PHAP to work with OCHA for World Humanitarian Summit
Markus Forsberg 4 April 2014
Following an official request from the UN Secretary General, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is moving ahead with plans for a World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul in May 2016. The objective of the event – which will be the first-ever humanitarian summit of this scale and scope – is to set a future agenda for humanitarian action to ensure improved responsiveness to the changing humanitarian landscape in terms of greater needs, more diverse actors, new technologies, and political and economic shifts.
While the Summit itself is still two years in the future, an extensive consultation process is already underway. It is starting now in the West and Central Africa region, with structured discussions planned in all parts of the world as well as online. We are pleased to announce that the World Humanitarian Summit has decided to work closely with PHAP in this process, in order to realize the goal of engaging a broad range of stakeholders to enrich the global conversation on humanitarian challenges and solutions.
As the only sector-wide professional association of individuals engaged in humanitarian action, and with a large and diverse network of experienced professionals willing to contribute their expertise, perspectives, and time, PHAP has much to offer the Summit process. PHAP’s truly global network – including staff of local and international NGOs, intergovernmental organizations, the UN, the Red Cross and Red Crescent movement, academia, governmental agencies, and the private sector – can make important contributions to discussions, both as contributors and moderators, temporarily removing their institutional “hats,” and engaging as experienced professionals concerned with the future of humanitarian action as a whole.
Through this initiative, PHAP members and their broader professional networks are provided an effective channel for meaningful participation in a process that promises to significantly improve how humanitarian action is carried out. Summit discussions are intended to reach outside of the groups that are normally consulted, in the hope that the outcomes of the process will be more relevant and have a firmer grounding in the humanitarian community. In this way, working on the Summit process is an important opportunity for PHAP to pursue its mission to “enhance the capacity of the global humanitarian community to respond effectively and professionally to current and future crises.”
PHAP will be actively involved throughout the Summit process. Currently, the association is assisting with recruiting moderators and experts for the different parts of the consultations.
We hope to see you taking part in Summit process, either online or onsite. Your expertise and views are crucial to making this initiative successful and finding new and effective solutions to meeting humanitarian needs on the ground.
If you are interested in participating, please contact us for information regarding engagement opportunities through PHAP. We also recommend visiting the World Humanitarian Summit website for the latest news.