PHAP meets with humanitarian and development professionals at AIDF DC

From 21-22 May, PHAP participated as a partner and exhibitor at the Aid & International Development Forum (AIDF) in Washington, DC. Held over two days under the broad theme of how to follow up on the Millennium Development Goals after 2015, the forum’s 25 workshop and conference sessions attracted over 1700 humanitarian and development professionals. All three ways that PHAP aimed to connect with members and the wider community at the event were a success: their booth in the exhibition, the Executive Director’s participation in the conference, and the separate PHAP members’ meet-up held in conjunction with the event.

The event as a whole proved an effective hub for the Secretariat to connect directly with professionals across the humanitarian sector, as was demonstrated by the constant stream of people inquiring about PHAP at their exhibition stand, where they could also pick up free copies of recent member articles and newsletters. Everyone from recent graduates to senior professionals in the humanitarian sector, consultants, and private sector suppliers expressed interest in becoming members of the association or working together in other ways. There was significant interest in particular in helping to establish a stronger sense of community among humanitarian professionals and contributing to the professionalization of the sector. Many visitors remarked that they found PHAP’s unique role as a professional member-governed association within the sector an important one, and one that they wanted to be part of.

Speaking at the event’s opening panel discussion on “Aid in an Age of Austerity”, PHAP’s Executive Director, Angharad Laing, provided her perspective on the ways in which a professional association can support both individual humanitarian actors and their employers in the face of adverse financial conditions. She identified the advancement of mechanisms for knowledge sharing, peer-to-peer networking, and professional development as ways through which the profession could be strengthened amidst the challenges connected with the current financial climate. It was pointed out that, by some calculations, there is more money available now for humanitarian and development assistance than ever before. Nevertheless, the “language of austerity” has had an effect, both on the donor community and on levels and types of aid. In some respects, one can also find “opportunities in austerity,” if it can be used to prompt reforms of the global humanitarian system to promote improved information sharing and advancement of currently underutilized professional expertise and capabilities.

Highlighting that national staff often face the dual challenges of a lack of professional development opportunities and lack of external recognition of those opportunities that are available to them, Ms. Laing underlined the importance of creating systems that could provide sufficient support to both international and national staff and recognize and build on professional skills learned “on the job.” The audience raised a number of interesting questions during the Q&A session following the panel, including what has been the impact of increased “South-South” cooperation in recent years. In her response, Ms. Laing pointed out that this development has made it even more important for “traditional” humanitarian agencies to engage in an inclusive process of clearly defining what “humanitarian action” means, what should be the relationship between humanitarian agencies and governments, and other challenging issues. While this could be unsettling to some actors, it should be seen as an opportunity to reach a more robust understanding of the essence of humanitarian work and could lead to a general strengthening of the sector as well as improved protection of and assistance to vulnerable populations around the world.

In order to facilitate connections and exchanges among its current members, PHAP also organized a members’ get-together for those based in or visiting Washington, DC that week. This informal event turned into a lively exchange, allowing members to meet and connect with one another, as well as with the Secretariat. The assembled members included a mix of government officials, academics, practitioners, and representatives of the Secretariat. The conversation focused on the latest developments from within the sector, as both lighter and deeper issues of relevance to the humanitarian community were discussed. Kateri Carmola, PHAP member and speaker at the upcoming Jerusalem Core Professional Training on Humanitarian Law and Policy, was one of the participants. "The term 'social networking' doesn't do justice to what goes on at such informal gatherings," she said afterward. "Getting to know the stories that brought individual members to work in the humanitarian field really is foundational for the shared learning that is the essence of an organization like PHAP."

Providing an excellent platform for PHAP to inform others about its mission and activities and connect with a wide range of agencies and companies engaged with the humanitarian sector, AIDF DC has been a valuable communication channel for the association. The Secretariat hopes to participate in upcoming AIDF events, as well as other relevant exhibitions and conferences.