The New Humanitarian

• Do we want to relinquish power, or not? | Power Shift

  Power Shift is an experiment in dialogue that puts decision-makers in aid and philanthropy and those affected by their decisions in honest, one-on-one conversations about the aid sector’s inequalities. ___ Michael Köhler and Nadine Saba are just two of the many people tasked with advancing the goals of the Grand Bargain – one of the most ambitious attempts at delivering humanitarian aid more effectively and efficiently.  As such, they often log into the same meetings by videoconference. And yet, Köhler, one of three ambassadors tasked with overseeing the process, and Saba, a Grand Bargain sherpa representing Global South NGOs, have never spoken one-on-one. Until now.  Over the course of seven weeks in mid-2024, Köhler and Saba met over Zoom as part of the Power Shift experiment – one leading high-level meetings from Brussels, and the other contending with real-life humanitarian crises on the ground as both a local organisation leader, and citizen.  Much has changed in the aid sector since these initial meetings, but the spirited, yet convivial, debates between Köhler and Saba have taken on a new urgency as the world reacts to the loss of major Western humanitarian funding. “Are we relinquishing power? Are we keeping it in the hands of the donors?” Saba challenged Köhler, “And if we're keeping it in the hands of the donor, how much are they attuned to what is happening on the fields? Not much.” Listen in to the no-holds-barred conversations between Köhler and Saba as they take on a range of topics, from the yawning gap between headquarters-level decisions and realities in the field, to the dilemma of donor countries’ competing obligations to constituents and affected people, to the need to treat the Grand Bargain – and other attempts at change – with a lot more urgency.  ___ Subscribe on Spotify, Apple, or YouTube, or search “The New Humanitarian” in your favourite podcast app. You can find transcripts of all podcasts on our website. Are you or anyone you know interested in participating in future Power Shift conversations? Email us with the subject line ‘POWER SHIFT”.

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• Why reforming humanitarianism isn't enough | First Person

  The Trump administration’s aid freeze is a pivotal moment for the humanitarian sector. Veteran aid worker and TNH CEO Tammam Aloudat doesn’t believe that simply restoring funding will fix a broken system. While imagining what remaking humanitarianism might look like, he makes a plea: “Let’s start shifting the conversation.” The New Humanitarian aims to amplify the voices of refugees, asylum seekers, and people affected by conflict and disaster – placing them at the centre of the conversations about the policies and events that shape their lives. Listen to more First Person stories at TheNewHumanitarian.org.

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• If not (US) aid, then what? | Event

  The US aid freeze has exposed not only the fragility of humanitarian funding but also longstanding dependencies, vulnerabilities, and power dynamics that demand a broader reckoning. This event will explore the urgent need for structural change, seeking clarity and ideas amid the chaos. In what we hope will be one conversation of many, we reimagine the future of humanitarian aid in an era of mounting challenges and transformative opportunities. SPEAKERS The event was moderated by TNH CEO Tammam Aloudat, who was joined by: Deborah Doane – Author of The INGO Problem: Power, privilege and renewal. Dustin Barter – Acting Director of the Humanitarian Policy Group at ODI. Dr. Lata Narayanaswamy – Associate Professor in the Politics of Global Development, University of Leeds. Nidhi Bouri – Former Deputy Assistant Administrator for Global Health, USAID. Stella Naw – Kachin human rights activist. ____ Got a question or feedback? Email [email protected] or have your say on our socials using the hashtag #RethinkingHumanitarianism.  ____

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• Is Haiti better off without aid? | What’s Unsaid

  The fallout from the US aid funding freeze continues. In Haiti, one of USAID’s largest recipients, could this actually be a moment for optimism?  “My instinctive reaction was, maybe now we can take better care of ourselves,” Haitian anthropologist and aid reform advocate, Isabelle Clérié tells What’s Unsaid host, Obi Anyadike.  What’s Unsaid is a podcast by The New Humanitarian, where we explore open secrets and uncomfortable conversations around the world’s conflicts and disasters.     

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• Can dialogue truly shift power? | Power Shift

  People affected by crises, and the people who respond to them, have been calling for change and equity for years, but for every reform pledge in Geneva or New York, there’s little movement in Yangon or Juba.   Changing an entire sector is a tall order. But how can an entire system change? In reality, it has to begin with conversations between people.  For months, The New Humanitarian and the Center for Transformational Change sent out invites to people across the power spectrum in the aid world: heads of international humanitarian agencies, environmental, and refugee right activists, you name it. The goal? To set up one-on-one dialogues between people with the power to make decisions and mobilise resources and people who are affected by such decisions. “People need to be listened to, and when they come in with their own stories, that is a form of power,” argues Lina Srivastava, Power Shift’s moderator and founder of The Center for Transformational Change. In this first episode of Power Shift, host Melissa Fundira, Adeso executive director Degan Ali, and Srivastava set the stage for conversations to come by highlighting how power inequalities prevent us from addressing humanitarian crises adequately and fairly, and by discussing whether dialogue can ever truly shift power. ___ Subscribe on Spotify, Apple, or YouTube, or search “The New Humanitarian” in your favourite podcast app. You can find transcripts of all podcasts on our website. Are you or anyone you know interested in participating in future Power Shift conversations? Email us with the subject line ‘POWER SHIFT”.  

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