Panel 3: Envisioning the Futur

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What will our humanitarian future look like and what role will information play in
supporting it?

Thursday 25 October (10:30 - 12:00) – Room XIX

This panel looked to possible future humanitarian scenarios at the global level and discussed how best to turn the lessons and best practices of today into solutions for tomorrow. It explored issues such as climate change, the future of conflict and crises, and the communication and cultural divides, made evident in crisis. It looked at how current humanitarian information practices can deal more effectively with the future humanitarian landscape. This panel also looked at emerging challenges and opportunities in the humanitarian environment that are shaping the way information is collected, organised and disseminated. Panelists identified how information and technology can form partnerships in order to mitigate the impact during emergencies, including looking at what role the private sector can play.

Biography

JAMES DARCY Director, Humanitarian Policy Group, Overseas Development Institute (ODI) Moderator James is Director of the Humanitarian Policy Group at the Overseas Development Institute. After training in commercial and subsequently human rights law, he worked for ten years with Oxfam GB in Central Africa, Eastern Europe and South and East Asia. He played a lead role in the conception of the Sphere Humanitarian Charter, has led a number of evaluations of UN and other programmes, and chairs an external advisory group to WFP on needs assessment.

SANJANA YAJITHA HATTOTUWA Senior Advisor, ICT4Peace Foundation Sanjana is a Senior Advisor to the ICT4Peace Foundation, working to raise awareness of the use of ICT in conflict management. He is a Senior Researcher at the Centre for Policy Alternatives and Head of ICT and Peacebuilding at InfoShare, both based in Colombo. Sanjana is also a Fellow of the Center for Information Technology and Dispute Resolution at the University of Massachusetts and a founding Board member of the Carebridge Foundation that specialises in technical assistance for humanitarian work.

ANURADHA VITTACHI Co-founder, OneWorld Anuradha is Co-founder of the OneWorld Network and Co-director of OneWorld UK, in addition to being actively engaged in the development of OneClimate. She has made television documentaries, edited New Internationalist magazine, and written and contributed to various titles including Earth Conference One, about global survival and Electronic Empires, focusing on the impact of new media on global social relations.

RIMA QURESHI Head, Ericsson Response Rima is Vice President and Head of Customer Support of Global Services at Ericsson in Sweden. She is also Head of Ericsson Response, a non-profit, global initiative formed in 2000 that focuses on disaster relief, drawing upon Ericsson’s core knowledge and expertise to provide assistance in setting up telecommunication systems to help provide quicker relief during emergencies.

SAMI ZEIDAN Presenter, Al Jazeera Sami is an award-winning journalist who, for more than a decade, has anchored, reported and executive produced with some of the biggest names in television. Prior to joining Al Jazeera International, he presented a number of shows broadcast on CNBC Arabia, CNBC Europe, CNBC Asia as well as on CNN International. He has also taught broadcast journalism courses at the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Journalism.