Key Takeaways

• Doing "Less of the Same":As funding is slashed and conflicts intensify, the humanitarian system is often doing "less of the same" rather than adapting. This has increased the gap between what the system provides and what communities actually value, such as long-term self-reliance.
• The Danger of Prioritization Without Listening:Decisions made in "faraway rooms" often lead to egregious misalignments. In one instance in the Central African Republic, a community chased away an NGO that built unwanted latrines instead of refurbishing requested school rooms.
• A Shift Toward Mutual Aid:As formal aid contracts, community-led initiatives—such as neighbor-to-neighbor sharing, faith networks, and diaspora support—are stepping up. These networks are often seen as more relevant and emotionally resonant than international aid.
• Redefining Risk:There is a growing movement toward hyper-local funding. To move past the current "stalemate" on risk, GTS advocates for evidencing how local funding can be significantly more effective and sustainable than traditional top-down models.
• Breaking the Humanitarian "Bubble":In a world facing linked crises like climate change and out-of-control conflict, humanitarians can no longer afford to stay "in their lane". They must engage with the political realities and rights-based concerns that communities prioritize.

Case Studies & Examples

• Sudan:Despite negative perceptions of formal aid fairness (75% negative), the country features a powerful network of Emergency Response Rooms (ERRs) that use hyper-local cash transfers to adapt quickly to community needs.
• Chad:A positive outlier where communities feel respected and able to provide feedback, though they remain concerned that aid is not sufficiently supporting their long-term self-reliance.
• Somalia:Communities are using sophisticated internal safety nets to navigate the drought, though acute, long-term crises are putting even these local strategies under immense strain.
• Northeast Nigeria:Examples of community-led security patrols that allow farmers to work their fields safely.

Guest Bio

Sophie Tolstrup is the Head of Policy and Climate at Ground Truth Solutions. With a background in climate and 15 years of experience in the sector, she leads efforts to ensure the views of crisis-affected people shape the decisions of the humanitarian system.

Resources Mentioned

• Ground Truth Solutions Report (2025):Whose Priorities Count?
• Organization:Ground Truth Solution

Today, Mission Kharkiv serves more than 3,200 oncology patients with full treatment courses across Ukraine, operating a cold chain logistics system out of a bunker four metres underground. Ross and his team of 62 deliver chemotherapy to hospital doors on the day of each patient's session — a level of precision and responsiveness that puts much larger organisations to shame.

In this conversation, Ross talks about how he built Mission Kharkiv from scratch, why his mathematical training shaped his problem-solving more than any humanitarian manual could, and what he sees as the fundamental disconnect in how the sector talks about localization. As the chair of the NGO platform's steering committee in Ukraine, he brings a sharp outsider's perspective on the dynamics between international and national NGOs — and why he doesn't believe power will ever be shared voluntarily.

In this episode:

1. How a $40 million pharmaceutical donation launched Mission Kharkiv
2. Building cold chain logistics in a city under siege
3. Why "naivety" might be the most undervalued quality in humanitarian action
4. The gap between localization rhetoric and reality on the ground
5. Why Ross believes power must be taken, not shared
6. A proposal for a localization accountability framework with measurable indicators
7. What it would take to replicate Mission Kharkiv in other countries

Guest: Ross Skobronski, Founder and Director of Mission Kharkiv and Chair of the Steering Committee of the NGO Platform in Ukraine.

Rather than drawing on leaders from within the humanitarian sector, the panel brings together professionals from two very different fields — football management and musical theatre — to explore what their craft can teach humanitarians about leading through networks, trust, and collective action.

Note: This episode was recorded live at the Start Network Assembly. The sound quality reflects the live setting.

Guests

Natalie Brown: Board Director at Banbury United Football Club and the first Black female board member in UK football. Natalie has a background in media, marketing, and community development, and has worked with Arsenal, The Prince’s Trust, and Mind. She founded the #PlayBrave initiative to help women build confidence on and off the pitch.

Huw Evans: Associate Musical Director on Oliver at the Gielgud Theatre in London’s West End. Huw is an accomplished conductor and multi-instrumentalist who has worked on shows including Much Ado About Nothing, Sunset Boulevard, Oklahoma, and Come From Away. He trained at King’s College London.

Moderated by Lars Peter Nissen, Director of ACAPS and host of Trumanitarian. Introduced by Lucy Puentes of the Start Network.

Key Themes

Building from the ground up: Natalie shares how she rebuilt Banbury United’s women’s team after inheriting a fractured setup where the manager had left just before the season. After a disheartening first attempt, she “flipped the script” — launching open training sessions for women over 40, which rapidly grew into a multigenerational squad with players aged 16 to 66. Her approach centred on changing the narrative, leading with spirit, and building a movement rather than just a team.

The duet between leading and following: Huw describes conducting as a constant negotiation between setting the tempo and following the performer. With 12 musicians split across three separate spaces, a 30-person cast, and four child actors rotating in the lead role, he conducts via camera monitors — relying on connection, adaptability, and trust rather than direct control. Leadership in live performance, he says, is about creating the conditions for harmony rather than forcing it.

Trust, small gestures, and knowing people’s names

Both panellists emphasise that trust is built through small, consistent actions. Huw takes pride in greeting every deputy musician before the show. Natalie describes how players joined her team simply because they liked who she was and what she stood for. Both draw a direct parallel to humanitarian coordination — where leading a cluster meeting of 50 strangers via camera is not so different from conducting an orchestra through a monitor.

Releasing control: A recurring theme throughout the conversation is the difficulty — and necessity — of letting go. Huw describes the terrifying moment of relinquishing control in a live performance with 2,000 people watching. Natalie reflects on having built the women’s team so personally that she now needs to step back and let others carry the vision. Both see this as essential to sustainable leadership in networked settings.

The power of diversity and emergence: Lars Peter draws the conversation toward metaphor, arguing that biology — not physics — offers the better model for thinking about networks. The emergent quality of a network, like a heart pumping blood from cells and valves, produces outcomes that are qualitatively different from the sum of the parts. Just as a football team needs more than 11 goalkeepers, or an orchestra more than 12 horn players, humanitarian networks need genuine diversity of skills and perspectives.

Resilience and learning from mistakes: Huw shares a candid story of pressing the wrong button during a click track, causing pre-recorded and live children to sing out of sync. His advice: pick yourself up, stay calm, and keep going with integrity. Natalie talks about the power of small daily steps — just 15 minutes of focused effort each day — as a way to sustain momentum when things feel overwhelming.

Credits

Host: Lars Peter Nissen

Recorded at: Start Network Assembly, October 2025

Session title: Choreographing Chaos: Leadership in a World of Networks

Panel introduced by: Lucy Puentes, Start Network

Get in touch: info@truemanitarian.org

Support the podcast: Visit truemanitarian.org and click “Support the Pod”

The End of an Era The conversation explores what Gareth calls the "post-industrial phase" of humanitarianism—a sector that expanded dramatically in the first decades of the 21st century (peaking at $43 billion in 2022) and is now in managed decline. The discussion traces how the business model of big INGOs began failing years before the 2025 funding crisis, with the UK aid budget cuts from 0.7% to 0.3% forcing organizations to retool their approaches.

Loss of the Humanitarian Soul A central theme is the perceived loss of what Gareth calls the "humanitarian soul"—the culture, spirit, and sense of something essential being enacted in a courageous and ethical way. External trauma psychologists visiting Save the Children asked "where's the humanitarian soul?" in corporate headquarters, highlighting how institutional survival has often displaced the cause itself.

First We Lost Our Soul, Then We Lost the Money The conversation challenges the narrative that 2025's funding cuts created the crisis. Instead, it argues that institutional drift, creeping managerialism, and the "tyranny of being busy" had already hollowed out the sector's capacity for deep thought, debate, and disagreement long before the financial reckoning.

Being Human in the Age of AI Referencing the World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs Report 2025, Gareth notes that more than half of the top 10 core skills needed for the future are about humanness: resilience, flexibility, leadership, creative thinking, empathy, active listening, and curiosity. In a world dominated by AI, "humans are going to have to be brilliant at being human again."

1. Gareth Owen on Devex
2. Previous Trumanitarian episode with Gareth (Episode 51 - "Panopticon")
3. Substack: The Humanitarian Ape

Books by Gareth Owen

1. When the Music's Over: Intervention, Aid and Somalia(2022) —Repeater Books
2. Unhealed Wounds: Trauma, Aid and Angola— forthcoming (28 March 2025)
3. Chapter inAmidst the Debris: Humanitarianism and the End of Liberal Order

Topics Discussed

1. The Humanitarian Society— A new alumni-style gathering space for sense-making about the state of humanitarianism, launching in early 2025
2. The Alameda Institute— A research institute based out of Brazil, incubated by Save the Children UK, focused on new knowledge production and connecting with social movements globally
3. Human-Centered Leadership Project— A sense-making initiative on restoring genuine human connection in leadership across sector.

People Mentioned

1. Tom Fletcher— UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator (appointed November 2024)
2. Rutger Bregman— Dutch historian, author ofMoral Ambitionand presenter of the2025 BBC Reith Lectures: "Moral Revolution"
3. William Shoki— South African political thinker, editor atAfrica Is a Country
4. Viktor Frankl— Austrian psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor, author ofMan's Search for Meaning
5. Adelina Kamal— Indonesian humanitarian thinker and practitioner with expertise on Myanmar
6. Tom Byrnes— Author ofTom's Aid Dispatchesnewsletter on LinkedIn

The numbers tell one story: humanitarian funding has collapsed to 2016 levels, projected below $22.7 billion. This isn't a funding cycle dip but the structural unwinding of the post-Cold War peace dividend. As Western governments pivot from solidarity back to defence spending, a system built over decades is contracting in months—while the UN's humanitarian reset unfolds behind closed doors without clarity on what we're actually resetting toward.

Yet within this contraction, something else stirs. Are local and resistance humanitarians – mutual aid - becoming the centre of gravity the system always claimed they should be? As the roof blows off the humanitarian house, do we patch a corner or rebuild entirely?

Wigdan is not on autopilot. In a sector often dominated by compliance and performative intellect, she carries a rare kind of mind - one that doesn’t just react or repackage, but thinks. Her intelligence is quiet, original, and layered - the kind that allows her to interact within the wild, magical, messy reality without flattening it or abstracting herself from it.

We talk about how she uses music as a dataset. How the hum of old Sudanese voices carries a politics that spreadsheets can’t capture. And how data, when reclaimed from its colonial grammar, can become a language of intimacy, resistance, and radical imagination.

It’s about paying attention and letting different kinds of intelligence – logical, intuitive, ancestral – speak. Wigdan calls herself a Mathemagician. After listening, you’ll understand why.

Wigdans Substack post on Sudans Sonic Archive:

Wigdans Zanig playlist for Trumanitarian:

The conversation focuses on the current state and future potential of cash-based humanitarian assistance. The participants discusses the barriers and opportunities for further leveraging cash distributions in the humanitarian sector, particularly in light of the current resource constraints. Key topics included the evidence base for cash, the need to shift power and decision-making to affected populations, the challenges of integrating cash within the existing humanitarian coordination structures, and the role of localization in cash programming.Explore key insights from a high-level conversation on the future of humanitarian cash assistance. Learn about systemic barriers, localization, UN roles, and innovative cash delivery methods like lump-sum transfers.

Maya isn’t running a billion-dollar foundation - she gives small but catalytic grants, drawing on her experience from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative to reimagine what money can do.

They explore trust-based philanthropy, the need for humility, and how to move beyond extractive funding models. What would it take to let go of control, trust leaders on the ground, and how could we try to decolonize funding flows?

Mayas biggest advice for change is to start implementing it yourself. This episode is a must for anyone curious about what a new generation of philanthropy might look like.

Carla unpacks the concept of decoloniality — the lingering structures, mindsets, and behaviors that survive long after formal colonialism ends. Together, they explore how power, bureaucracy, and hero narratives shape the humanitarian sector — and why we’re so often stuck tweaking language while avoiding the hard work of dismantling systems.

They discuss the limits of reform, the danger of dressing failure as progress, and the need for new actors, voices, and institutional diversity. And they ask the question: If the big institutions can’t change, who can?

These discussions extends too to podcasting and humanitarian events; how different formats, structure and diversity of people could create different reflections and outcomes.

This is an episode about inquiry over certainty, and humility and small acts over heroism.

Notes and Links:

•⁠ ⁠The theory referred to in Carlas podcast: the theory of the colonial matrix of power by Aníbal Quijano

•⁠ ⁠Living Decoloniality (Carlas podcast). The highlighted episodes: Episode with Michelle Lokot; Episode with Karishma Shafi; Episode with Themrise Khan

•⁠ ⁠Trumanitarian episodes highlighted in the convo: Episode with Dr. Rola Hallam; Ukraine episode with Care SG); Episode with Themrise Khan

The aid sector is full of elephants—entrenched power dynamics, outdated models of partnership, performative reform, and organizations that may simply be too big to change. This conversation takes those challenges head by examining the Pledge for Change, a joint commitment by major INGOs to decolonize aid through equitable partnerships, ethical storytelling, and systemic transformation.

But the discussion also goes deeper—into the contradictions of leading large organizations while trying to dismantle the very systems that sustain them.

In this episode, the White Helmet’s Chief of Programs, Ahmed Ekzayez, shares how the group has evolved from frontline rescue to tackling climate change, protecting human rights, and strengthening civil society, all while fending off disinformation and facing the USAID funding cuts.

For Ahmed, success isn’t measured by project metrics—but by lives changed: “This isn’t a 9-to-5 job. This is our country.”

In this week's episode Hajooj Kuka and Justin Corbett discuss the work of the ERRs with co-hosts Mabala Nyalugwe and Lars Peter Nissen.

But how do we move forward and strike the balance between ensuring continuity of lifesaving humanitarian assistance while addressing serious and well-known issues with the existing humanitarian system – do we opt for reform or disruption?

Dominik Stillhart is the the Head of the Swiss Humanitarian Aid Unit and the Deputy Director of Swiss Development Cooperation and in this conversation with Lars Peter Nissen he speak directly to the need for changing the way we do business and finding a new way to work. The conversation was recorded on the last day of the 2025 Humanitarian Networks and Partnerships Week (HNPW) in Geneva and the sprawling ecosystem of actors at the conference serves as the point of departure for the conversation.

You can support Trumanitarian financially through a one-off or a monthly contribution on our website.

When women connect across generations and experiences, heart to heart, incredible things happen.

In this special episode, Maeva Fages joins Rigmor Tholstrup for a heartfelt conversation about humanitarianism, yoga and resilience. Maeva, a humanitarian health specialist, yoga teacher, and Senior Country Manager for Afghanistan and Syria, shares experiences on leading with softness and finding strength in vulnerability.

They discuss the pressures to “toughen up” in professional settings, the unspoken impacts of such expectations, and how our bodies often hold truths our minds resist. Maeva reveals how yoga became her path to reclaiming an authentic way of leading and being in the world.

As two privileged women, they want to acknowledge the privilege of even being able to have such a conversation. On this day, all women worldwide should be honored: those who have protested, spoken out, and fought for collective rights; those achieving remarkable things and making a difference; those simply existing amidst challenges; and those enduring oppression under oppressive systems and capitalism.

This episode is about unlearning, reconnecting with what seems real, and celebrating the women - before us, beside us, and after us - who make it all possible.

When women connect, things change.

But technology is changing the nature of conflict. International Humanitarian Law cannot evolve to meet these challenges without input from the private tech actors shaping the battlefield.

This week's guest, Philippe Stoll, Senior Techplomacy Delegate at the ICRC, works to connect humanitarians to tech entrepreneurs and other relevant minds over the dilemmas presented by new technologies in conflict.

From biometric systems to the ethical risks of data misuse, Philippe shares how the ICRC is developing cautious, problem-driven tech policies aimed at protecting vulnerable populations. He also discusses his obsession with giving concrete meaning to abstract ideas and how immersive “Digital Dilemmas” installations can help tech developers and humanitarians understand each other's worlds.

Questions about how to handle tech in conflict zones aren't going anywhere. For anyone interested in the future of humanitarianism, this conversation is essential.

...And are we the right guys to discuss this?

Tammam argues that tinkering with the system isn’t enough - we need a “non-reformist reform,” a radical reimagining of what humanitarianism even is. Richard reflects on decades of failing attempts to change from the inside and whether this crisis is the moment to go back to the basics of principled humanitarian action, led by local actors, cutting the expensive middlemen.

They wrap up by tackling the question: What is each of us going to do differently in the next few months?

As the sector scrambles, priorities are being set. The decisions being made right now will define the future of humanitarianism. So what comes next? Who will (and should) take the lead?

Listen in. The system is shaking. Let's make sure it doesn’t just settle back into place.

During the International Red Cross Movement Conference in Geneva in October 2024, Host Lars Peter Nissen found a quiet corner to discuss pitfalls and opportunities in humanitarian tech with Heather Leson (Digital Innovation Lead at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies) and Omar Abou Samra (Director of the Global Disaster Preparedness Center at the American Red Cross). Heather and Omar believe in technology’s usefulness to the industry, but stress that it must be integrated into humanitarian work with the same rigor applied to non-digital interventions.

This conversation is a call for better co-design between humanitarians and technologists to ensure impact measurement goes beyond vanity metrics like downloads. Heather and Omar pitch an approach similar to venture capital, where ineffective projects are shut down rather than endlessly sustained, and where human-centered design and cross-disciplinary collaboration are embraced. They discuss the secret sauce for better humanitarian tech, and that maybe it's time humanitarians to rethink their role—not as central actors, but as collaborators in a larger system.

If you ask this weeks guests on Trumanitarian the crisis will not be over in three months - Harpinder Collacott, Michael Barnett, and Meg Sattler come to the conclusion that the consequences of the aid freeze will last for years. The real question is: as the old system fractures, what new models of humanitarian action will emerge?

Meanwhile, communities are not idly waiting for external interventions. Can aid evolve to truly support them in building stronger institutions that can withstand the shocks to come?

No grand narratives. No easy solutions. Listen in for a clear-eyed, smart and honest perspective on the disruption of the humanitarian sector.

She dismantles the idea of the untouchable hero humanitarian, laying bare the fragility and vulnerability of frontline workers. She recounts her burnout and her path to rebuilding through healing, spirituality, and psychedelics - moving from clever to wise.

Dr. Rola envisions a healing-centred approach for Syria (and beyond), one that empowers its people to dream and rebuild. And she calls for all of us to help make such futures realities. It's about embodying the change we want to see. Listen in – its deeply vulnerable and we hope you will love it as much as we do.

Dive into chaos: how disasters, misinformation, and the climate crisis are forcing us to rethink everything from technology to social systems. Emerson explains why the difference between a war zone and a flood is six feet of water and how mutual aid and grassroots are bubbling up as antidotes to our crumbling centralised structures.

Along the way, we explore the dark and occasionally hopeful lessons learned from decades of edge-case disasters. What can the humanitarian sector learn from Bellingcat or AA meetings? Lots, Emerson thinks.

Grab a whiskey and join us for a convo that’s terrifying, fascinating, and oddly uplifting.

Listen now. Share widely. Embrace the chaos. Brace yourself for our dear friend, Emerson, just don’t expect him to sugarcoat the challenges ahead.

In this conversation, host Lars Peter challenges Hugo to assess the practicality and effectiveness of his landscape-based approach. Could it disrupt the established Western liberal framework of human rights—and might that disruption be exactly what we need to confront impending climate-related humanitarian crises?

Thoughts? Guest suggestions? Email us at trumanitarianpod@gmail.com

In this episode, Kristin Vestrheim (Moderator), Eminenur Çınar (Board Member), and Yakzan Shishakly (Board Member) discuss their network – the Interagency Community of Practice on Community Engagement in Displacement Response. They explore the consequences of treating community engagement as a narrow, technical problem –rather than a political one — and suggest more radical and integrative solutions to help shift power back to the people.

The forum is part of the Camp Coordination and Camp Management (CCCM) cluster and you can check it out here.

According to Davide, historians often argue that the past teaches us nothing. And yet, his recounting of the humanitarian sector’s inter-war period rhymes with the major themes we talk about on this podcast: localization, professionalism, paternalism and technology. Together, he and Lars Peter talk about what (and who) has changed, cracks in the humanitarian narrative, and how to tell the story right.

Davide’s book:

https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/night-on-earth/2BB5FC4E3AAE925C0AD6875F519BFD4B

Thoughts? Guest suggestions? Email us at

trumanitarianpod@gmail.com

Is the humanitarian sector run by an elite network that controls the vast majority of resources and power within the sector, a closed circle that excludes outsiders? This week Trumanitarian welcomes Michael N. Barnett, Professor of international affairs and a leading scholar on humanitarianism. In one of his pieces ‘The Humanitarian Club’ (we love it), Barnett uses sociological and economic theory to describe humanitarianism as a club where the few hold the economic, symbolic, social, and cultural capital. It leaves outsiders in the cold and permits members to control pooled funds, influence, and decision-making.

If you're ready to confront the harsh realities of the humanitarian sector, tune in and let Michael Barnett guide you through the systemic barriers that define the sector. It’s time to ask ourselves who really benefits, and who’s left outside the gates of the Humanitarian Club.

Don't forget to explore Michael’s chapter in the 2021 book “Global Governance in a World of Change” here - chapter 5.

Simon argues that real transformation won’t come from top-down reforms but from the fringes - through leadership that disrupts and dismantles the bloated machinery from the edge. You’ll leave questioning the systems you work within and inspired by the potential of a more connected and dynamic energy. He inspires us to get to work, all of us, to push, alone but collectively, from the edges of our individual realities. Tune in for more insights and check out Simon’s podcast Edgy Ideas, as well as his blog on Helpless Helping.

This conversation unpacks the potential to address some of the most pressing problems in the digital age, where Neil’s answers might just inspire you to rethink the digital tools you use every day. For example, Neil challenges how society has allowed major platforms to control the very infrastructure of our space today, comparing it to building a house where someone else controls the plumbing, layout (and who is ultimately allowed as tenants)?

Check out Alkemio here.

Also, if you're interested, Pierrick Devidal from ICRC brings additional perspective to the discussion in episode 76. The Technophobe

Strap in as host Lars Peter Nissen takes off with Rhiannan Price and Laura Guzman from NASA Lifelines to explore the groundbreaking intersection of satellite technology and humanitarian action. Can the very data that orbits our planet revolutionize how we respond to crises and save lives? This episode explores how Lifelines dismantles the barriers between scientists and humanitarians, creating a community dedicated to leveraging satellite data for real-world impact.

Learn about the innovative programs available to practitioners like you, from the Earth Science Review Board that offers free expert consulting to humanitarian organizations, to chatty supper clubs, to an immersive humanitarian simulation designed to showcase the power of satellite imagery in crisis scenarios. Unpack the challenges of building trust between these two worlds and why Lifelines believes it’s more than worth the effort.

Be a part of the collaboration today via these links:

Have your program reviewed for free by the Earth Science Review Board

Get in touch to host your own Supper Club

Check here for Humanitarian Simulation updates

David has a deep dislike for bureaucracy as illustrated in this fight with Lockheed Martin, where cute animal pictures play a central roles. Interestingly he sees AI as a counter measure to the increasing burden of bureaucracy.

Its a wide-ranging, complex conversation about a future that may or may not be scary in the long run, but which for sure is going to be a bumpy ride in the coming decades.

The Bootcamp is over and ACAPS has been matched with a tech company in order to develop an AI that can strengthen forecasting of crises.

Listen in as the guests struggle to find the right balance between standing firm in their resolve for change and getting entangled in the day to day business of humanitarian action. When does collaboration become complicity, and how do you avoid barking yourself out of the conversation altogether?

This episode is more than a call to listen – it’s a call to ACTION, to expose the nonsense, to challenge the norms, and dare to envision a humanitarian practice where independence isn’t just a strategic ideal; it’s a vital, lived experience.

Mabala speaks about how the aid sector, while well-intentioned, often perpetuates colonial dynamics and racism. She discuss cultural communication styles and workplace hierarchies between local staff and expatriates, saying it's almost like experts are viewed as more delicate. Is your presence in crisis affected areas truly meaningful if you simply go there, hang out with expat friends in expat bars, but neglect to learn from and mentor your local colleagues?

As they navigate these complex issues, they ask: are Western humanitarianism truly prepared to hand over power and break colonial cycles of dependency?

Reflecting on his experiences, Steve tells host Lars Peter why he values individuals over institutions and how innovation requires psychological safety within teams. He also shares insights on the evolution of disaster management practices, the challenges of decolonizing the field, and why ‘synergy’ isn’t such an embarrassing word after all.

The privilege of knowledge meets the urgency of lived experience. For Beth and Kate, it's not just about the research they produce, but about the change it has to inspire, it's about impact, placing knowledge back into the hands of those who need it most, and staying conscious to avoid harmful habits in humanitarian dynamics.

This episode was first published in 2021. You can read more about HAGs work on their website: https://humanitarianadvisorygroup.org/

• How should we define and prioritise humanitarian need?
• Painful Choices: How Humanitarians Can Prioritize in a World of Rising Need - A Conversation Starter for the Climate Emergency

Tune in and hear why Clionadh couldn’t care much about AI and why it triggers Lars Peter - who spent the past five weeks in Bob-the-AI-Builder mode (check episodes 84 and 87). You will also hear why Clionadh is considering sending her husband to an ISIS controlled area to study climate adaptation!

On a more serious note, the conversation debunks the humanitarian business myths on climate change and conflict. And explores how thinking about yourself as “the good guys” is harmful.

Check out ACLEDs great work here and enjoy the conversation !!!

Ali, Chiara and Lars Peter agree that they have learned and that their thinking has shifted significantly over the course of the bootcamp, but they don't agree on what they want to do or whether ACAPS is in good shape or not when it comes to AI.

Dennis King, a veteran analyst with over 30 years of experience in the Humanitarian Information Unit of the US State Department, USAID, and OCHA, is in a sense a modern day Cassandra. Together with host Lars Peter Nissen, they unravel the transformation of information management in the humanitarian sector. They discuss the gains and losses brought by technological advances, what can be learned from the cultural contrasts between humanitarian and intelligence communities, and the new chaos paradigm. This episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in Cassandra’s predictions for the future of humanitarian analysis.

The book:

“Petit Manuel d’Autodéfense à l'Usage des Volontaires”

He and host Lars Peter Nissen discuss the journey and impact of the BRAC, one of the world's largest NGOs originating from the Global South, and the design-based thinking of its Social Innovation Lab. They examine the limits of most localization practices and the challenges of integrating innovation in humanitarian aid. Kuldeep also shares insights from BRAC's 'failure reports', why humanitarian interventions must aspire beyond meeting basic needs, and why the phrase "lessons learned" needs to be ejected from the sector.

With host Lars Peter Nissen, they explore how Sean and Christina's leadership styles influence growth and the transition from a startup to a larger organisation. They debate whether creation of a change organisation is done best by allying with system incumbents or by working stealthily, and whether a vision of system change can be pitched transparently to system incumbents.

Check out START here

In the second part of the conversation, Nick, Paul and host Lars Peter Nissen discuss their experience from Afghanistan and try to figure out how humanitarians and the military interact when they are present in the same theater.

Tune in to hear how MapAction translates complex humanitarian data into the language of action, supplementing the gut feelings of decision makers.

This episode was first published in September 2020.

Just like hiding your kid’s broccoli in a brownie, Giselle kickstarted Equal Reach by using her corporate wisdom to align her social impact project with the KPIs of a Fortune 500 company. Tune in for a blend of reluctant entrepreneurship and impact. 

Listen in as the guests struggle to find the right balance between standing firm in their resolve for change and getting entangled in the day to day business of humanitarian action. When does collaboration become complicity, and how do you avoid barking yourself out of the conversation altogether?

This episode is more than a call to listen – it’s a call to ACTION, to expose the nonsense, to challenge the norms, and dare to envision a humanitarian practice where independence isn’t just a strategic ideal; it’s a vital, lived experience.

We discuss ethical considerations and the potential for tech to overshadow fundamental humanitarian principles. How do we distinguish meaningful innovation from harmful overreliance? What are the pitfalls of datafication and AI fixation in humanitarian efforts, and when should we not take part in the race? 

Join this conversation that  seeks to navigate strategies for evaluating AI technologies for real added value in humanitarian efforts. 

The conversation wraps up with Spencer’s brighter and grimmer envisioned scenarios of how the digital integration in humanitarian work could look two years from now, emphasizing the need for technology to serve humanity in ethical and empowering ways.

Listen in and check the pulse of the evolving role of technology in humanitarian efforts.

Also check out the last episode with Sarah and Lars Peter from 2021. Listen here: https://trumanitarian.org/episodes/arms-race-for-data/

A key point of the discussion is South Africa's groundbreaking case filed against Israel to the ICC. William reflects how it relates to South African history and stance of doing the right thing over economic interest.

Don't miss your opportunity to dream into this episode and reflect if these unconventional approaches can lead to profound changes in the international humanitarian sector.

• How should we define and prioritise humanitarian need?
• Painful Choices: How Humanitarians Can Prioritize in a World of Rising Need - A Conversation Starter for the Climate Emergency

In this frank conversations TTTR CEO Jacek Siadkowski and Trumanitarian host Lars Peter Nissen explore:

• How to connect tech companies with nonprofits to innovate together and bridge the technological gap for good, emphasizing the potential for technology to scale up the impact of nonprofit organizations.
• The frustrations and limitations within the humanitarian sector, particularly around funding, engagement, and the scalability of interventions. 
• The potential impact of SMEs in the tech and nonprofit sectors and how large organizations often receive the majority of resources and attention, while SME and mid-sized NGOs has an undervalued role to play in responding to crises and implementing innovative solutions.
• The importance of digital preparedness for crisis response and the transformative power of technology in addressing urgent humanitarian needs.

This weeks guests are:

For Puerto Rico: Dr. Ana Christina Gomez Perez, a professor at the School of Law at the University of Puerto Rico and an advisor to Habitat for Humanity in Puerto Rico.Community Land Trusts featured by: Habitat for Humanity Puerto Rico, the Land Trust Alliance, and World Habitat.

For Ukraine: Yuliya Panfil – Director of the Future of Land and Housing Program at the New America Foundation. Their report : Can Ukraine Transform Post-Crisis Property Compensation and Reconstruction? Other relevant articles in Foreign Policy, and Slate.

Global Progress on the recognition of Indigenous and Local Community Land Rights

Conference on Housing Land and Property in Crises: A Dialogue on Community and Collective Land – April 02-04, 2024, University of San Juan, Puerto Rico

The guests in Part 1 are: Irantzu Serra Lasa, the Senior Director for Disaster Risk Reduction and Response from Habitat for Humanity International, Ibere Lopes the Housing land and Property Advisor for the Global Shelter Cluster and Shezane Kirubi, a Housing land and Property specialist with IOM Somalia.

For more information on the Conference Series on HLP in Crisis Contexts which is discussed in the episode see Outcomes from Inaugural Global Conference in 2023.  

The next conference will be the Dialogue on Community Land Trusts for Disaster Resilience and Humanitarian Responses - April 2-4 2024, in Puerto Rico. Second Global Conference on HLP in Crisis Contexts - May 15-17, 2024, in Washington DC. For information about any of these conferences contact Juli King – jking@interaction.org

To learn more about the work in Somalia see The Danwadaag Initiative.

If you are have any comments or questions Brendan would love to hear from you. He can be reached on email b.b.lawson@lboro.ac.uk.

In this episode Raphael presents his approach and discuss his findings with Lars Peter Nissen.

You can find Raphael’s report here.

In this conversation with Lars Peter Nissen he shares his experience from close to 40 years of disaster management and comes to the conclusion that in the end mercy triumphs!

Val Hambye-Verbrugghen from HERE-Geneva moderated the discussion between the three panellists:

Yuliia Chykolba the co-host of the Trumanitarian podcast series on Ukraine. Yuliia was born in Dnipro, Ukraine and first became involved with humanitarian action when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2014. And has since then worked with humanitarian mine action in Ukraine, Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq. Yulia is a Chevening scholar and an alumna of the Department of War studies from King's College London. 

Marco Rotelli, who is the former UN deputy Humanitarian Coordinator for Ukraine, although Marco is speaking in his personal capacity at today's event. Prior to this role in Ukraine, Marco served as representative for Africa of the global NGO network ICVA, and in operations with NGOs and the UN in most of the major humanitarian crises since the early 2000s. 

Robert Serry, who is the former first ambassador of the Netherlands to Ukraine, and chairman of the foundation opendoorukraine.nl, who are currently actively involved in humanitarian early reconstruction activities in Ukraine. He has past experience in international crisis management, and sorry, is an international crisis management expert who has served in senior positions both with with NATO and the UN.

The panel explored the following questions:

1. What has been your experience of Ukrainian NGOs benefiting from the promptness and generosity of the international funding response? What have been enablers or obstacles to their access to funding? To what extent are the rules and bureaucracy in place at the international level suited to fund informal/volunteer initiatives?

2. What needs to be done to ensure a better connection between traditional agencies’ efforts and those of local volunteer groups in this crisis?

3. How has the funding volume impacted the relationship between national and local NGOs and international actors? How complementary are they?

4. An additional cut of the funding has gone to support States that neighbour Ukraine: what are the perceptions around this by different actors (local and national NGOs on either side of the border, coordination mechanisms, contributors to appeals such as those mentioned above)?

5. Is there a moral obligation to stop collecting funds in scenarios such as these, where the amount raised is enormous?

Paul is the founder of the Agency of the Future, which helps clients drive purpose-led change and better mobilise stakeholders for lasting success. He advises global businesses and pioneering charities and social enterprises as well as institutions of international and global governance. He is also the founder of MarketingKind, a membership community which brings together business leaders, marketers and change-makers to tackle social and environmental problems through their businesses, volunteering and advocacy.

Paul's recent book The Purpose Upgrade is the point of departure of this essential and complex .conversation.

Resource Center in Ukraine and Ewa Wieliczko the ACAPS team lead in Ukraine.

In the second episode on Ukraine Yuliia Chykolba and Lars Peter Nissen explore how the organic, agile and evolving Ukrainian civil society response and how it interacts with the international humanitarian sector. They talk to actors from very different ends of the humanitarian sphere: Anastacia Teplyakova, a Ukrainian teacher who has risked everything to support her fellow Ukrainians since 2014, and to Rasmus Sturh Jakobsen, the CEO of CARE Denmark who shares his thinking on Cares work in Ukraine. The gap between the work of Anastacia and Rasmus i the main theme of the episode.

They speak to Marc Dubois an independent consultant and Fiona Terry from ICRC about the principles for humanitarian action.

This episode was produced with support from Care Denmark.

You can find the blogpost here: https://odihpn.org/blog/not-a-priority-the-lack-of-contextual-understanding-in-humanitarian-missions/

You can read more aobut Dominic on his linkedin profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dominic-naish-a1524387/

Joel poses a strong and uncomfortable argument in his book, and in the conversation; humanitarian statistics is flawed and data of poor quality, and for some reason we hype our need (and our ability) for evidence-based decision making and the importance of statistical data.

The conversation is essentially about the quality of our data and knowledge and may lead you to question the data revolution in humanitarian aid. Moreso though, it is about biases in our system, about reliance on one type of evidence and about targeting the needs of humanitarian institutions, not affected populations. 

It raises some fundamental questions about which intrinsic moral values humanitarian aid project in to into our statistics, tools and technology. And what this means for the decision we make and how we make them. Does our evidence base lead to better and more neutral, impartial, and independent aid, or have we become prisoners of our own thermometer and use our evidence to legitimize our actions more than to improve them.

You can watch the entire opening ceremony on CartONGs YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QteGAp8gD7Y

It is a conversation about public health, data, standards, trust, learning and failing and having the courage to make yourself part of the mess and make a difference in the world.

The fundamental question posed by the conversation is whether you “Can you change the master’s house with the master’s tools?” Gareth is in his own words “an establishment guy” who sits the “at the apex of the problem” but he still believes that is the right thing to do and that it is possible to achieve change from within the system.

Raj brings a fresh perspective to the conversations engulfing the humanitarian ecosystem: localisation, the nexus, accountability, risk, and financing. Inspired by the disruption and innovation that has occurred in the Development sector over the past decades he asks for more risk taking and bolder leadership, and using technology smartly to drive a shift towards humanitarian action accountable and adapted to the needs and wants of the individual – a shift from wholesale to retail aid! Raj has written about this and many more ideas in his book The Business of Changing the World

In this week episode Paula Gil Baizan explores how change happens together with Isabelle Pelly, Juliet Lang and Sophie Tholstrup. All of the guests played a key role in brining about the change in cash coordination, and together they explore the challenges associated with making change happen in highly change-resistant systems, why change is worth fighting for in spite of the obstacles, and how best to bring about change.

This weeks guest is Claire Barnhoorn who is the founder of Solvoz a new project that is focused on transforming the way we do procurement in the humanitarian sector not only for the big established organisations but also for local NGOs. It's an interesting project with the potential to have a significant impact on the humanitarian sector.

In this episode Tom Fisher from Imaginetic.com discusses with Lars Peter Nissen what games can do for the humanitarian sector, why they are so powerful and how to use them right.

Lewis Sida has worked in the humanitarian sector for decades. In Ukraine he has gone rogue, become a "nutter" and is supporting a guy called Vlad who has some medical supplies and a couple of trucks.

Lewis and Lars Peter Nissen explore together the space between big and small aid and contrast the Ukrainian operation with humanitarian action in Yemen.

These and many other questions is the topic of this weeks conversation with Patricia (Patty) McIlreavy, the President and CEO of the Center for Disaster Philanthropy (https://disasterphilanthropy.org/)

This weeks guest is Robyn Drysdale, the deputy director of IPPF in charge of humanitarian programs. It is a conversation about the challenges IPPF and its members meet in humanitarian settings, what has been achieved over the past decades and what the challenges are for the future.

You can read more about IPPFs work on their website ippf.org

This weeks guest on Trumanitarian is Thomas Vozzo, who has written a book about his experience as the CEO of Homeboys industries

In this conversation Lars Peter Nissen and Thomas discuss leadership and management, how to balance profit and purpose, the role of spirituality in the workplace and how joy and focus on the individual should drive your work as a leader.

Imogen Wall is a humanitarian and an advocate for mental health. She is also the founder of the facebook group “50 shades of aid.” Imogen’s basic message is that you have to be well to serve well and that we need to talk more not less about how humanitarians are impacted by extreme situations and daily stress.

You can read more more about humanitarians and mental health this acticle by Young, Parkenham and Norwood: 

If you are struggling with mental health in one way or another, please seek help from those around you! Also, Imogen is more than happy to talk to you and help identify where you can get help. You can reach her either through her website or on linkedin 

This weeks guests on Trumanitarian are Ksenia Chmutina and Jason von Meding. They are academics and co-hosts of the podcast “Deconstructing Disasters.” Ksenia and bring an important perspective to us as practitioners, and because I wanted to explore what we can use each other for.

You can find the Disasters Deconstructed podcast here: https://disastersdecon.podbean.com

In the second half of the conversation Fergus talks about what it is like to live with bipolar disorder and how that fits with a hectic life as a humanitarian.

Listen in as Sarah Spencer from humanitarianai.org and Lars Peter Nissen discuss these and many more questions.

The episode was originally released in March 2021 and Sarah has since then written the HPN Network Paper Humanitarian AI: the hype, the hope and the future where she writes about the issues discussed in the episode. You can download the episode here: https://odihpn.org/resources/humanitarian-artificial-intelligence-the-hype-the-hope-and-the-future/

You can learn more about the Center for Disaster Protection their website and find Dull Disasters by Daniel Clarke and Stefan Dercon here.

You can read more about GELI on their website www.geli.org and their twitter handle is @the_geli.

Hunter Thompson used to say "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro" so that is exactly what Meg Sattler, Paula Gil Baizan and Lars Peter Nissen did in this episode.

The donations are not just ridiculous they are also an environmental problem and Travis Opocensky has found a solution. He has founded RightBoot, a humanitarian startup that applies the principles of circular economy to humanitarian action. RightBoot recycles unwanted donations and other waste to minimise the environmental footprint of humanitarian action.

You can read more about RightBoot on their website www.rightboot.org and as you can hear in the episode Travis would love to hear your worst, funniest and weirdest experiences with in-kind donations. You can send your stories to solutions@rightboot.org.

The report mentioned in the episode on packaging waste from humanitarian operations can be found here: https://eecentre.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Final-Version_Publication.pdf

You can find the books Eric has written on his website www.ericbooks.com and read more about Field Ready on the organisations website www.fieldready.org.

You can find the blogpost here: https://odihpn.org/blog/not-a-priority-the-lack-of-contextual-understanding-in-humanitarian-missions/

You can read more aobut Dominic on his linkedin profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dominic-naish-a1524387/

Arbie Bagois is the founder of Aid Re-imagined and is currently doing his PhD at London School of Economics. Arbie is a fresh and radical thinking and exactly the sort of companion you want to have when blowing up the box and thinking new thoughts.

You should check out Aid re-imagined on their website https://medium.com/aidreimagined

And you can learn more about Arbie here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arbiebaguios/

You can read more about Hearts on Venezuela on their website: http://www.heartsonvenezuela.com

and about their Director here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-cooper-bermúdez/

You can read more about HAGs work on their website: https://humanitarianadvisorygroup.org/

You can read more about Paul on his LinkedIn profile https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-knox-clarke-0489905/

You will find information on PREPARE here: http://www.chcinitiative.org

The work Paul did for ALNAP on change is available here: https://www.alnap.org/help-library/transforming-change

Duncan Greens book on Change is available here: https://policy-practice.oxfam.org/resources/how-change-happens-consultation-draft-581366/

Cash gives crisis affected populations choices and agency but it also places the sector based humanitarian architecture under stress. There is clearly a need to review the current coordination arrangements for cash assistance, but this has profound implications for the most powerful agencies in the sector.

To get things moving 95 organisations have sent a letter to the outgoing and the incoming Emergency Relief Coordinator to move the issue of cash coordination forward. You can find the letter here: https://www.calpnetwork.org/news/95-organisations-sign-letter-calling-for-strengthened-cash-coordination/

On this episode Lars Peter Nissen invites four guests to discuss why cash coordination is so difficult and what to do about it. The guests are:

Sophie Tholstrup, Head of Technology for Development Policy Unit at Tony Blair Institute for Global Change. https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophie-tholstrup-93222311)

Patrick Saez, Center for Global Development. https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrick-saez-143b3b9/

Edward (Ed) Fraser, Global Economic Recovery Adviser - Cash & Voucher Assistance Lead at Danish Refugee Council / Dansk Flygtningehjælp. https://www.linkedin.com/in/edward-fraser-6055aa1/

Isabelle Pelly, Global Thematic Expert - Cash and Basic Needs at DG European Commission Humanitarian Aid Office - ECHO. https://www.linkedin.com/in/isabelle-pelly-29a82244/

You can find the State of the World Cash report here: https://www.calpnetwork.org/state-of-the-worlds-cash-2020/

Patrick Saez research paper "Inclusive Coordination: Building an Area-Based Humanitarian Coordination Model" is available at this address: https://www.cgdev.org/publication/inclusive-coordination-building-area-based-humanitarian-coordination-model

Listen as two (self-declared) boomers give a master class in how to stay committed for the long haul!

Adelina Kamal is the Executive Director of the AHA Centre. Together with Lars Peter Nissen she explores the ins and outs of humanitarian architecture, and we get the answer to what would be different if Adelina was working in the UN!

These are some of the questions Natasha Freidus and Amanda Levinson explore together with Lars Peter Nissen in this episode.

Check needslist.co to learn more and enjoy the conversation.

In this episode Ellie Kemp (twitter handle @EllKemp) from and Lars Peter Nissen explore the way in which the power of language fundamentally shapes humanitarian action.

You can learn more about TWBs work on their website translatorswithoutborders.org.

Listen in as Sarah Spencer from humanitarianai.org and Lars Peter Nissen discuss these and many more questions.

Rob McConnell has worked with most of the major humanitarian players advising them on how to manage their fleet of vehicles. In this conversation Rob and Lars Peter explore the way humanitarians manage fleet and also try to figure out how and why a huge number of new, yet 40 years old trucks, made it from Norway to Southern Africa in 2003-04.

You can find Sibo on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/58pKTxUMVHOHmpIQQ8hrgH?si=ErvymC84QjOR6MoViXCM3g

This week's guest on Trumanitarian is Sean Lowrie the founder of the network. He tells the story of how the idea was conceived, what it took to get it off the ground and to what extend he feels like START has achieved sustainable change to the system.

These are some of issues Joël Glasman and Lars Peter Nissen unpack in this episode. Joël is a historian and has written the book Humanitarianism and the Quantification of Human Needs: Minimal Humanity.

Jasmin (Jaz) O'Hara is the founder of the tribe and in this episode she tells a powerful story about how she came up with the idea and how it is to be humanitarian influencer.

You can find the tribe on www.worldwidetribe.com and follow it on instagram @theworldwidetribe.

In this episode Nama Budhathoki, the founder and Executive Chairman of KLL, discusses the role that information and technology can play in shaping the humanitarian narrative and about the business model underpinning a small innovative organization such as KLL.

The key question is to what extent this has changed the situation of crisis affected populations. In this episode Nick van Praag, the founder of Ground Truth Solutions gives his take on how much progress has been made and what is next.

The conversation pivots around the closeness and distance between their perspectives as colleagues and as family.