1st Transatlantic Dialogue on Humanitarian Action

A key component of Raising the Bar is a conference series, the "Transatlantic Dialogues on Humanitarian Action". Designed to work in tandem with the 18 month research program, the dialogues bring together EU and US policy-makers, NGOs, multilateral organizations, researchers, and the private sector. The sessions provide unique opportunities for supplying practitioner feedback into the research process and will provide direction for the research agenda. They will also offer a platform for discussing the program’s findings and fostering the development of a transatlantic strategic community on humanitarian action.

The 1st “Transatlantic Dialogue on Humanitarian Action” (TDHA) took place from 2 - 3 June 2008 at the Harnack-Haus in Berlin-Dahlem. The event, entitled “Learning from the field: Fostering effective transatlantic action on disaster relief and preparedness”, was designed to launch the program, present its key goals and work program components, and in particular to discuss and receive feedback on preliminary research results as well as to feed field experiences into the research and dialogue program. Panel discussions and working groups during the conference were structured along the four key research themes that are being pursued as part of the “Raising the Bar”-Program: Linking Relief, Rehabilitation, and Development (LRRD); Improving Humanitarian Performance through Learning; Business Engagement in Humanitarian Action; and Civil-Military Relations in Disaster Response.

To download the conference booklet, including a list of participants, please click here.

To download the Conference Report please click here.

Ambassador von Alvensleben of the Federal Foreign Office gave one of the keynote addresses which opened the conference. To read the text of his speech, please click here (in German), or here(in English).

The 2nd Tranatlantic Dialogue on Humanitarian Action took place from 15 - 16 December 2008 at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), in Washington D.C.