Regional and Thematic Networks

Humanitarian professionals often face major restrictions in terms of professional networking, particularly at a regional and field level. Not only tdo hey tend to operate in remote and isolated locations, but their institutional culture tends to remain secluded in distinct doctrinal settings inherently discouraging professional exchanges with individuals from other organizations, governments, or diplomats, even more so across domains from development to peacekeeping operations, from human rights monitoring to peace mediation.

One of the key goals of the International Association of Professionals in Humanitarian Assistance and Protection (PHAP) is to facilitate professional exchanges as a mean to foster a critical professional culture, a pre-condition to improving humanitarian action. In this context, PHAP intends to invest significant resources in the creation of regional networks among its members to favor informal exchanges on the challenges and dilemmas of humanitarian action. These regional networks will serve as both casual platforms to meet and share ideas and perspectives on humanitarian action from a regional perspective, as well as to promote and communicate about PHAP to a regional audience. Hence, regional networks are expected to trigger the production of specific activities designed for the regional audience and produced by regionally-based PHAP members with the support of the PHAP Secretariat.

Regional networks are expected to develop:

• Regional interest groups and Members’ Committees focusing on issues and challenges specific to a region;
• Organize and hold regional Oneline Seminars on issues of regional concerns but of interest to a global community of professionals;
• Plan and design thematic workshops in close cooperation with the PHAP Secretariat and PHAP partners such as HPCR;
• Produce expert panels for the World Congress on Humanitarian Assistance and Protection, as well as promote the online aspects of the Congress at the regional level;
• Contribute to the PHAP Newsletter from a regional perspective;
• Draw the attention of regional and global members on policy events and developments in the region; and more generally:
• Promote and communicate about PHAP in the region.

Regional networks will be open to all PHAP members in good standing. Regional facilitators will act as convenors and coordinators in close cooperation with  the PHAP Secretariat.

PHAP is currently searching for such facilitators in the following regions:

• South-East Asia and the Pacific
• Middle East
• East Africa

Interested members are invited to contact PHAP President Claude Bruderlein.