HHIACADEMYHPCR

The Challenges of Engagement: DRR and Civil Society (Humanitarian Assistance Webcast 15)

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Date/Time:
February 14, 2013 - 9:30am - 11:00am
Location:
Online, United States
Website:

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Description:

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Humanitarian actors have increasingly recognized that successful disaster risk reduction (DRR) projects must be conceived as long-term, holistic initiatives geared toward enhancing the ways that states and societies approach resilience. Additionally, the humanitarian sector has learned that the success of long-term projects hinges on the participation of an actively engaged local community. In fact, this notion — that humanitarian action should be centered on the active participation of beneficiaries— underpins the professional standards of the humanitarian sector.

However, in actuality, international actors often treat civil society as an obstacle, and local actors tend to serve merely as minor players in DRR projects. Additionally, governments are not always keen to see the growth of a strong civil society, particularly if this development might generate organized criticism of those who hold governmental power. Such attitudes might not only hinder the implementation of a well-designed project but might also disrupt the genuine contribution of local actors from a project’s inception. The ability of humanitarian and development actors to successfully navigate these challenges will have a lasting impact on how the humanitarian community undertakes such operations in the next decade.

Given these challenges, our expert panel will discuss the following questions:

Panelists:

Moderated By:


In partnership with:

The objective of the Advanced Training Program on Humanitarian Action (ATHA) is to enhance the knowledge of NGOs and other relevant actors operating in the humanitarian field, and to create greater awareness of the relationship between development cooperation and humanitarian operations in complex political emergencies.


Sida works according to directives of the Swedish Parliament and Government to reduce poverty in the world. The overall goal of Swedish development cooperation is to contribute to making it possible for poor people to improve their living conditions.