The publication
Read the full publication here.
About the series
During this series, it became clear that humanitarianism is linked to the history of colonialism on several levels. Still, organisations operate within, are shaped by and perpetuate the colonial system. How can we work towards a system in which we get rid of colonial aspects, while saving all the good that humanitarian and development interventions are bringing? During the second session, that took a development cooperation perspective, it became clear that local actors need to take a central role in activities in order to decolonize aid. Many humanitarian practices are still Northern-led and top-down, which disempowers local actors. Many other practical changes need to be implemented in order to make the humanitarian system more fair, including adapting current funding mechanisms, and getting donors to change their internal policies and practices.
Speakers
During this five-part series, numerous experts in the field shared their insights and experiences on the decolonisation of aid. Speakers who contributed to the dialogue:
- Arua Oko Omaka, fellow at the Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Nigeria.
- Bertrand Taithe, professor History of Humanitarian Aid Manchester University.
- Lydia Zigomo, global Programmes Director at Oxfam International.
- Tulika Srivastava, director Women’s Fund Asia.
- Tammam Aloudat, senior Strategic Advisor, MSF Access Campaign.
- Nanette Antequisa, director ECOWEB and active member of A4EP.
- Aarathi Krishnan, strategic Foresight Advisor at UNDP.
- Dr Hugo Slim, senior Research Fellow at University of Oxford.
- Dirk-Jan Koch, professor Trade & Aid, Radboud University.
Smutri Patel, director Global Mentoring Initiative.
Authors
- Peter Heintze, former coordinator of KUNO and current team leader of Safety of Journalists at Free Press Unlimited
- Thea Hilhorst, researcher at the Institute of Social Sciences and director of the Humanitarian Studies Centre
- Bart Romijn, former director of Partos.