Humanitarian aid is increasingly carried out by local organisations. The need of this ‘localisation’ of humanitarian aid is generally accepted and recognized. Now, organisations are trying to translate this principle into practice. How do local partners experience localisation? And what can be done to improve current programming?

This event seeks to create a platform for local actors to talk about their perspective on localisation. The discussion will be introduced by a panel of directors from local and national organisations that are working on localizing humanitarian response. Thereafter, the audience can contribute to the discussion. The event will be moderated by Smruti Patel, the Director of the Global Mentoring Initiative, Geneva.

About the speakers

• Paparu Liliane Obiale. Humanitarian Program Manager at CEFORD in Uganda. CEFORD has become one of the most outstanding LNGOs undertaking interventions in response to the influx of south Sudanese refugees to Uganda. Lilian manages programmes in Bidi Bidi camp, one the world’s largest refugee settlements. Lilian leads coordination platforms for local actors to respond to emergencies, and manages partnerships and consortia with international and local organizations.
• Sudhansu Singh. Executive Director of Humanitarian Aid International in India. He is a humanitarian and development professional with over 28 years of experience in programme management in the Asia-Pacific region. Sudhanshu has been part of global processes pertaining to localisation, including Transformative Agenda, World Humanitarian Summit and the Charter4Change. Since 2001, he has managed responses to most of the mega disasters in the Asia-Pacific region, either directly or through partners.
• Dr. M. Ehsanur Rahman. Executive Director of Dhaka Ahsania Mission (DAM) in Bangladesh. He is also active as Director of the Syndicate of Ahsanullah University, Governing Body member of Khan Bahadur Ahsanullah Teachers Training College, chairperson of the National Alliance of Humanitarian Actors in Bangladesh (NAHAB) and engaged in the Executive Committee of Bangladesh ECD Network.
• Kevin Lee. Director of A Single Drop in the Philippines. Kevin connects teams of community members with local government task forces to plan, design, and implement locally owned water and sanitation systems. He was honoured as 2007 Echoing Green Fellow, Tech Museum Equality Laureate 2010, Ashoka Fellow 2015, and Standards 2015 Visionary Award.

About this programme

This programme is an initiative of Oxfam Novib and the Platform for Humanitarian Knowledge Exchange (KUNO).

Join the discussion and stay updated via our Facebook event.