Gaza conflict
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February 2009
The Humanitarian Forum first brought together key international and local humanitarian organisations to discuss Gaza on February 1st 2009 in Doha. It was the first time that such a wide range of organisations had met; non-governmental organisations came from Muslim and western countries, and were joined by several multilateral organisations. In all, there were 32 organisations from 12 countries.
The participants discussed needs and challenges in Gaza, planned responses, coordination and partnerships. They agreed concrete solutions, including shared lobbying, jointly designing projects and having regular communication to deepen partnerships. The Humanitarian Forum acts as the main mechanism for this amongst this growing partnership of organisations.
Read the February meeting outcomes.
November 2009
After the success of the February Workshop, Dr Hany El Banna and Shahira Maarouf recently visited Gaza to run a follow-up workshop and assess new ways of empowering and assisting humanitarian and development actors in the region. The ‘Alternative Workshop' was run in collaboration with PNGO-Union (The Palestinian Non Governmental Organisations Union) - a local umbrella body which seeks to strengthen and support local Palestinian civil society.
The Workshop brought together private, local and international actors, and demonstrated the passion and commitment of local organisations to create real change and improvement in the region. As one participant confirmed: "the determination, ambition, local knowledge and expertise do exist. These need to be matched with opportunities".
Over the course of the meetings, the participants identified the most pressing needs for Gaza, which ranged from the strain on the agricultural sector to youth unemployment. They put forward a comprehensive range of recommendations to further opportunities for long-term reconstruction and development in Gaza, from ICT and technology industries to encouraging greater focus on small businesses. Full details: Workshop findings: Immediate challenges and recommendations
Useful Links
Access UNOCHA Reports on Gaza's needs
Access Media Coverage of the original Doha Meeting:
Gulf Times : Action not rhetoric
Discussion Forum: Gaza - one year on
When The Humanitarian Forum held workshops in Gaza in February 2009, the humanitarian and development actors from the region were handling the immediate needs in the aftermath of the war. A year on, we're finding the needs and priorities are changing in that area. Our friends and associates in Gaza are turning thei...r attention to long term and sustainable development. The courage, enthusiasm and will for change in Gaza is really inspiring. This year we'll be continuing our work in the region, and focusing on one of the most important issues - enabling humanitarian actors in Gaza to be seen and heard by the rest of the world.
We want to hear from you - do you think the priorities for humanitarian work are changing? what are the biggest issues for your organisation? How do you think online and new technologies could help?
Let us know what's on your mind on our discussion boards by following the link below.
