A Humanitarian Landscape in Crisis: Reflections from European Actors

On May 5 and 6, IECAH, in collaboration with the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), organized a meeting at Casa Árabe, attended by representatives from various European research institutes, the United Nations, and NGOs. This event took place in a context of growing uncertainty and structural challenges for the international humanitarian system, with the aim of fostering a space for reflection and dialogue among European actors committed to humanitarian action.

Members of the European network of humanitarian think tanks (HuT) took part in the meeting, including Groupe URD, HERE-Geneva, CHA, KUNO, ODI, and IECAH. Alongside invited organizations, they shared their perspectives on the main challenges facing the sector and possible solutions for adapting to the new realities of the global humanitarian landscape. The event provided an opportunity to identify shared concerns and propose innovative approaches, both short- and long-term, to transform and strengthen humanitarian action.

Karim Hauser, cultural programs coordinator, opened the session with an analysis of the current state of the humanitarian system, highlighting the main challenges and introducing the themes for discussion. Camille Nussbaum, executive coordinator of IECAH, and Lucía Prieto, director of Humanitarian Action at AECID, opened the dialogue session, where representatives from the various organizations shared their views, suggested ways to adapt to the new context, and proposed approaches to improve the effectiveness of humanitarian response.

With this initiative, IECAH continues to reaffirm its commitment to creating exchange spaces that foster international collaboration among peers, in order to build collective responses to global challenges in the humanitarian field.