In this edition of Café Humanitair, we will launch the book ‘People, Aid and Institutions in Socio-economic recovery: Facing Fragilities’. This book provides a detailed understanding of people’s strategies to survive in the face of conflict and disaster. It also examines how the policies and aid interventions of governments and international agencies enable their socio-economic recovery – or fail to do so.

An estimated two billion people live in instable countries affected by conflict and disaster, a situation which often leads to extreme poverty. Out of necessity, people develop strategies to survive and to recover their socio-economic position. It is of importance that aid interventions of governments, the private sector and international agencies complement these strategies.

This afternoon we will discuss the five most important lessons of this broad study, that is mainly based on qualitative research methods. Stakeholders from the government, aid organizations and academia will reflect on this; can they put the lessons into practice?

After the presentation, we will host network drinks.

About the speakers

The book will be presented by the editors:

• Thea Hilhorst (Professor of Humanitarian Aid and Reconstruction at the International Institute of Social Studies)
• Bart Weijs (Coordinator of the Partners for Resilience Programme at Care Nederland)
• Gemma van der Haar (Assistant Professor at the chair group Sociology of Development and Change, Wageningen University).

Reflections on the book will be made by Dirk Salomons (Director of the Humanitarian Policy Track, School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University), Patrick Milabyo Kyamusugulwa (researcher at the ISS) and Holly Ritchie (consultant international development and academic researcher at the ISS).

About the book

‘People, Aid and Institutions in Socio-economic Recovery: Facing Fragilities’ provides six case studies (El Salvador, DR Congo, Afghanistan, Uganda, South Sudan and Central America) as well as thematic studies into recovery and economic development after conflict and development in urban settings. The book was edited by Thea Hilhorst (Professor of Humanitarian Aid and Reconstruction at the International Institute of Social Studies), Bart Weijs (Coordinator of the Partners for Resilience Programme at Care Nederland) and Gemma van der Haar (Assistant Professor at the chair group Sociology of Development and Change, Wageningen University).

This edition of Café Humanitaire is organized by the International Institute of Social Studies of Erasmus University, Wageningen University, the Humanitarian Knowledge Centre and Humanity House.

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