Religiously inspired organisations — so-called ‘faith-based’ organisations — increasingly seem to be deployed in humanitarian aid missions. In some humanitarian crises, organisations with a clearly Islamic identity seem capable of operating more effectively, and are sometimes the only option.

During this seminar, emergency relief workers, academics, representatives of religious organisations, and national and international authorities will discuss the possibilities and limitations of working with local communities of faith and religious organisations. Participants will then discuss a number of case studies.

Which collaborative efforts with ‘faith-based’ organisations were effective? And why is such collaboration so important in providing humanitarian aid? Why did it take so long to reflect on collaboration with religious organisations? What has been done nationally and internationally?

About the Speakers
Word of welcome and concluding remarks by Brenda Bartelink (Oikos). Mousa Shahan (Syrian refugee in the Netherlands) delivers an audio column. Other speakers are Jelte van Wieren (deputy director , stabilisation and humanitarian aid department MoFA the Netherlands), Azza Karam (United Nations Population Fund), Jeroen Jurriëns (ICCO Cooperation), Willem van de Put (HealthNet TPO) and Annette Jansen (VU University).

This programme is a side event of the Dutch Humanitarian Summit in The Hague and the World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul.