Beyond the pandemic HERE Conference – What next? From Analysis to Solutions

In March 2021, we convened a three-day global virtual conference bringing together thought leaders, humanitarian innovators, and policy experts…

…to consider the challenges and opportunities brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, and to collectively brainstorm on their implications for the future of humanitarian action: Is this crisis a watershed moment? Is COVID-19’s global impact a game changer for the way humanitarians work?

Browse through the HERE’s ‘What Next?’ conference materials on this page.

'What Next?' Background Note

The urge to swing back to a post-pandemic normalcy would appear tempting. But, were we to do so, a rare opportunity would have been missed. Never before has the prospect of sector-wide reform seemed so necessary and so plausible – and the motivation for such systemic change will only wane. So what needs our focus?

Curious? Read the full Note.

Video Summary

Using the visual summaries compiled by visual facilitator Stéphanie Heckman during our event sessions, we created a short video guiding through the key moments of our conference.

Watch the video

HERE's 'What Next?' Podcast Series

The ‘What Next?’ mini podcast series is a compilation of interviews with different humanitarian practitioners and policymakers conducted for this conference. We talked with representatives of four different donor countries sharing their take on COVID’s impact on the sector; a Professor of Organizational Behaviour who shared her expertise on collaboration across boundaries; an advisor for MSF’s Access Campaign who discussed power imbalances, antiracism and humanitarianism; and we interviewed the President of the ICRC who revealed his thoughts on the incentives needed to use this crisis as a source of opportunity to improve humanitarian work in the aftermath of the pandemic.

Click on the boxes below to listen to all 7 episodes.