Designing for Humanity in Crises. Around the world, humanitarians face…
By: Iom - Un Migration
Tags: Crisis, Mosul, Humanitarian

National and international NGOs, private sector companies, and UN agencies have embraced a collective mission to design more dignified solutions to humanitarian challenges.

Solutions that “leave no one behind” and guarantee human rights for all in crisis settings, humanitarian response planning and development contexts. These efforts further complement government-led implementation of the 2030 Agenda for the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals.

This means not only responding to communities in need, but actively including them in the design of the projects and policies that govern their lives.

Design for Humanity (D4H), a joint initiative of the Institute of International Humanitarian Affairs and the International Organization for Migration, will be hosting the second Design for Humanity Summit at Fordham University on 21 June in New York City. This one-day event will explore new ways designers and humanitarians can collaboratively drive humanitarian response in a more dignified, inclusive, and sustainable direction.

This year’s keynote speaker is Argentina Szabados, IOM’s Regional Director for Southeastern Europe, Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

“Nothing is more important to displaced people than the roof over their heads”, Ms. Szabados stresses, “Home is security, identity and community. If we lose it, we lose a big part of what defines us. As humanitarians we have a moral obligation to ensure that we provide living spaces that are not only cost-effective and safe, but dignified. More than that: we must actively seek the approval of people on the move by listening as we collect their data and their stories. This requires humility on our part, an admission that we are serving, not imposing.”

“As a humanitarian aid worker, I don’t want disruption affecting the most vulnerable populations in the world and I don’t want your widget. I want scale, speed, innovation and efficiency. I want a process centered around and owned by those who have been affected by disaster,” Brian Kelly, IOM’s Head of Community Stabilization Photo: West Mosul/IOM

IOM staff and professionals from other humanitarian agencies will join design and private sector professionals, government representatives and academics to participate in Design Dialogues and interactive Design Workshops. The event will showcase design solutions that aim to improve the lives of millions of people forcibly displaced by disasters, conflicts or the consequences of climate change.

“When design and humanitarian efforts come together, beautiful things can happen. And that beauty adds dignity to people’s lives. Design helps people see the power of their voice, the power of their community, the power of their lives, ” Randy Fiser, CEO of the American Society of Interior Designers. Photo: Haiti/Habitat for Humanity International

“Responding to displacement, including by mitigating drivers such as slow-onset disasters, conflict, requires the combined efforts and engagement of States, international, regional, local and civil society organizations and the private sector. This Summit is a key highlight of what collaboration and partnerships can do for the benefit of those displaced,” said Ashraf El Nour, Director of IOM’s Office to the United Nations in New York said last year as he launched the D4H Initiative.

The initiative builds on the long-standing partnership between IOM and Fordham University in New York — two institutions coming together to investigate how human-centered design can be incorporated within the norms of humanitarian action.