IRIN took part in the 2019 annual World Economic Forum gathering of top business and political leaders in Davos, Switzerland through a series of special events. Read the key take-aways of our breakfast conversation to “Meet the New Humanitarians changing the face of aid” or catch up on the events we participated in throughout the week below.
Catch up with the live streams:
Meet the New Humanitarians changing the face of aid
Tuesday, 22 January, 7.30-8.45AM CET
Demolished houses in the wake of a typhoon in the Philippines and earthquake in Indonesia. Sprawling refugee settlements in Uganda and Bangladesh. Armed conflict destroying lives and futures in Yemen and Syria. Today’s crises are seen, felt, and heard around the world like never before.
Traditional UN-led humanitarian response is no longer sufficient to address the scale of the world’s challenges. As a consequence, a new generation of humanitarians has emerged, including private sector companies, development agencies, millennials, and citizen volunteers. Today, many more people need to be part of the conversation about human suffering.
IRIN held a breakfast conversation with the voices redefining what it means to be a humanitarian in today’s changing world, including:
- Peter Maurer, President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC),
- Tara Nathan, Executive Vice President, Humanitarian and Development, Mastercard,
- Peter Laugharn, President and CEO, Conrad N. Hilton Foundation,
- Rob Acker, CEO, Salesforce.org,
- Jérôme Jarre, Founder, Love Army, and social media activist,
- and Mayuri Bhattacharjee, Founder, Sikun Relief Foundation, Assam, India,
in a discussion moderated by Heba Aly, Director of IRIN.
Read the key take-aways and watch the video below or on Facebook.
Press conference: The humanitarian crises that will shape 2019
Tuesday, 22 January, 13.30-14:00 CET
The year 2019 will break new records in the number of people affected by conflict and fragility. Geopolitical dynamics will have a profound impact on the scale and longevity of humanitarian crises. This press conference highlighted crises that will shape the agenda in 2019 as well as trends impacting humanitarian response. It featured initiatives that are paving the way for a changing humanitarian system and opening space for collaboration with new humanitarians.
Read more → Ten humanitarian crises and trends to watch in 2019
Speakers included:
- Heba Aly, Director, IRIN,
- Peter Maurer, President, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC),
- David Miliband, CEO, International Rescue Committee,
- Tara Nathan, Executive Vice President, Humanitarian and Development, Mastercard,
in a discussion moderated by Georg Schmitt, Head of Corporate Affairs at the World Economic Forum.
Watch the video below.
See the other events IRIN participated in:
Asking the hard one: Artificial intelligence in humanitarian action and the need for a principled approach
Tuesday 22 January, 18:00-19:30 CET
Microsoft Café, Promenade 101, Davos
IRIN Director Heba Aly moderated an informal discussion between Peter Maurer, President of the International Committee of the Red Cross, and Brad Smith, President of Microsoft Corporation, on the hard questions emerging from the use of artificial intelligence by humanitarian organisations, and what they could mean for the new tech sector.
The event was hosted by Microsoft and the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Beyond emergency relief: How innovative finance can deliver lasting solutions
Wednesday 23 January, 7:00-8:30AM CET
Cloudflare Haus, Promenade 67, Davos
IRIN Director Heba Aly moderated a breakfast roundtable discussion between Kelly Clements, United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees, and Per Heggenes, CEO of IKEA Foundation, among others, exploring how impact bonds and other blended finance instruments can help bridge the long-term funding gap and generate sustained change for people living in fragile settings.
The event was hosted by the IKEA Foundation, KOIS and Overseas Development Institute.
360 Discussion - Challenges to scaling innovation in the humanitarian sector
Wednesday 23 January, 15:30-16:15 CET
Sustainable Impact Hub, Davos
IRIN Director of External Relations Sarah Noble moderated a discussion between Kate Hart, Programmes Director of Elrha; Rahul Chandran, Executive Director of GAHI; Leonard Doyle, Director of the Media and Communication Division and Spokesperson of the Director General of the International Organization for Migration; Yasmina McCarty, Head of Mobile for Development of GSMA; and Pierre Guillaume Wielezynski, Chief of Digital Transformation Services of the World Food Programme. The discussion focused on the following questions: Do we have the right models for understanding scale or are we too fixated on scale models for product/tech-based innovations? What other models might suit transformative change at scale in addressing humanitarian challenges and how might we enable the emergence of these?
The event was hosted by Philanthropy Advisors and live streamed on Facebook by the Sustainable Impact Hub:
World in transformation: Humanitarian action
Thursday 24 January, 15.15-15:45 CET
Centre Hub, Davos
The world is facing humanitarian crises on a scale that challenges our collective capacity to respond. IRIN Director Heba Aly used the Transformation Map on Humanitarian action, which maps the key drivers of transformation in the humanitarian sector, to explore the key strategic issues related to global humanitarian needs.
View the interactive map and register for free to listen to an overview by IRIN Senior Editor Ben Parker:
The Next Upheaval: Food Crisis
Friday, 25 January, 10.15-11.00AM CET
Congress Centre, Agora
With 2018 seeing crop failure due to record temperatures and rising geopolitical tensions, resource availability has become a critical issue. How can technology and new financing mechanisms ensure food security by improving sustainability and resilience?
IRIN Director Heba Aly moderated a conversation between Neal Keny-Guyer, CEO of Mercy Corps, J. Erik Fyrwals, CEO of Syngenta, and Augustine P. Mahiga, Minister of Foreign Affairs and East African cooperation of Tanzania.
This event was hosted by the World Economic Forum.