ICS Seminar - David Sanderson, Beth Egglestone, Valentina Bau

Long-term Planning at times of Crisis: Reflecting on the Reality of the Humanitarian Development Nexus

Panelists: David Sanderson, Beth Egglestone, Valentina Bau

Chair: Nichole Georgeou

Abstract

The increasingly protracted and recurrent nature of crises has meant that a greater range of needs, which are both compounding and overlapping, has to be addressed in often volatile contexts. There is an urgency to respond quickly while attending to other critical issues that may affect realities in crisis in the long term, putting more vulnerable groups at particular risk. As a key framework arising from the 2016 World Humanitarian Summit, the Humanitarian-Development Nexus guides humanitarian and development actors to work more closely together to deliver the SDGs, improving collaboration between the sectors and placing the most vulnerable people at the centre. The ‘New Way of Working’ emerging from the Nexus recognises the value of immediate life-saving humanitarian operations while giving emphasis to the promotion of local leadership, governance and institution-building. This panel wants to reflect on the reality of framing aid assistance and development interventions as parts of a continuum; on the challenges that practitioners face in the dialogue between the two sectors; and on the difficulties that researchers experience when investigating and analysing those contexts. Through the presentation of case studies from the field, panelists advance critical arguments on the viability of the Nexus in current scenarios.

Panelists

David Sanderson, Professor - Urban Disaster Resilience and Humanitarian Aid, University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney): David is the Inaugural Judith Neilson Chair in Architecture. David’s recent research addresses how governments, civil society, aid organisations and people prepare for, withstand, and recover better from urban disasters and the effects of climate change.

Beth Egglestone, Director, Humanitarian Advisory Group: Beth’s roles include more than two decades of work specialising in civil-military coordination and humanitarian reform. Beth has authored academic literature focusing on the role of women in countering violent extremism drawing from field experience in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Tajikistan.

Dr Valentina Baú, Senior Research Fellow - Development and Humanitarian Communication, Western Sydney University, Institute for Culture and Society (UNSW Sydney, Honorary): Valentina is currently investigating the use of development communication and CwC (Communicating with Communities) interventions aimed at promoting peace and social cohesion among young people in contexts of protracted displacement, through an ARC DECRA Research Fellowship.

Event Details

Date & Time: Thursday, 16 March 2023, 11:30 am – 1:00 pm

Venue: Female Orphan School - EZ.G.22, Parramatta South Campus

Events

Research at ICS

People at ICS

Contact ICS

Contact ICS

The Institute for Culture and Society is located in Parramatta, “the place where the eel sets down” in Dharug language,
along the north bank of the Parramatta River. It sits on the traditional lands and waters of the Burramattagal people of the Dharug Nation,
who have been stewards and caretakers of these territories since time immemorial, in what today is referred to as Greater Western Sydney,
one of the most diverse cultural communities in the world and home to the largest number of Indigenous Australians in the country.
The Institute for Culture and Society acknowledges the Dharug, Eora, Dharawal (also referred to as Tharawal)
and Wiradjuri peoples as traditional custodians and Indigenous knowledge-holders, whose storytelling serve
as historical record, a form of teaching and learning, a way to care for Country,
and an expression of Indigenous culture and identity.