most complex humanitarian challenges of this time. The refugees and migrants that got stuck on their way to Europe, live in malicious camps and seek to survive under very harsh conditions. Researcher and well-experienced humanitarian practitioner Jason Phillips was asked by IRC, the International Rescue Committee, to take stock of the experiences of humanitarian practitioners, who ha...
The world is changing fast. Humanitarian needs grow, due to political developments and climate change; the nature of crises is becoming more complex and protracted; and new players are demanding a role within the humanitarian playing field. What are the implications of this for Western INGOs? What are challenges and what could be the added value of Western INGOs in about ten years? To inspire Dutch humanitarian CEOs at the start of a day of strategic decision making, KUNO asked Heba Al...
The humanitarian sector promised to put local organizations at the heart of humanitarian action. The Grand Bargain presented commitments for local leadership under the frame Localization; these commitments should provide local organisations the means and opportunities to take over control. So far, actual transformation seems to be limited. However, after the tsunami in Sulawesi in 2018, the Indonesian government took control of the access of international aid organisations to the affected are...
The humanitarian sector promised to put local organizations at the heart of humanitarian action. The Grand Bargain presented commitments for local leadership under the frame Localization; these commitments should provide local organisations the means and opportunities to take over control. So far, actual transformation seems to be limited. However, after the tsunami in Sulawesi in 2018, the Indonesian government took control of the access of international aid organisations to the affected are...
The first and foremost goal of humanitarian aid is to save lives. But what if humanitarian action unintentionally lengthens the duration or becomes part of a conflict? During this edition of Humanitarian Hot Topics humanitarian experts discuss unintended consequences of humanitarian aid in South Sudan. This episode follows on the introduction by Jok Madut Jok and further debate with Bram Jansen and Akke Boere (part 1). Speakers: Jok Madut Jok: executive director of the Sudd Institute,...
The first and foremost goal of humanitarian aid is to save lives. But what if humanitarian action unintentionally lengthens the duration or becomes part of a conflict? During this edition of Humanitarian Hot Topics, Jok Madut Jok of the South Sudanese think tank Sudd Institute, will give an introduction addressing the unintended consequences of humanitarian aid in South Sudan. His keynote speech is followed by a discussion between him and speakers from the humanitarian sector. Speakers: Jok M...
Hugo Slim’s delves into the origins of contemporary humanitarianism, recounting its journey through the 18th and 19th centuries, when a mutual sense of humanity and a shared moral community were embraced. He highlights the milestones of this historical road towards humanitarianism: the recognition of wounded soldiers and prisoners of war, the attention that arose to non-combatant civilians and refugees, followed by the invention of human rights, IHL, and the humanitarian principles. He...