Tuesday, 23 April 2019

World Humanitarian Forum Conference at Excel London

Two-day International Conference –
World Humanitarian Forum – at Excel London

Dr. Mozammel Haque

Two-day International Conference - World Humanitarian Forum - was held at Excel London from 17-18 April 2019. There were seven sessions besides the Opening session and Closing session. The special features of this conference were the speech of Rt. Hon. Jack Straw, former Foreign Secretary, UK at the Opening session; special keynote address by H.E. Emine Erdogan, the First Lady , Republic of Turkey on Wednesday, 17 April, 2019 and the speech of Tony Lanzer, Assistant Secretary General of the United Nations at G-Local session; closing keynote session with the Blairs: An inspiring story on the way to shape the future; Rt. Hon. Tony Blair, Executive Chairman of Tony Blair Institute; Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom; and Cherie Blair CBE, Founder, Cherie Blair Foundation for Women on Thursday, 18 April, 2019.

Another feature of the Conference was the presentation of Change maker Awards. These were awarded to H.E. Emine Erdogan, the First Lady, Republic of Turkey on 17 April 2019 and another Change maker Awards were presented to Tony Lanzer, Assistant Secretary General of the United Nations and Cherie Blair CBE, Founder, Cherie Blair Foundation for Women on Thursday, 18 April, 2019.
 
Proceedings of the Conference
The conference started with the welcoming address by Forum Moderator Daisy McAndrew and the Opening session was on WHF Kick Off and Global Call for Action.

Opening Session
Opening Address by Ms. Feraye Ozfescioglu,
CEO of the World Humanitarian Forum.
Ms Ozfescioglu welcomes everybody to World Humanitarian Forum, Aid & Trade London. She said, “It is a great pleasure to hold the inaugural World Humanitarian Forum in London. It is a premium event, featuring leading philanthropists, former and current leaders, NGOs, INGOs and private sector including United Nations, Oxfam, Microsoft Philanthropies, GSMA, Google, KPMG, Red Cross and Red Crescent.”

This event is timely, as the world is at a critical juncture today, she said. She mentioned, “The number of people displaced by conflict has risen to 59.5 million, compared with 37.5 million a decade ago. Despite this growing needs, donor financing has not kept pace, but there are many new promising initiatives as well as new countries pledging further support. I am particularly proud of the women taking centre stage at this year’s event, and their incredible, selfless commitment to improving the lives of millions of men, women, and children globally.”

“Aid & Trade London, now in its 3rd year, is the fastest growing humanitarian event of its kind, bringing together major stakeholders working across the global aid and the international development industry. Showcasing the very latest products and services, Aid&Trade London, is the event, which ultimately improve the delivery of aid. Every year we deliver world-class, innovative themes featuring over 150 speakers, tackling ‘head-on’; key issues and challenges facing the industry today,” she mentioned. 

Besides the opening address by Feraye Ozfescioglu, this session was also addressed by former Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom, Rt. Hon. Jack Straw.

The First session was on 2030 Agenda
for SDGs to Transform the world.
This session was addressed by HE. Dr. Abdulaziz Ahmad Sarhan, Secretary General of the International Organisation for Relief, Welfare and Development (he was represented by Mr. Badr M. Al-Sahaki, head of Finance dept. of the (IOFRWD). Other speakers were Basima Abdulrahman, Founder & CEO, Youth Leader WEF, KESK and Dr. Tauni Launier, Sustainanability Director, Worldwide Generation.

The Second Session was on Education
This session was addressed by Yasmine Sherif, Director General, Education Cannot Wait; Noella Coursaris Musunka, Founder, Malaika Foundation and Abisoye Ajayi - Akinfolarin, Founder, Pearls Africa Foundation.

The Changemaker Award
The Changemaker Award was presented to H.E. Emine Erdogan, First Lady of Turkey.

Special Keynote Address
The Special Keynote Address was delivered by H.E. Emine Erdogan, First Lady of Turkey.

The next day 18th April 2019
The third session was on
Collaboration and Partnerships
This session was addressed by  Charlie Bronks, Head of Strategic Partnerships, Crown Agents Bank; Kilian Kleinschmidt, CEO, IPA – Global Networking and Humanitarian Expertise; Kat Reichel, Head of Network Development & Engagement, Start Network; Dr. Mehmet Gulluoglu, President, AFAD

The fourth session was on Youth: Our Future.
This session was addressed by Serene Dardari, Founder, Shams Network; Vivian Pashollari, Secretary General, World Assembly of Youth and Basima Abdulrahman, founder & CEO, it session was moderated by Dr. Mohammad Hotak, Chairman, British Afghan Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The fifth session was on G-Local
This session was addressed by Tony Lanzer, Assistant Secretary General, the United Nations.

The Sixth session was on Empowerment of Women
In this session the speakers were Mandy Sanghera, Philanthropist and Pippa Malmgren, Former Presidential Advisor, Co-founder H Robotics.

The closing keynote session with the Blairs: An Inspiring story on the way to shape the future.

The Changemaker Award
The Changemaker Award was presented to Cherie Blair, CBE for the closing Keynote session.

In this closing session
Rt. Hon. Tony Blair, Executive Chairman of Tony Blair Institute; Former Prime Minister, UK and Cherie Blair CBE, Founder, Cherie Blair Foundation for Women had conversation with June Sarpong.

Closing: Steps to Inspire Humanity
The closing of the event was rounded up by Feraye Ozfescioglu, CEO, World Humanitarian Forum on Steps to Inspire Humanity.  



No comments: