Harvard Humanitarian Initiative

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H@H

June 11-13, 2012
Professionals and leaders in public health, medicine, law, development, education, humanitarian intervention, and economics are increasingly expected to integrate human rights in policy and programs. This course will equip decision-makers with the skills necessary to apply methods and practices grounded in basic human rights.

 

HHI, UN OCHA Release New Report - Disaster Relief 2.0: The Future of Information Sharing in Humanitarian Emergencies

Issue in Focus

Introducing The Humanitarian Academy at Harvard

HHI is proud to announce the establishment of the Humanitarian Academy at Harvard, a new comprehensive training program for humanitarian workers. The mission of the Humanitarian Academy is to drive positive change in the humanitarian sector through rigorous undergraduate, graduate, and professional education and training in the theory and practice of humanitarian action, and it aims to help thousands around the world who work in war zones, help in the wake of natural disasters, or serve in other relief settings.

A University-wide center that uses research to improve aid response, the Humanitarian Academy will engage Harvard faculty from multiple disciplines, providing an integrated curriculum, and leveraging the latest technologies to make available innovative teaching and professional education opportunities that are grounded in field-based realities. The Academy will include the Lavine Family Humanitarian Studies Initiative, an existing training program for humanitarian professionals that was recently expanded through a gift from Harvard alumni Jonathan and Jeannie Lavine.

There also will be a new, interdisciplinary concentration in humanitarian studies, ethics, and human rights, to be offered at the Harvard School of Public Health beginning in 2013, and hands-on training through internships with relief agencies. It will create a professional pathway for students and existing workers in the humanitarian space, serve as a prototype for other academic centers of excellence in humanitarian education, and encourage an international movement to increase the impact of humanitarian relief efforts through a focus on both professional skill building and rigorous measurement and analysis of what really works in humanitarian aid.

For more information, please see HHI's Humanitarian Academy page or a recent article in the Harvard Gazette on its launch.

Homepage Events

May 14-18 and May 21-25, 2012 |  Advanced Professional Trainings on Humanitarian Assistance and Protection

Professionals in Humanitarian Assistance and Prevention is pleased to announce two upcoming trainings in Bangkok, Thailand. The Core Professional Training on Leadership and Management of Humanitarian Action takes place over five full days and serves as a unique opportunity to further refine the knowledge, competencies, and skills necessary to address contemporary humanitarian challenges faced by managers and team leaders in the context of humanitarian response.

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Home > Events > Humanitarian Action Summit

Humanitarian Action Summit

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About the Humanitarian Action Summit

The Humanitarian Action Summit provides a forum for discussion and strategic thinking around emerging issues in humanitarian action. The Summit brings together leaders and experts from international, non-governmental, academic and health institutions, assembled in working groups that focus on major cross-cutting themes that have immediate relevance to current humanitarian aid and health sector issues.

For more information , please contact Alexa Walls at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 617.384.5627

2011 Summit

March 4th-6th, 2011

The 2011 Summit brought together over 200 strategic level leaders from NGO's, UN agencies, donor agencies and federal agencies to discuss complex issues that face the NGO community. The Summit built directly upon the momentum from the prior Humanitarian Health Conferences, utilized our network of humanitarian leaders, and developed an expanded agenda of critical topics facing the humanitarian health community. In so doing, the 2011 Summit was a unique and vital venue for humanitarian strategists.  The 2011 Humanitarian Action Summit was honored to have as its keynote speakers Dr. Paul Farmer and The Hounourable Romeo A. Dallaire.

The 2011 Summit followed a similar work-plan from that developed in 2009. Based on changing needs and emerging issues in the humanitarian health field, the 2011 working groups were introduced and developed to address these emerging themes. The following are key themes that were addressed in the form of working groups and plenary sessions:

 

Working Groups:

  • Field level coordination among civilian and military humanitarian actors: Strategies for improving field dialogue.
  • NGO security, and standards in staff protection: Updates on establishing consensus on organizational security practices.
  • Urbanization and humanitarian access: Challenges to program design in concentrated urban regions.
  • Demographics, Mapping and Applied Technology for Humanitarian Action:Next steps in advancing mobile communications and geospatial tools.
  • Surgical Issues in the Humanitarian Space: Improving surgical epidemiology in war and disaster.
  • Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Crisis and Conflict: Transitioning mental health and psychosocial programs from short term relief to community-based programs for development.

 

Plenary Sessions and Breakout Sessions:

  • Post-conflict health systems reconstruction: Evaluating best practices for re-development of health systems in the post-crisis settings.
  • Humanitarian Professionalization and educational networks: Academic engagement with humanitarian agencies, logical linkages, technical enhancements and barriers to participation.

 

Published Reports

 

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2009 Humanitarian Action Summit Report

2007has

2007 Humanitarian Health Conference Report

2006has

2006 Humanitarian Health Conference Report

 

2011 Sponsors

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Conference Co-Chairs

  • Frederick "Skip" M. Burkle, Jr., MD, MPH, DTM, FAAP, FACEP
    Senior Fellow, Harvard Humanitarian Initiative
  • Michael VanRooyen, MD, MPH
    Director, Harvard Humanitarian Initiative

 

Planning Committee

  • Michael VanRooyen
    Harvard Humanitarian Initiative
  • Frederick M. Burkle, Jr.
    Harvard Humanitarian Initiative
  • Jennifer Leaning
    FXB Center for Health and Human Rights
  • Karen Hein
    Child Fund International
  • James C. Strickler
    Dartmouth Medical School

 

Board of Advisors

  • Nancy Aossey
    President & CEO, International Medical Corps
  • Tom Arnold
    CEO,Concern
  • Deborah Baglole
    Humanitarian Advisor, Conflict, Humanitarian and Security Department Operations Team (CHASE OT), Department for International Development, United Kingdom
  • Peter Bell
    Former President and CEO of CARE USA
    Senior Research Fellow, Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations, Harvard Kennedy School
  • Marvin Birnbaum
    Editor-in-Chief, Prehospital and Disaster Medicine
  • William Canny
    Director of Emergency Operations, Catholic Relief Services
  • Ken Isaacs
    Vice President, Samaritan's Purse
  • Neal Keny-Guyer
    CEO, Mercy Corps
  • Ted Okada
    Director, Microsoft Humanitarian Systems
  • George Rupp
    President & CEO, International Rescue Committee
  • Anne Scott
    Vice President, Christian Children's Fund
  • Gino Strada
    CEO, Emergency
  • Ronald Waldman
    Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University
  • Lori Warrens
    Executive Director, Partnership for Quality Medical Donations
  • Adele Waugaman
    Senior Director, United Nations Foundation & Vodafone Foundation Technology Partnership
  • Mary Werntz
    Head of Delegation of US and Canada, International Committee of the Red Cross