Save the Children International & KUNO presented this session to reflect on the learnings on collaboration, coordination, and community engagement to better preparedness of humanitarian actors for humanitarian responses in an urban setting.
Find here the summary report of the Beirut Webinar.
The humanitarian response after the Beirut Blast took place in a complex urban setting. Numerous responders from local organizations, ad hoc informal initiatives and international humanitarian organizations worked hard to save lives and help victims. Many of the new ad hoc initiatives remained active, also after international NGOs moved in.
What can we learn from the Beirut Port Explosion response? Was the input and work of local actors recognized and supported adequately by international NGOs and UN Agencies? What role did the various actors play in the ‘first phase’ of the response and how can international NGOs and agencies align with local CSOs, informal networks and initiatives more effectively?
During the session local organizations from Beirut shared preliminary learnings, as did representatives of international NGOs.
Introductions:
- Setting the scene – A growing awareness on the specifics of an urban response by Prof. Thea Hilhorst, Erasmus University.
- Preliminary findings of the local actors by the Lebanon Humanitarian and Development NGOs Forum (LHDF) and partners by Maria Noel Chehade (Forum Coordinator for the LHDF).
- Preliminary findings international NGOs by the Lebanon Humanitarian INGO Forum (LHIF) and partners by Soman Moodley (Forum Coordinator for the LHIF).
Panel discussion:
- Prof. Kees Boersma (VU University, Amsterdam)
- François Grünewald (Groupe URD)
- Nelleke Dorsman (Dutch Relief Alliance, Dorcas)
- Mazen Yachoui (Save the Children International – Beirut)
Moderated by Stan Klinkenberg (Save the Children) & Peter Heintze (KUNO).
