SOURCE: Sustainable Development

SOURCE
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
SOURCE
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
April 2015
April 2015
• Gender equality
Understanding how
it can help solve
food and nutrition
challenges
• Water conservation
New strategic
techniques are key to
boosting agricultural
productivity
• Capacity building
Smart, pre-emptive
approaches for NGOs
to deal with disaster
more effectively
SSD_Cover.indd 1 04/03/2015 18:20

RISING THREATS.
YOUR ASSETS, EXPOSED.
ARE YOU COVERED?
Organisations face rising threats, especially in politically unstable
regions. Evacuating employees could cost tens of thousands, while
other financial losses could be potentially catastrophic.
For over 65 years, Clements Worldwide has been protecting
international organisations from the perils of catastrophic events
while operating overseas. We provide coverage for emergency
evacuation, kidnap and ransom and commercial property
protection, so that you can continue your mission with peace of
mind.
Protect your personnel and assets from unforeseen threats.
Don’t wait to secure the right insurance protection for your
organisation.
Visit clements.com/middleeast or call +971 (0)4 3 75 4758
NEVER LEAVE ANYTHING TO CHANCE
TAKE CLEMENTS WITH YOU
CAR | PROPERTY | LIFE & HEALTH | SPECIALTY & HIGH RISK
Washington, DC London Dubai |
SDD_IFC.indd 2 04/03/2015 14:11

SSD_Cover.indd 1 04/03/2015 18:20
VIEWPOINT
SOURCE
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
SOURCE
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
April 2015
COVER IMAGE: WWW.SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
April 2015
• Gender equality
Understanding how
it can help solve
food and nutrition
challenges
April, 2015
Publisher
Mohammed Rami
Mo.rami@mediawireglobal.com
Editor-in-Chief
James Hayes
James.hayes@mediawireglobal.com
Art Director
Jon Bonny
Jon.bonny@mediawireglobal.com
Picture Editor
Faye Bonny
Faye.bonny@mediawireglobal.com
Production
Joao Rami Hernandez
Production@mediawireglobal.com
Sales
Abdullah El Belguiti, Michael McCarthy, John Browne
Publishing@mediawireglobal.com
Commercial Director
Teresa Elizabeth Rami Yahyaoui
Info@mediawireglobal.com
SOURCE: Sustainable Development is distributed
to sustainable development professionals in sectors
including: finance, business, civil society, and local
leaders from public and private sector; governmental
and development ministries; military and civil defence;
multilateral agencies; Non-governmental organisations
(NGOs); scientific laboratories and research institutes;
senior personnel at United Nations member states
SOURCE: Sustainable Development is published by
Mediawire Limited, Unit 3, Merlin House, West Road,
Harlow, Essex CM17 9QH, United Kingdom.
+44 (0) 203 588 5900 http://mediawireglobal.com
Circulation and subscription enquiries to:
circulation@mediawireglobal.com
mw
Sustainable Solutions
• Water conservation
New strategic
techniques are key to
boosting agricultural
productivity
• Capacity building
Smart, pre-emptive
approaches for NGOs
to deal with disaster
more effectively
© Mediawire Limited UK 2015
Disclaimers: every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy
of this publication, neither SOURCE: Sustainable Development,
nor its contributors, accept any legal responsibility whatsoever
for consequences that may arise from errors or omissions, or
any opinion or advice that appears.
No part of the content of this publication may be copied,
scanned, or reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted in any form, or by any means, without the prior
written permission from the Publisher.
SOURCE: Sustainable Development is printed on responsiblysourced
paper stocks.
The mid-point in a decade is often seen as a time to pause for reflection, a chance to
review progress against set objectives, and re-set them if necessary. This certainly
applies for 2015: the year in which the Millennium Development Goals give way to
the Sustainable Development Goals offers a rare opportunity for people engaged
with humanitarian and sustainability programmes around the world to appraise
their plans and actions, and decide if they are still fit for the purposes they were
set-up for. Alas, they have precious little time to do so, in this world beset with an
unprecedented number of humanitarian emergencies, environmental challenges, and
human bellicosity. The demands being placed on the many different organisations
and agencies now intent on remediating those tragic zones, taking time out for
reflective analysis is not feasible. There’s just too much that needs to be done – and
done yesterday.
Meeting the information requirement for sustainable development professionals
is one of the primary aims of SOURCE: Sustainable Development. The publication has
been created for the post-2015 international development sector, with special interest
in highlighting ways in which private sector engagement will drive innovation and
support the impetus to deliver on the UN Sustainable Development Goals as they are
agreed and implemented.
What is a sustainable development professional? Not an easy question to answer
with absolute assurance – but a demographic profile has emerged. It enfranchises an
increasingly broad range of skill-sets and competences from lawyers and diplomats,
medicos and nutritionists, to aid workers to logistical managers, entrepreneurs and
scientists. All these professional disciplines (and many others), are in some capacity
engaged in working toward a common set of aims – aims that will inform the editorial
foci of SOURCE: Sustainable Development going forward.
The achievements of the sustainable development sector should be better
recognised and celebrated. As prosecuted under the auspices of the United Nations,
sustainable development is of course a matter of global importance that has the
power to affect millions of lives for the better. Presenting key innovations and success
stories is an aim of this new publication. Sharing the fruits of experience and firsthand
knowledge – the sharing of professional expertise usually described as ‘best
practice’ – is another.
Sustainable development as a professional sector is also benefiting from a broad
base of qualified new recruits, as well as a volunteer base that is richly skilled and
highly-motivated. More people than ever before are pursuing careers that are shaped
– directly or indirectly – by sustainable development programmes and initiatives.
The principles and practices of sustainable development hold a political resonance
that has been widely recognised. Indeed, taking sustainable development ideas as a
‘the central organising principle for the whole of government’ is no new idea, but its
adoption has some way to go. However events unfold, SOURCE: Sustainable Development
will cover them.
James Hayes
Letter From the Editor
1
SSD_Eds Letter.indd 1 05/03/2015 10:01

CONTENTS
50
1 From the Editor
Time for change: 2015 is the year that the sustainable
development sector must recognise and assert its
professional identity, says James Hayes.
5 Foreword
The rule of law is an inseparable part of sustainable
development: it embodies the principles and institutions
that render justice – legal and social – and as such, it is
the foundation on which to build durable development,
believes Irene Khan, Director-General of the
International Development Law Organization (IDLO).
7 Foreword
Challenges associated with the new operating environment
for global humanitarianism call for a reaffirmation and
strengthening of core principles, insists Angharad Laing,
Executive Director of the International Association of
Professionals in Humanitarian Assistance and Protection.
10 Best Practice Profile: OCHA
There is much for the sustainable development profession
to learn from the ways in which the UN Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs – OCHA – pursues
its aims and objectives, explains James Hayes, Editor-in-
Chief of SOURCE: Sustainable Development.
16 Interview
Gerhard Putman-Cramer discusses on the nature
of progress in humanitarian assistance, and explains
the rationale behind this year’s DIHAD themes of
opportunity, mobility, and sustainability.
20 Youth and education
Helping young people to successfully make the transition
between their education and their employment prospects is
achievable when multiple parties join forces, finds Sustainable
Development Goals Fund Director Paloma Durán.
8 News round-up
Gender work gap cost ‘now surpassing GDPs’ says
ActionAid; Global Ocean Commission wants an ‘ocean
SDG’ to counter high-seas ‘anarchy’.
UN PHOTO/JEAN-MARC FERRÉ
10
24
24 Interview
HE Shaima Al Zarooni talks about her focus on extending
awareness of the global humanitarian agenda into the
many other spheres of public life that she is committed to.
2
SSD_Contents.indd 2 04/03/2015 13:49

CONTENTS
56 Food security
At first sight, the factors that make gender equality and
women’s empowerment a food and nutrition issue may
not be obvious – but the issues are closely interdependent.
By understanding how, we are better placed to promote
equality, social equity, gender equality – and women’s
empowerment, writes Sonsoles Ruedas, Director of the
Gender Office at The World Food Programme.
UN PHOTO/MARK GARTEN
34
29 Digital technology
For anyone looking to invest in technology start-up
projects that are emerging in Africa, the risk levels may
seem daunting – but anyone with a passion for funding
entrepreneurial innovators should not be deterred, argues
Dr Loren Treisman, Executive, The Indigo Trust.
34 Cities and sustainable innovation
Smart city concepts can go beyond their original remit
and help create incubatory environments that encourage
and promote innovative sustainability at grass-roots levels,
reports Professor Martin Charter, Director of the Centre
for Sustainable Design ® .
40 Interview
Professor Mukesh Kapila shares his perspectives on the
nature of humanitarian progress, and on why the mix of
cultures between private and public sectors in the cause
of better aid relief is not necessarily something to be
concerned about.
62 Economic growth
Enabling the efficient and effective spending of public and
private funds for an array of development purposes has
been an important facet of Crown Agents’ work for many
years. Senior Fund Manager at Crown Agents Defrim
Dedej looks at how challenge funds can help to strengthen
the private sectors of developing countries, and the
important considerations of their use
68 Impact, scalability, and sustainability
Bringing water and sanitation to 220 of Haiti’s
earthquake-struck schools has not only re-established
their students’ educational prospects, but also made a
quantifiable contributed toward community health and
well-being. Tariq Al Gurg, Chief Executive Officer at
Dubai Cares, tells the inspiring story, and explains the
factors behind Dubai Cares’ success.
72 Sustainable tourism
When it comes to making the most of the opportunities
tourism brings without jeopardising sustainability, islands
– especially small islands – can find mutually-supporting
solutions that balance the needs of them both, finds
Dr Rachel Dodds, Director/Owner, Sustaining Tourism.
76 DIHAD Conference Guide
Your at-a-glance guide to the Agenda Sessions and
Speaker Details for the 2015 DIHAD Conference taking
place on 24th, 25th and 26th March in Dubai.
78 Contributors Profiles
SOURCE: Sustainable Development contributors represent a
wide range of expertise and specialist knowledge. Find out
more about them.
80 Events calendar
Conferences, exhibitions, and seminars that sustainable
development professionals will want to know about.
44
44 NGOs and capacity building
Capacity building is a vital element in taking a pre-emptive
approach to dealing with distress and disaster, explains
Martin McCann, Chief Executive Officer, RedR UK.
50 Water management
A changing climate will cause us to adapt our management
of water to new techniques and practices - techniques and
practices that can also contribute to greater productivity,
explains Peter McCornick, Deputy Director General,
Research, International Water Management Institute.
72
3
SSD_Contents.indd 3 04/03/2015 13:49

SSD_Khan_Foreword.indd 4 04/03/2015 19:34

FOREWORD
Law must prevail:
setting standards for the
bedrock of development
World governments are working to pindown
what has become known as the
Post-2015 Agenda. A blueprint for our world
over the next generation, this Agenda will
set out a series of commitments known as
the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),
with targets and indicators to measure
progress. There is strong consensus on some
goals, such as fighting hunger and eradicating
poverty, and less so on some others, such
as access to justice and the rule of law.
The rule of law trails a baggage of controversy.
Some governments see it as West-centric,
prescriptive, and irrelevant to development;
some others argue that it is too hard
to measure, and unsuitable as a development
target.
From the perspective of my organisation,
with both development and law embedded
in its very name, the rule of law is an inseparable
part of sustainable development. It
embodies the principles and institutions that
render justice – legal and social. As such, it
is the essential foundation on which to build
development, and to do so durably.
When the rule of law does not function
properly, inequality grows: when the law
does not protect against discrimination;
when opportunities are only open to a few
based on wealth and privilege; when corruption
and bribery thrive unchecked; when
the law is selectively applied for the benefit
of the powerful and against the poor; when
public goods are siphoned off by private
interests with total impunity.
Equality, equal protection and fair treatment
are fundamental principles of the rule
of law.
Take women and girls. In many countries,
the law, whether formal or customary, continues
to exclude and discriminate against
them. This is not only morally reprehensible:
it also deprives societies of wealth and skills;
it endangers food security; and it has adverse
effects on the health of nations. This is not
rule of law, but rule by law. Properly understood,
the rule of law upholds the universal
values of human rights, and far from hampering
development, strengthens it.
Or take business and economic growth.
The rule of law ensures predictability and
certainty, and by so doing, creates confidence
and promotes responsible investment.
By contrast, its absence opens the way to
corruption and predatory practices. Natural
resources are unlawfully exploited. Environmental
degradation follows. Climate resilience
may suffer. Entire communities may be
uprooted or destroyed.
By setting the standards and institutions
for equitable development and providing
avenues for redress when rules and regulations
are breached or rights are violated, the
rule of law promotes transparency, accountability
and inclusive participation. Legal
empowerment strategies help the poor and
the marginalised to access justice and claim
their rights.
Far from being impossible to measure, the
justice sector – like any sector of governance
– can be evaluated, and people’s ability to
access justice can be measured. Far from importing
‘foreign’ norms, the principles of the
rule of law can be applied in context-specific
ways that encourage local ownership.
Challenges vary from country to country,
and so do legal systems. There is plenty of
good practice to show that solutions can be
tailored, while the basic principles of the rule
of law remain the same: fair, predictable,
equally applicable, and equally accountable.
If sustainability is to become a principle of
global governance, the rule of law must be
the bedrock of development. The alternative
is a world of conflict and perpetual humanitarian
crises.
Irene Khan
Director-General, International Development
Law Organization (IDLO)
For more information about the IDLO, visit
www.idlo.int
5
SSD_Khan_Foreword.indd 5 04/03/2015 19:34

WFP/Joelle Eid
Join us
on Facebook
follow us
@WFP
Syria
Millions of Syrians are displaced
inside Syria or in neighbouring
countries. They face a 5 th year
away from home and their needs
continue to grow.
The World Food Programme is
helping them by providing food or
vouchers or e-cards to buy food.
Fighting Hunger Worldwide
If you would like to know how
you too can help, please visit:
www.wfp.org/Syria
SDD_Laing_Foreword.indd 6 04/03/2015 13:52

FOREWORD
Focus on the individual: responding
effectively and responsibly to
current and future crises
Global humanitarian need has increased
significantly in recent decades – in
terms of the frequency, severity, and scale of
natural disasters, as well as the number of
people affected by armed conflicts and other
situations of violence. Although the scale of
the global humanitarian response has also
been increasing, with humanitarian aid flows
having been on an upward trend for over a
decade, it has been in the context of an increasingly
complex humanitarian landscape.
The challenges associated with this new
operating environment call for a reaffirmation
and strengthening of core principles
and approaches, together with concerted efforts
to anticipate and address the questions
and concerns that arise among humanitarian
actors – both at the organisational and
individual level.
The International Association of Professionals
in Humanitarian Assistance and Protection
(PHAP) was established five years ago
in an effort to help address these challenges.
As a global and sector-wide professional
association, bringing together all kinds of
humanitarian actors at the individual level, it
is the first and only organisation of its kind.
The main strengths of PHAP’s unique
approach and structure are three-fold: it
encompasses diversity, it is complementary
to existing organis ational initiatives, and it
offers long-term sustainable support to the
humanitarian community.
First, an individual-based professional
association is ideal for fostering cross-sector
exchange and understanding. The membership
already spans all the major ‘divides’
in the humanitarian landscape: members
are affiliated with organizations that are
‘Northern’ and ‘Southern’; large and
small; secular and faith-based; and local,
national, and international. They include
staff and volunteers of NGOs, the United
Nations, the Red Cross and Red Crescent
movement, academia, and governmental
agencies. They are based in field and headquarters
locations around the world.
They have different areas of expertise,
such as health, nutrition, logistics, child protection,
international law, communication,
and management. PHAP offers members
the opportunity to share experiences and
learn from others beyond their current
organisational affiliations, which improves
understanding among different actors and
enhances humanitarian capacity as a whole.
Second, the overarching mission of
PHAP is shared by many important initiatives
operating at the organisational level,
which PHAP through its individual-based
approach can support and strengthen.
Initiatives and organisational networks that
PHAP has worked with in various ways
include ALNAP, the developers of the Core
Humanitarian Standard, ELRHA, ICVA,
InterAction, the IASC’s Transformative
Agenda, the World Humanitarian Summit,
and others. The membership of PHAP
has come together on multiple occasions
to provide their views and expertise, to
help clarify questions and issues that arise,
and to amplify the positive impact of these
organisational networks and initiatives.
Finally, the individual-based structure
of the association provides the basis for a
much-needed longer-term perspective in a
sector that operates – out of necessity – almost
exclusively in the short term. PHAP’s
more than 2,500 professional members, and
more than 30,000 active contacts in its larger
practitioner network, are a truly global
community, with a majority based in – and
from – the Global South.
By joining and participating as members
of PHAP, people from all over the world
demonstrate their individual commitment
to effective, responsible, and principled
humanitarian action. With this broad base
of membership, PHAP is able to serve as
a long-term resource, steadily enhancing
humanity’s capacity to respond effectively
and responsibly to current and future crises,
for years and decades to come.
Angharad Laing
Executive Director, PHAP
For more information about PHAP, visit
https://phap.org
7
SDD_Laing_Foreword.indd 7 04/03/2015 13:52

NEWS
News round-up
PHOTOREPORTER/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
Gender work gap cost ‘now
surpassing GDPs’ – report
Gender inequality in work costs women
in poor countries $9 trillion each year –
more than the combined gross domestic
products of the UK, France, and Germany –
according to research report by international
development agency, ActionAid. The
inequality exists because women get paid less
than men, and do not attain the same levels
of employment.
The report, ‘Close the Gap’, calls for exploitation
of women’s work to receive more
attention. Closing the gender pay gap and
gender employment gap could, dramatically
improve, women’s lives, and as well as help
their wider communities, as women tend to
spend increased income on food, health, and
Women’s care comes with a cost
Maltese singer and personality, Ira Losco
has been appointed as the island’s goodwill
ambassador for sustainable development,
Malta Today has reported.
The 33-year-old artist has had a succession
of top-charting recordings, and competed
for Malta in the 2002 Eurovision Song
Contest, finishing second.
“I am very honoured by this title, and
I understand it is a great responsibility,”
Losco told an conference audience of
representatives of the Mediterranean
Commission for Sustainable Development
(MCSD). “I will... use my position to promote
sustainable development in my everyday life,
and to bring this concept closer to members
of society who might not be aware of how
[they] can make a change themselves.”
education of their families. The report found
two main causes of the huge inequality in
the developing world.
First, across the developing world, women
do the most exploitative forms of work – jobs
such as garment makers, roadside hawkers,
and domestic servants – for the lowest wages.
The second causes is that women do not
get the same employment opportunities as
men, because they spend so much of their
time caring for children, the sick, and the
elderly – all work that is largely invisible and
totally unpaid. In poor countries women’s
burden is increased by having to spend time
on collecting fuel and water, and taking-up
the slack when governments cannot fund
basic health and education services.
Women living in poverty have a vast mine
of untapped potential which could improve
their own lives and those of their families,
the report concludes: ‘The costs of economic
inequality to women are not only monetary,
but also affect their life choices, leaving them
vulnerable to violence and other forms of
discrimination and exploitation’.
ActionAid is calling for concerted action
from governments, businesses and international
institutions to value women’s work in
its entirety – from caring for families and
communities, to toiling long hours on the
factory floor.
‘Food security and gender’ – page 56
Malta music star Losco made sustainable development ambassador
Losco added: “Some concepts and
terminology [around sustainable
development] might seem complicated to
some people, and... it will be my task to
help society understand that they need not
necessarily be so confusing.”
Maltese Minister for Environment,
Sustainable Development, and Climate
Change, Leo Brincat, told conference
delegates that it was important to have
a guiding strategy to inspire and direct
activities in sustainable development that can
benefit all stakeholders and members of the
public, both in Malta and the Mediterranean
region, according to the report.
More details at http://www.unepmap.org/index.
php?module=content2&catid=001017002
RAIN project wins prestigious
agriculture-for-nutrition award
A project that aims to improve under-nutrition
and mortality rates in children under
two years old that’s been rolled out in
Zambia has won an international World
Bank award for its potential impact on
nutrition in developing countries.
The project, known as RAIN (Realigning
Agriculture to Improve Nutrition) – a
joint imitative been humanitarian NGO
Concern Worldwide and food processing
firm Kerry Group – was a winner in the
Harvesting Nutrition Contest awards
for bridging the gaps between nutrition,
agriculture and food security.
Launched in 2011 by Ireland’s Minister
for Agriculture, Food and the Marine,
Simon Coveney, the RAIN project has seen
Kerry Group contribute €1.25m of the overall
€3.7m budget to the five-year initiative.
The World Bank, in collaboration
with the Global Alliance for Improved
Nutrition (GAIN) and Save the Children
UK, selected RAIN one of three
winning projects of the SecureNutrition
Knowledge Platform’s 2013 Harvesting
Nutrition Contest for bridging the gaps
between nutrition and agriculture and/or
food security.
As the winner in the category entitled
‘Potential Impact on Nutrition’, the RAIN
project will receive a boost of $5,000
(approximately €4,465), and will also be
documented by a multimedia portrait.
Under-nutrition results in stunting - and is
the underlying cause of 3.5m deaths a year
ANTON_IVANOV/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
8
SDD_News.indd 8 04/03/2015 13:53

NEWS
SDG investment in youth ‘could help counter extremism’
ALASTAIR WALLACE/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
Siemens wins technology partnership
for Triangulum project
Manchester City Council has selected
Siemens as the technology partner to The
University of Manchester, Manchester
Metropolitan University, and IT Solutions
provider, www.clicksandlinks.com, on the
pioneering European-wide smart city project
Triangulum, in a contract worth around
€6million over five years.
The project will aim to transform the
city’s ‘Manchester Corridor’ student district
into a ‘smart quarter.’ Supported by
European Commission’s ‘Smart Cities and
Communities’ Horizon 2020 funding call,
the Triangulum project will install a range
of energy management technologies in a
number of Manchester Corridor’s buildings,
developing an autonomous energy grid that
demonstrates how the entire district could be
supplied with heat and electricity.
The Corridor covers some 243 hectares
and is home to The University of Manchester
and Manchester Metropolitan University,
and The Central Manchester University
Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust – making
the Corridor the largest academic campus in
the UK and also the largest clinical academic
campus in Europe.
Siemens will lead the energy-related aspects
of the Triangulum project in Manchester,
connecting-up a number of local energy
generation assets, electrical storage devices
and buildings, within the Corridor to a centralised
control platform. The Triangulum
project is led by Fraunhofer IAO with the
support of the Steinbeis-Europa Zentrum,
and involves 23 European partners.
Investment in social sectors as part of SDG
programmes would help address extremist
recruitment, outgoing United Nations
Resident and Humanitarian Co-ordinator
in Pakistan, Timo Pakala, has said. In a
newspaper interview, Pakala said that a
growing number of the country’s young
people and out-of-school children were
becoming major challenges for its security
and economic development.
Appreciating the efforts of the federal
and provincial governments to come
together to work on education under the
Millennium Development Goals, Pakala
was also quoted as saying that the Pakistan
government was now making efforts to
overcome bottlenecks to send 6 million
children to school.
GOC wants ‘ocean SDG’ to counter
wave of high-seas ‘anarchy’
The Global Ocean Commission (GOC) has
called for a stand-alone Sustainable Development
Goal (SDG) for the global ocean, in an
effort to catalyse the development of more
co-ordinated ocean management and the
restoration of ocean health.
It has warned that the high seas, the
portion of the global ocean outside national
jurisdiction that covers 45 per cent of the
planet’s surface, and contains more than 50
per cent of its biodiversity, are suffering from
over-exploitation and ineffective management.
“The high seas are in a state of anarchy,”
said GOC Co-chair David Miliband.
“Regional stability, food security, climate
resilience, and a flourishing ‘blue economy’
are all at risk. Fragmented and inadequate
management has pushed ocean systems to
the point of collapse – a stand-alone SDG
for the ocean can deliver integrated and
holistic management across the whole ocean
system.”
Miliband adds: “Healthy oceans must be
at the centre of the global sustainable development
agenda post-2015. SDGs present an
opportunity to recognise ocean threats, and
“Moving on to the SDGs does not
[now] mean that challenges aren’t there,”
he told The Express Tribune last month.
“You cannot have sustainable economic
development unless you have well
educated, well nourished, and healthy
population. There is no shortcut to
development.”
“If I look at the trends from 2010,
disasters have taught the country a lot,” he
says. “There is a positive trajectory in the
capacity of the country’s response.”
Pakala added that the safe return of
the 1.6m displaced population remains
a major challenge for Pakistan, and the
UN was working with the government of
Pakistan to find a sustainable solution to
the displacement issue.
Miliband:
high seas are
in a state of
‘anarchy’
to galvanise efforts by governments and civil
society – including the private sector and
NGOs – to work together in pursuit of targets
and indicators that are bold, ambitious,
and pragmatic.”
The GOC – an independent international
body addressing ocean health and high seas
governance – was created to propose solutions
to address the principal threats facing
the global ocean, including acidification,
illegal and destructive fishing, overfishing,
plastic pollution, and inadequate governance.
It will publish proposals for reform in
mid-2014.
9
UN PHOTO/ESKINDER DEBEBE
SDD_News.indd 9 04/03/2015 13:53

BEST PRACTICE PROFILE
Dealing with a
new world disorder
There’s much for the sustainable development profession to learn from the ways in
which the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs – OCHA – pursues its
aims and objectives, explains James Hayes, Editor-in-Chief, SOURCE: Sustainable Development
Implicit in the broader realisation of the
Millennium Development Goals is the need
for the many agencies and organisations involved
in achieving them to base their efforts
on exemplary organisational techniques and
strategy, and the application of the most upto-date
methods of situation management.
Governmental – and non-governmental
organisations, humanitarian bodies, and
charitable agencies, et alia, have in recent
decades adopted many techniques from the
worlds of business and commerce in order
to bring improved performance (and help
recruit personnel from the private sector), but
have also built upon this with their own direct
experience and sense of professionalism.
The term ‘best practice’ is overused in our
public discourse, but is useful in denoting the
way in which professionals working in any
sector can benefit from a knowledge of the
working methods of the successful entities in
10
SSD_Best Practice.indd 10 04/03/2015 13:53

BEST PRACTICE PROFILE
OCHA chief Baroness Amos’s public
profile ensure that her organisation’s
concerns are communicated to those it is
working with - and seeking to help
their given field of expertise. In the humanitarian
field, the UN Office for the Coordination
of Humanitarian Affairs – OCHA – is
a ‘market leader’, and there’s much to be
learned from the methods and procedures by
which it pursues its objectives.
OCHA has tremendous asset in being
helmed by Baroness Valerie Amos. The
opening months of 2015 proved exceptionally
busy ones for UN Under-Secretary-General
for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency
Relief Co-ordinator, to give the OCHA chief
her full job title.
The year opened with an unprecedented
number of emergencies raging on the
humanitarian aid global horizon, caused by
a range of natural- and man-made disasters.
The statistics for any one of these troubled
regions continue to update their shocking
news. At the beginning of January, by the
OCHA’s estimation, there were some 78
million people in 31 countries requiring humanitarian
support just to survive on a daily
basis. Last year was dominated by the three
emergencies that have claimed the highest
of priorities – those in Syria, South Sudan,
and the Central African Republic. These
and other humanitarian events unfolded
alongside protracted crises in Yemen, Sudan,
Somalia, the Sahel, the Democratic Republic
of the Congo, and Afghanistan, and many
others.
The challenge facing the OCHA and its
many partners and affiliates (working in
home countries and ‘in the field’ in response
to these emergencies) is not only of massive
scale, but also of escalating and exasperating
complexity. As the OCHA’s ‘Strategic
Plan 2014-2017’ explains, such multifaceted
catastrophes – and again, these include
both the forces of nature and the forces of
arms – are causing even greater burdens
for humanitarian operators. “The effects of
climate change, environmental degradation,
economic inequality, population growth, political
unrest, and migration, have weakened
community resilience in many countries,”
the plan’s authors report. Protracted and
recurring emergencies, they add, are creating
groups of people for whom crisis is ‘the new
normal’, and this phenomenon is “making
humanitarian case-loads harder to define”.
In addition to the making additional demands
on aid organisations, these malevolent
trends are making, in terms of funding
and resources, co-ordination and delivery,
there’s been an upsurge in threats aimed
at front-line humanitarian personnel. The
ferocious nature of much of civil warring –
where armed militias are actors in conflicts
that pay no heed to international law, national
governance, or the basic tenets of human
decency – mean that aid workers and their
local partners in field operations are increasingly
targets of attack.
In the face of this escalation of disastrous
incidents, the role of OCHA has become
even more prominent, and the scope for it to
demonstrate even greater leadership has become
more acute. The OCHA is the part of
the United Nations Secretariat responsible
for bringing together humanitarian actors
▲
11
SSD_Best Practice.indd 11 04/03/2015 13:53

SYRIA
EMERGENCY
APPEAL
Scared and exhausted
Fleeing for their lives
Learn more about their needs
www.unhcr.org/syria
SSD_Best Practice.indd 12 04/03/2015 13:53

BEST PRACTICE PROFILE
Aid workers and
their local partners in
field operations are
increasingly the targets
of violent attack.
– be they charities, humanitarian assistants,
or aid suppliers, say – to ensure a coherent
response to emergencies. OCHA also ensures
there is a framework, within which, each actor
can contribute to the overall response effort.
To be sure, the OCHA is much more than
that in its many activities and programmes;
and its structure and organisation, its principles
and philosophy, provide a strategic blueprint
for best practice that contains much that
could be adopted by – or prove inspirational
to – those professionals engaged in the delivery
of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
As the figurehead of OCHA, Baroness
Amos’s position empowers her to cast the
most authoritative perspective on many of the
humanitarian challenges that the world faces
in this pivotal year when progress toward
SDGs starts to gather pace. The OCHA’s
mission now, she suggests, is nothing short of
helping to set the agenda for future humanitarian
action. Amos’s declarations can serve as
a focal point around which much of the sustainable
development sector can take bearings
for its future challenges.
Telling it as it is
Amos’s enhanced status is perhaps best
illustrated by two speeches she made earlier
this year, which evidenced her ability to
encapsulate the many jarring aspects of the
humanitarian world-view in a style that is
lucid and hard-hitting.
Baroness Amos and UNESCO
Special Envoy Forest Whitaker
called for peace while visiting
South Sudan in February
In the first, delivered on 13th January, as
part of of the Sorenson Lecture series in
New York, she told the Council on Foreign
Relation that the world is seeing a “convergence
of global trends which is increasing
the risk of major crises, as well as their scope
and complexity... Conflict and complex
emergencies drove over 75 per cent of
humanitarian response needs [in 2014], and
most of the conflicts we are responding to
have implications far beyond their borders.”
This knock-on effect, particularly when it
occurs in neighbouring nations in the same
region, can have significant deleterious impact
on countries not directly involved with
the initial conflict or disaster. “The crises in
Iraq and Syria have consequences across the
whole of the Middle East and beyond,” said
Amos. “The fall of Moammar Gaddafi in
Libya led to major insecurity, and the spread
of weapons across West and Central Africa,
the impact of which is still being felt.”
Perils of mission creep
Humanitarian actors are increasingly being
called on to deal with the consequences of
crises that “essentially have their roots in a
complex set of interrelated factors” Amos
continued, citing poor governance, political
paralysis, underdevelopment, rising levels of
poverty, and inequality; and these negative
dynamics are, in many countries, “overlaid
by the growth of terrorist and radical armed
groups, and [other] challenges to democratisation,
which create further instability”.
Force for change
The nature of these remarks and others
made since being appointed to her position
in 2010, indicate how far Baroness
Amos can be credited with having been a
profound influence over how the OCHA
has adapted to such changed circumstances,
and to a shift in the core expectations
being placed upon it and its partners. Amos
has also used her role to voice widely-held
frustration at the failure of governments,
international organisations, and other
political agencies in finding even partial or
temporary solutions to the tide of strife that
globally confronts us on a daily basis – if
only in our newspapers and on our TV
screens.
Later in her Sorenson Lectures address,
Amos described 2015 as set to become “a
particularly critical time when the world is
grappling with a series of challenges which
are bringing us closer together and pushing
us wider apart”. Amos holds a position –
arguably a unique position – to publicly
raise questions over how, at a time when
many are seeking to redefine the role of the
nation state, of governments, and of the
United Nations itself, and given the complex
set of challenges we are facing, we are
also debating searching questions about the
nature of terrorism, security, freedom of
speech and religion; the limits (or otherwise)
of press freedom; tolerance, racism, inequality;
the impact of social media and the
Internet; the lack of connectivity between
people and cultures, and – most poignantly
– the quality of global leadership.
That sounds like a lot to include in a single
sentence; but an all-encompassing purview
is essential if the nature of the complexity,
and the inter-relatedness of its causes, is to
be comprehended constructively.
Furthermore, a comprehensive understanding
of these ‘back-story’ issues is essential,
Amos maintains, if we are to stand
a chance of moving away from the (essentially)
fire-fighting model of humanitarian
aid and developmental assistance, and progress
toward programmes that predictively
and pre-emptively tackle root causes that,
▲
13
SSD_Best Practice.indd 13 04/03/2015 13:53

BEST PRACTICE PROFILE
With an escalation of disastrous
incidents, the role of OCHA has
become even more prominent, and
the scope for it to demonstrate
even greater leadership has
become more acute.
left unchecked, will lead to future human
tragedy, be it from societal disharmony or
environmental imbalances.
Baroness Amos’s concern over this issue
was perhaps at its most pointed in the 3rd
February address she gave in Budapest to the
World Humanitarian Summit. During this
two-day event, representatives from national
governments, regional bodies humanitarian
and development organisations, academia,
civil society groups, and the private sector
discussed how to reshape aid to improve the
response to critical humanitarian events.
“Year on year, humanitarian needs are
outstripping our capacity and the resources
available to us to respond effectively,”
Amos warned. The situation is no longer
one of providing aid to contained numbers
of displaced civilian refugees or the victims
of cyclical storms and floods that will, in
time, pass and hopefully return to something
resembling normality. “Now, nearly 80 per
cent of our work is in countries and regions
affected by conflict – countries where active
zones of conflict, proliferation of armed and
terrorist groups, and [other] parties to the
conflict combines with other factors, producing
complex operating environments.”
The scale of the challenges is immense, but
Amos’s closing message was that many of them
can be addressed with greater co-operation –
and by informing our responses evaluations with
an abiding and genuine sense of honestly. ■
SOURCE: Sustainable Development Best Practice file: UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs
UN PHOTO/FARDIN WAEZI, UN PHOTO/ISAAC GIDEON, WWW.SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
OCHA OFFICIAL DECLARED MISSION
OCHA is the part of the United Nations Secretariat
responsible for bringing together humanitarian
actors to ensure a coherent response to
emergencies. OCHA also ensures there is a
framework within which each actor can contribute
to the overall response effort. Its mission is to
mobilise and coordinate effective and principled
humanitarian action in partnership with national
and international actors in order to alleviate
human suffering in disasters and emergencies;
advocate the rights of people in need; promote
preparedness and prevention; facilitate
sustainable solutions.
Open strategy, defined aims,
achievable objectives
The OCHA is committed to ensuring
that its guiding principles and aims are clearly
articulated into the public domain, and it’s
‘Strategic Plan 2014-2017’, published last year,
should be required reading for anyone tasked
with directing programmes in the humanitarian
or sustainable development professions. This
40-page document is both an action plan and an
insightful study of key aspects of contemporary
world history.
Well-informed statements that
are routinely updated
The OCHA information management
systems are consistent and effective; this is a core
factor to its success. Organisations of all kinds in
the sustainable development sector should be
aware of the growing the growing importance
of digital information and communications
technologies – not as a means of disseminating
key messages to the wider world, and ensuring
that teams in the field are kept informed about
developments back at base and elsewhere, but
also for communications between co-actors in
the field. ICT is having a demonstrable effect on
humanitarian actions across a range of contexts,
from supporting platforms that enable the
monitoring and delivery of improved healthcare,
to tracking the movements of individuals acting in
risky locations. Increasingly, it will provide key tools
for validating and quantifying aid programmes,
and enabling them to be quickly modified in
response to changed circumstances, to deliver
better outcomes.
Lucid, cogent, well-informed
key messages
There are no shortage of assessments
and top-level surveys of the crises that beset our
societies around the world. In the same way that
the humanitarian aid sector is being influenced
by international media, in terms of a a connection
between response and coverage, organisations
such as international agencies, charities, and
NGOs, who are aligned with the Post-2015 sDGs
are learning how to deliver their key messages
more effectively. Baroness Amos’s remarks are
lucid and well-researched.
Seek-out and benefit from
colleague/partner experience
OCHA is part of a wider, well-established
and very experienced organisation, and is well
placed to take advantage of the expertise that this
can put it in contact with. Many organisations –
in public and private sector – could boost their
efficiency and effectiveness by doing more to
extract value from the data that already existing
somewhere on the system, or by soliciting
intelligence from co-workers, contacts, or other
affiliates.
Facing-up to political realities without
adopting a political standpoint
This issue is already a tough one for
NGOs and agencies working on the ground. As
Amos has noted, humanitarian workers must be
impartial as they do their work, even though they
may be acutely affected by politic considerations
both locally, nationally and internationally. In this
context it is constructive to place greater emphasis
on the importance of international law and justice
as a benchmark that transcends political issues,
and to call upon governments to do their utmost
to ensure that the relevant laws are applied in a
compelling manner.
Technologically-informed speculation
While fully engaged and committed
to immediate priorities, the OHCA is
not blinkered by them. If Baroness Amos and
her teams are correct, there will be increasing
convergence between the humanitarian
assistance and sustainable development
sectors going forward. Successful pre-emptive
humanitarian programmes will reply on know-how
in predictive analysis involving a multi-disciplinary
approach to interpreting data from diverse sources
– meteorological data is an obvious example for
informing capacity building in areas vulnerable
to extreme weather. The OHCA’s ideas remind
us that open-data initiative, for instance, makes
freely-available information that could usefully
shape future strategies.
Leadership that engages with policy
making and agenda setting
Baroness Amos’s status means that
she has direct access to heads of state and
other high-ranking civil leaders, as well as
senior executives in the private sector. As a
public figurehead for the OCHA and other
groups she represents, her role is defined and
focused. It is, of course, essential that those
figurehead roles stay focused, and that their
roles and responsibilities are openly defined in
order to manage expectations that may arise
during the course of interactions with partners
and stakeholders, etc. The role of figurehead
can easily become diffused by ‘over-exposure’.
Although they may serve as the public-facing
‘face’ and ‘voice’ of the body and ideology which
they represent, organisational figureheads must
be cautious of accepting too many invitations to
provide media comment or speak at events.
14
SSD_Best Practice.indd 14 04/03/2015 13:53

SPONSORED FEATURE
Reflections On CSR
By Beatriz Bayo
If we look back ten years, we can say that much
has changed in the world and also of course,
in business, and in great measures thanks to
corporate social responsibility (CSR). That does
not mean that CSR has changed the world, is
not even what it claims, but it has contributed to
a new business perspective, and in my view, a
more friendly one that goes beyond the purely
economic.
Today, it is hard to imagine a company that does
not integrate into the business strategy aspects of
CSR. In our organization we have always believed
in this sustainability model. A global organization
like ours that operates in over one hundred
countries and with great influence worldwide
through its supply chain has much to contribute
and great responsibility for the impact it has on
both people and the environment.
But social demands and increasing international
initiatives on human rights and environment have
worked for the commitment of companies to be
increasingly more solid and credible. In today’s
world everything is governed by measurable
values, tools that allow us to quantify: balances,
risk analysis, indicators, etc. To such an extent, that
it seems that everything that can not be measured
is worthless. But in reality the true CSR is not
measurable but it is a behavior, internally within the
company and externally towards the stakeholders.
In the same way that companies seek ways to
improve the competitiveness, there is the need
to contribute to the positive development of the
environment, make commitments that favor the
impacts of our activities and that these provide a
socialy beneficial opportunity. It is essential to listen
and meet their demands and give a response that
satisfies them. We may not always succeed, but
that should be a daily challenge and the engine
that drives us to move forward.
Brands have the duty and the need to contribute
to social and environmental development through
tangible, innovative and collaborative actions
with shared value both for society, community,
consumers and of course, for the brand itself
because when companies took CSR efforts,
consumers responded with enthusiasm and
participation. For this reason, the communication
of these aspects is also critical: if a company
discloses information about its relevant social and
environmental issues, it provides a transparency
which gives greater confidence and credibility to
consumers.
Obviously doubts will arise, there are limitations
and mistakes but also there is the willing to
improve in this regard. Only then can a credible
policy can be settled, through an open dialogue
with groups of interest, focused on the people,
very clear and with the main goal of improving
progressively.
It is time to be optimistic. There are still
challenges ahead but progress is undeniable.
www.mango.com
15
SSD_Best Practice.indd 15 04/03/2015 13:53

INTERVIEW
16
SSD_Q&A_Gerhard Putman Cramer.indd 16 04/03/2015 13:54

INTERVIEW
Q & A
Gerhard Putman-Cramer
Director of DISAB for DIHAD 2015
Gerhard Putman-Cramer talks about the nature of progress in
humanitarian assistance, and explains the rationale behind this
year’s DIHAD themes of opportunity, mobility, and sustainability.
SOURCE: Sustainable Development
How, in your view, has DIHAD developed in
terms of influence and significance during
the time that you have been associated with
the event?
Gerhard Putman-Cramer DIHAD is an
event that is now recognised in the region,
and well beyond, as an annual get-together
of all parties concerned with humanitarian
assistance and development, to jointly
review best practices, to exchange views and
experiences on topics of common interest,
and to establish effective partnerships in this
context.
SSD Some years ago in an address to
Organization of the Islamic Conference
(OIC), in your role as Deputy Director
UN Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs, you said that much
greater international recognition should be
given to Muslim NGOs for the humanitarian
assistance these organizations and countries
have provided. Do you think that this
recognition deficit, so to speak, has been
corrected since then?
Gerhard Putman-Cramer Yes, Muslim
NGOs have increasingly gained recognition
for their most valuable efforts in the realm of
humanitarian assistance and development.
[This has come about] on account of the
intensification of their interaction with
international organisations and non-Muslim
NGOs, and also on account of the visibility
gained in fora, such as DIHAD.
SSD You explain in your DIHAD 2015
message that DISAB (DIHAD’s Scientific
Advisory Board) decided to adopt Dubai’s
EXPO 2020 theme, and specifically its
sub-themes ‘opportunity’, ‘mobility’, and
‘sustainability’, as its own themes. Can you
enlarge on why these themes have such
resonance for DISAB?
Gerhard Putman-Cramer From a
humanitarian and development assistance
perspective, this year’s DIHAD will
endeavour to elaborate on these sub-themes
with an eye to pro-actively seizing the
‘opportunity’, further developing various
aspects of ‘mobility’, and contributing to the
essential ‘sustainability’ of achievements,
past and present.
SSD Let’s take those sub-themes one at a
time. First, ‘opportunity’ – can you elaborate
on its resonance in this context?
Gerhard Putman-Cramer Opportunity is
to be found everywhere, every day; and yet
we have to identify and capture it. Our ever
more frequent innovations, in all fields, have
to constitute opportunities for the production
of enhanced structures, new instruments
and improved systems and mechanisms.
Importantly, we have to seize opportunities
to diminish the need for humanitarian
assistance!
SSD And ‘mobility’?
Gerhard Putman-Cramer In regard to
mobility, we need free flows of knowledge,
competences, data, ideas, goods, and
services. We need efficient logistics and
transportation systems. In humanitarian
operations, we need access to those in need
of assistance, and the mobility to reach all
of them, quickly and effectively. That said,
crises also cause the forced mobility of
persons – who seek shelter, refuge, asylum
or simply better conditions elsewhere. The
reasons for this type of mobility (numbering
over 50 million internally displaced, refugees
and asylum seekers today, according to
UNHCR) have to be urgently addressed.
SSD That leaves ‘sustainability’. You have
said that “Sustainability is what we wish for
our collective achievements, our objectives
and our goals. Development has little value
without it.” Can you explain this further?
Are you suggesting that, in the context of
sustainable development, there has been a
tendency to place too much emphasis on
‘development’, and not enough emphasis on
the ‘sustainable’ aspect?
Gerhard Putman-Cramer It is not so
much that ‘sustainability’ has not been given
the required emphasis vis-a-vis development,
but more that development activities have
not always been planned in the appropriately
sustainable manner.
A culture of sustainability is crucial – be it
in regard to our environment or to our natural
resources, including water and energy,
of course. Much will be said and written in
2015, in various fora, on the sustainability
17
SSD_Q&A_Gerhard Putman Cramer.indd 17 04/03/2015 13:54

INTERVIEW
Opportunity is to be
found everywhere,
every day; and yet
we have to identify
and capture it.
of development objectives as we collectively
continue to ‘create the future’, endeavouring
to productively ‘connect the minds’ of all
concerned in this regard.
SSD How will these aims be explored at
DIHAD 2015?
Gerhard Putman-Cramer We will
capitalise on existing partnerships and
past discussions in our attempt to arrive
at a number of constructive conclusions.
Moreover, by bringing together international
agencies, governmental and nongovernmental
organisations, foundations
and charities, the media and academia,
the corporate sector, Red Cross and Red
Crescent Societies – as well as individual
practitioners and experts – we will try to
make valuable contributions to the ongoing
global discussions on development goals,
climate change, disaster reduction, and
best practices in the realm of humanitarian
assistance.
Besides being an educational platform, DIHAD also provides an opportunity for a variety of partners
to get together and become acquainted – or better acquainted – with each-other.
speaking, these organisations have become,
besides more numerous, also larger, more
experienced, better funded and, on that
account, more ubiquitous.
huge expansion over the years of the need
for humanitarian assistance – this specifically
in the context of unresolved ‘complex
emergencies’, some seemingly never-ending.
DIHAD
SSD So DIHAD is looking to improve the
delivery of humanitarian aid for this year,
2015 – what are its key strategies?
Gerhard Putman-Cramer Besides
being an educational platform, DIHAD
also provides an opportunity for a variety
of partners to get together and become
acquainted – or better acquainted – with
each-other, and to enhance knowledge
of each other’s capacities. This means
that international organisations, NGOs,
foundations, charities, Red Cross and Red
Crescent Societies, et alia, are increasingly
cognisant of [their respective] mandates,
capacities, and resources.
This, in turn, enables all concerned to act
in a much more collaborative and co-ordinated
manner – which minimises both gaps
and duplication, and hence enhances the
overall humanitarian assistance effort and
efficiency of aid delivery.
SSD In the context of your own estimable
career and experience in the humanitarian
aid and sustainable development sectors,
what have been the most significant
changes to the role of non-governmental
organisations, and aid charities?
Gerhard Putman-Cramer Generally
18
SSD You once observed that the impact of
natural disasters is increasing because of
factor such as population growth, climate
change, and more extensive urbanisation. Is
there anything that technology-based tools,
such as computer-based predictive analysis,
can do to help us try and locate pre-emptive
aid relief to areas most vulnerable to these
kinds of adverse natural events?
Gerhard Putman-Cramer Much
can be done – and is being done – with
technology-based instruments, in terms
of disaster reduction and preparedness.
This is an issue that will be addressed in
Session 1 on the first day of DIHAD 2015
[session entitled ‘Disaster Reduction and
Preparedness – opportunities’, to be chaired
by Ms. Margareta Wahlstrom, Special
Representative of the Secretary – see
DIHAD Conference Programme guide on
page 76 of this issue of SOURCE: Sustainable
Development].
SSD Looking back on your career, what
would you say were the general or specific
developments in the history of humanitarian
aid that were perhaps least-well anticipated
by the sector?
Gerhard Putman-Cramer Possibly, the
SSD As the conference agenda for DIHAD
becomes confirmed, which of the speakers
are you looking forward to hearing and/or
meeting during the course of the event?
Gerhard Putman-Cramer All of them,
naturally!
Gerhard Putman-Cramer:
career briefing
LEADERSHIP ROLES: Ambassador, Permanent
Observer of the Parliamentary Assembly of the
Mediterranean (PAM) to the United Nations and
other International Organisations in Geneva; and
Director, DIHAD International Scientific Advisory
Board (DISAB) of Dubai International Humanitarian
Aid and Development Conference and
Exhibition (DIHAD).
He has previously held the office of Deputy
Director and Chief, Emergency Services Branch
for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs
(OCHA), Geneva, Switzerland
Mr. Putman-Cramer completed his Diplome
Universitaire en Santé Humanitaire through
the Centre européen de santé humanitaire,
Université Claude-Bernard after completing his
Postgraduate Diploma (Economics, International
Relations, Political Science, International Law and
Organizations, History), Diplomatic Academy of
Vienna, Austria.
You can read his DIHAD Message at http://dihad.
org/about-dihad/message.
SSD_Q&A_Gerhard Putman Cramer.indd 18 04/03/2015 13:54

SPONSORED FEATURE
Natural resource trading opportunities drive positive change
Conflict-free minerals delivered through the ITSCI Programme
What are ‘conflict minerals’?
Many developing countries are rich in natural resources, a sector from
which earning and development opportunities are frequently lost
through poor management and corruption. The UN has also highlighted
concerns over the role that mineral trade can play in funding armed
conflict such as from cassiterite (tin), tantalite (tantalum), wolframite
(tungsten) and gold production from the Democratic Republic of the
Congo (DRC) and surrounding areas; the so called 3T&G ‘conflict
minerals’. Other organisations also aim to encourage responsible conflictfree
supply chains with a key framework being the OECD Due Diligence
Guidance for sourcing from high risk and conflict areas.
Co-operative action to facilitate responsible trade
Since 2010 the ITSCI supply chain initiative has rapidly developed
from a small pilot to become the foundation of conflict-free 3T mineral
trade across the DRC, Rwanda and Burundi. ITSCI is a voluntary private
sector initiative understanding the importance of global markets and
open, business friendly trading opportunities, yet working hand in hand
with Government services and international (Pact) and local NGO’s to
deliver capacity building and improved governance. ITSCI is a practical
mechanism developed to implement complex OECD due diligence
expectations in an accessible and appropriate manner for the small
businesses and artisanal miners of the African mining sector. This rule
based trading environment instils confidence and assures credibility thus
allowing conflict-free African minerals to access international markets at
fair prices.
Delivering results locally to access global markets
ITSCI has demonstrated the power of market incentive to create change in
the most challenging areas of the world. Even small miner co-operatives
in the remotest areas of central DRC have come to understand the
importance of responsible trading in order to maintain their market
and earnings. They are playing their part in this global mechanism of
information collection and exchange which also integrates technology
into activities of local communities and authorities. The knowledge that
wayward actions of police and security forces can create ‘conflict minerals’
unacceptable to the international market brings a new focus to local
accountability and contributes to the objective of increasing stability and
peace.
Trade incentive as a driver to associated change
Aside from delivering responsible mineral trade, and encouraging industry
investment, ITSCI has indirectly created employment, improved earnings,
created opportunities for learning, and increased professionalism. The
programme is also reducing illicit trade and tax evasion, as well as
discouraging corruption and increasing mineral revenue transparency.
Stakeholders, including women and civil society groups, participate in
resolution of local conflicts through a committee process producing
effective results around the mining areas as a result of the highly valued
market access incentive.
ITSCI was developed and is managed by the global not-for-profit tin
and tantalum industry trade associations ITRI and T.I.C.
http://itsci.org email: itsci@itri.co.uk
ITSCI is an inclusive, sustainable, multi-stakeholder programme with a track record of global co-operation and achievement contributing to better
governance, human rights and stability. The programme currently supports more than 1,000 artisanal mine sites, providing a livelihood for around
75,000 miners, with a likely 400,000 dependents.
We welcome new donors and participants to help the programme expand and be part of this success
19
ITSCI Ad.indd 19 04/03/2015 13:55

YOUTH AND EDUCATION
Prioritising Post – 2015
youth opportunities
20
SSD_Youth and Education.indd 20 04/03/2015 13:56

YOUTH AND EDUCATION
Helping young people to successfully make the transition between their education
and their employment prospects is achievable when multiple parties join forces,
finds Sustainable Development Goals Fund Director Paloma Durán
According to the United Nations Fund
for Population Activities (UNFPA)’s State
of World Population 2014, there are more
than 1.8 billion young people in the world,
many of who find themselves in the disadvantageous
situation of not having access to
education, or of not being equipped with the
proper skills to prosper in the employment
market.
Another report, this time by United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organisation (UNESCO), Education For
All Monitoring report, Youth and Skills: Putting
Education to Work (2012), says that that many
adolescents of lower secondary school age
are out of school, and many others have limited
access to primary and secondary education
and employment opportunities. Poverty
has a negative impact on youth (a term used
here collectively), and creates obstacles in
obtaining basic education and technical skills
necessary to access decent jobs and acquire
skills necessary to live productive, healthy,
and enriching lives.
Secondary schooling is considered to be
one – if not the – most effective way to develop
the set of skills needed for work and for
life. It is in the transitioning from schooling
to finding job opportunities where young
people face the most number of obstacles.
This is where they encounter a lack of training,
and professional orientation services,
incentives to stay in school, and thus quality
employment opportunities are limited.
To survive in their communities, youth
finds itself choosing low-paying jobs over education.
This has led to governments, United
Nation agencies, development partners,
businesses, and civil society, to find new ways
of providing education and livelihoods opportunities
for youth: this is necessary if they
are to be able to provide for their families
while receiving an education and building
thriving societies. The Sustainable Development
Goals Fund (SDG-F) – an initiative
which expands on the previous experience of
the MDG (Millennium Development Goals)
Achievement Fund (2007-2013) – has been
working in creating livelihoods opportunities
for young people. We count with an
extensive experience of promising practices
of what can be done to promote inclusive
growth that creates livelihoods and education
opportunities for youth, especially in the
context of the new Post-2015 development
agenda.
Capacity building for youth
Determining the skill-sets necessary for
youth to thrive in its respective communities
calls for a multi-sectorial approach. Engaging
the communities, governments and
businesses creates windows of opportunity
for youth to apply the skills it learns in school
when they enter the job market.
The importance of quality education
(versus quantity), is essential to ensuring
that we can target outputs and indicators to
measure the results of youth programmes. In
fact, the tentative list of sustainable development
goals, targets and indicators, agreed by
the Open Working Group on SDGs, has put
youth at the very epicenter of sustainable
development.
Something that is clear from the SDG-F
experience is that the approaches that try to
bridge the efforts of the different stakeholders,
with a clear understanding of the needs
of the job market, community and private
sector needs and opportunities, will help us
to guarantee sustainable development for
young women and men. The importance of
integrating gender sensitivity guidelines in
such programmes is also key to bridging education
gaps between female and male youth.
To address this, for example, the SDG-F
has supported programmes in 15 countries
to improve young people’s chances of
securing decent work, self-employment, and
entrepreneurial opportunities, as well as
promoting socially-inclusive development
and respect for youth’s fundamental rights.
These initiatives have created community
▲
21
SSD_Youth and Education.indd 21 04/03/2015 13:56

YOUTH AND EDUCATION
Creating opportunities
for youth through formal
and non-formal education
is required to achieve
sustainable development.
employment services, encouraged new job
opportunities, promoted legal frameworks,
and tackled the issues around migration,
with new policies and awareness-raising
campaigns.
Engaging community Post-2015
There has been a growing awareness among
stakeholders of the potential role that youth
plays in the development process. Engaging
the community, governments, development
partners, UN agencies and civil society
organisations is key towards creating efficient
and effective strategies in tackling high youth
unemployment and dropout rates.
Private sector co-operation sparks innovative
exchanges of ideas, and promotes
entrepreneurship among youth. Engagement
with the inner-workings of commercial
organisations, for instance, can provide
inspiration for future drive. Education can
also be used as a vehicle to convey ideas that
improve communities, as youth acquires the
understanding of their role in a community.
It is for these reasons that empowering
youth is a priority in the new development
agenda, including the Open Working Group
Proposals for Sustainable Development
Goals[itals] outcome document, which outlined
the importance of education as a vehicle
towards achieving a global development
The importance of quality education is essential to ensuring that we can target outputs and
indicators to measure the results of youth programmes
agenda. It also enforced the needs for a cross
sectoral approach in achieving the SDGs.
By engaging all actors in the discussion,
we can create linkages between the education
youth receives, the needs of the
community and those who employ them.
There is now a greater understanding that a
great loss of potential can occur when youth
unemployment rates are high, as this phenomenon
creates an obstacle to the overall
development of a given region. So it is that
all parties stand to gain from the contributions
of an empowered youth.
The Sustainable Development Goals Fund
is the first cooperative mechanism created
to achieving the SDGs. Created under the
leadership of the United Nations Development
Programme with an initial contribution
Success story: the Philippines
With a long-standing tradition in youth
employment, the SDG-F supported a joint
programme in the Philippines that tackled
high youth unemployment and also youth
underemployment. Its priorities included
improving policy coherence and implementation
on youth, employment, and migration, through
full stakeholder participation and increasing access
to decent work for poor women and men though
public private partnerships, more inclusive basic
education and life skills, and career guidance,
including guidance on safe migration, vocational
training, and entrepreneurship.
In order to combat the low retention rates of
secondary students, the programme implemented
an education subsidy system aimed at increasing
youth participation and decreasing high education
drop-out rates. School fees, and a monthly
allowance, were paid, but the allowance was
based on school attendance. It also provided
Proudly proficient: graduates of a computer
hardware servicing training course
gender sensitivity guidelines in its curriculum
for public secondary education, and it engaged
the community and local stakeholders in the
importance of gender mainstreaming. Four Public-
Private Partnership (PPP) Fora were carried-out,
with the aim of increasing access to livelihood
opportunities for poor young women and men.
The results included 115 partnership agreements,
and 115 commitments made by public and
private sectors to provide on-the-job training and
post-training services for 2,000 youths.
Opportunities for youth to develop a specific
set of skills that aligned with the needs of the
job market are often limited, and in the case of
the SDG-F programme in the Philippines, this
issue was targeted by providing support to the
development of entrepreneurship training through
Career Pathways and Livelihood Education (CP-
TLE) courses at the secondary education level.
This training was also extended to teachers,
and teacher trainers and supervisors, in four pilot
provinces and 17 regions. The 2,000 youths
who were reached underwent career profiling for
technical vocational skills training, with 995 having
received vocational training.
22
SSD_Youth and Education.indd 22 04/03/2015 13:56

YOUTH AND EDUCATION
There has been a
growing awareness
among stakeholders
of the potential role
that youth plays in the
development process.
from the Government of Spain, the SDG-F
understands the importance of having progammes
with a focus on youth and gender.
The SDG-F implements multi-sectorial
approaches towards youth education and
employment that, to date, has proved to be
very successful. Two actual examples, in the
Philippines, and in Bosnia and Herzegovina
– highlighted in the panel box-outs elsewhere
in this article – bear out two important
lessons of this work. First, that it is necessary
to create opportunities while young
people transition from the school system to
the job market; and second, that successful
approaches should articulate the work of all
stakeholders.
Success story: Bosnia and Herzegovina
The multistakeholder partnership for youth
employability in Bosnia and Herzegovina is an
excellent example of multi sectoral collaboration.
Within this programme Government, United Nations
agencies, civil society organisations, and the
private sector, worked closely to ensure disadvantaged
youth would be provided with entry points
to the labour market while strengthening primary
and secondary education for youth.
Two thousand students from 188 primary
and secondary schools took part in the creation
of 142 small- scale business projects. Employment
opportunities were created as selected
students were able to present the results of these
projects to local community stakeholders, such
as businesses, with the aim of fundraising, and of
securing support for similar activities in the future.
The programme in Bosnia and Herzegovina
took advantage of incorporating a gender-responsive
policy and operational guidelines relating
to facilitating school enrollment and retention,
including disabled youth, Roma, and girls from
rural areas. It also created teacher modules trainings
packaging and competency-based education
modules for primary and secondary schools.
Students were taught the direct application of life
skills to their employment and income-generating
prospects.
Future directions
The SDG-F is in the process of launching
new programmes, and these will take
stock of the lessons learned in previous and
ongoing initiatives. Its programmes which
are now underway in Bangladesh and in
Sierra Leone, for example, are tackling high
unemployment and drop-out rates, creating
gender-sensitive curriculum and employment
guidelines and engaging key community
stakeholders to ensure sustainable results.
The joint programme in Bangladesh
incorporates non-formal education training
through the use of informal apprenticeship
to provide life skills to youth. It is a community-based
training for rural economic
empowerment, and is designed to be gender-mainstreamed.
This entails designing training courses to
promote the strategic interests of women,
and in increasing gender responsiveness of
training institutions, as well as guidance of
instructors, and the use of women instructors.
Youth employment forms one of the key
challenges in Sierra Leone, and its Government
has placed youth employment as a core
area of their agenda, which allows for an
alignment of guidelines for all stakeholders.
The programme will support diversification
in sectors that offer potential for job creation
and business opportunities. Strategic
public/private partnerships will be established
with regional and local businesses,
and with local councils, for risk-sharing and
resource-leveraging with focus on promoting
job creation and income generation for
youth and for women
Unemployed young women and men
(including rural communities) will benefit
from workshops, entrepreneurial training,
post-training support, mentorship, coaching,
business advisory services, seed funds (that
will help them gain skills); they will also have
the opportunity to acquire the knowledge
and the confidence to help them transform
their lives.
Stakeholder partnerships
These examples show clearly that creating
opportunities to youth through formal and
non-formal education is required to achieve
sustainable development. In order to make
the most of the experience gained and
lessons learned from the transition from the
MDGs to the SDGs, it is important to keep
youth as a priority in pushing forward the
development agenda.
All parties involved must continue to
bring awareness to governments, donor
agencies, and civil society – as well as the
private sector – of the key role that youth
can play in empowering communities and
contributing to local economies. As the
international community weighs-in on the
Post-2015 agenda, it is imperative for all
interested stakeholders to commit themselves
to supporting education programmes
that empower youth and the marginalised
around the world. Let us always remember
that the opportunities of 1.8 billion youth
are at stake. ■
Engagement with the inner-workings of
commercial entities can provide inspiration
for future drive
The Sustainable Development Goals Fund
(SDG-F) is a new development co-operation
mechanism created in 2014 by the government
of Spain and UNDP, on behalf of the UN system,
to support sustainable development activities
through integrated and multidimensional
joint programmes. It builds on the experience,
knowledge, lessons learned and best practices
of the previous MDG Achievement Fund,
which supported 130 joint programmes in 50
countries, while expanding its activities towards
sustainable development, a greater focus on
public-private partnerships, and updating its
operational framework to incorporate recent
advancements in development.
For more information about the Fund, go to
http://proposals.sdgfund.org
23
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS FUND , WWW.SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
SSD_Youth and Education.indd 23 04/03/2015 13:56

INTERVIEW
24
SSD_Q&A_Shaima Al Zarooni.indd 24 04/03/2015 13:56

INTERVIEW
Q & A
HE Shaima Al Zarooni
CEO, International Humanitarian City
HE Shaima Al Zarooni talks about her focus on extending
awareness of the global humanitarian agenda into the many
other spheres of public life that she is committed to.
SOURCE: Sustainable Development
You are well known as being a member of,
and involved in, quite a number of national
and international institutions and bodies. Can
you remind us of some of those?
Shaima Al Zarooni I was privileged to be
a member of various local and international
institutions [such] as the Executive Office of
UAE National Olympic Committee, Dubai
Free Zones Council, DIHAD Scientific
Advisory Board, Humanitarian Partnership
and Information Sharing Steering
Committee, External Advisory Council of
the University of Wollongong in Dubai,
Prestigious Judge on the 2013 and 2014 Hult
Prize Committee, Sphere Project Trainer:
Humanitarian Charter & Min. Standards
in Humanitarian Response, and I was a
mentor of Hamdan Bin Mohammed Student
Personal Development Programme.
SSD That’s quite a schedule – and the
guiding principle between them is your
humanitarian work?
Shaima Al Zarooni Definitely, joining those
institutions is in line with my humanitarian
work main objectives. And it maximizes the
role of the International Humanitarian City
(IHC) and its engagement in various sectors
– which enhances partnership, collaborations,
and humanitarian efforts on a local and an
international level.
SSD In your closing remarks to the 11th
DIHAD in March 2014 you said that one
of the key points that the event highlighted
was how women can take the lead in solving
major social and economic problems,
especially in areas like agriculture, nutrition,
and small-scale businesses. How do you
think that aspiration has developed since a
year ago?
Shaima Al Zarooni I am inspired by
the leadership of UAE, and especially
HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al
Maktoum, to ‘Vice-President, Prime
Minister, and Ruler of Dubai. The UAE is
keen to empower women, and encourages
them to assume leadership positions in
various sectors. We in the UAE are keen to
find best solutions and methods to support
women, also to praise Emirati women’s
achievements in the public sector, of which
they now make up 66 per cent of the
workforce.
SSD Another important point that you made
in your closing remarks last year referred to
the fact that a disabling outcome of conflicts
for women caught-up in them is that their
access to education becomes blocked. Could
you update us on any positive developments
that have occurred that are relevant to this
issue?
Shaima Al Zarooni Education is the most
important element in the development of
any nation, and women in particular are
the first to be affected by any conflict, being
less fortunate in underdeveloped countries.
To overcome this challenge, we need to
give more attention to the educational
development projects and ensure that it is
serving females equally.
During my last visit to the Syrian refugee
camps in Jordan, I had the chance to meet
smart and intelligent young women who
are keen to continue their education despite
all the challenges and lack of resources.
The UAE government is supporting several
educational programmes around the world
and we shall continue our work. According
to UNICEF reports, while most of the
Millennium Development Goals face a
deadline of 2015, the gender parity target
was set to be achieved a full ten years earlier
– an acknowledgement that equal access
to education is the foundation for all other
development goals. Yet recent statistics show
that for every 100 boys out of school, there
are still 117 girls in the same situation.
SSD What is the outcome of that statistic?
Shaima Al Zarooni Until equal numbers
of girls and boys are in school, it will
be impossible to build the knowledge
necessary to eradicate poverty and hunger,
combat disease, and ensure environmental
▲
25
SSD_Q&A_Shaima Al Zarooni.indd 25 04/03/2015 13:56

INTERVIEW
Media plays an important and
big role in shaping the future
of nations and definitely, it
has a great impact on forming
the humanitarian work
development and progress.
February 2014: Shaima Al Zarooni presents HE Ahmed Butti Ahmed, Executive Chairman of Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation, and Director
General of Dubai Customs, with the IHC Shield and a Letter of Appreciation, during an IHC delegation visit to Dubai Customs. The IHC Board of Directors
expressed their gratitude to Dubai Customs for its support and co-operation with IHC through facilitating customs transactions for IHC members, such as
UN organisations and international humanitarian organisations.
sustainability. And, furthermore, millions
of children and women will continue
to die needlessly, placing the rest of the
development agenda at risk.
SSD In January 2014 International
Humanitarian City launched, in coordination
with the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in
Dubai, regional training workshops on the
topic of ‘Emergency Management’. Could
you tell us something more about how that
initiative has structured itself, and how it has
progressed?
Shaima Al Zarooni The International
Humanitarian City is proud to join hands
with the UNHCR in augmenting the Gulf
Co-operation Council region’s emergency
capacity. With various humanitarian crisis
26
reaching an exceptional level, and crises
elsewhere around the world, there is an
increased urgency for comprehensive and
effective training in emergency response
management. Holding the training session
in Dubai is a critical step that reflects the
Gulf Co-operation Council’s commitment
towards the international humanitarian
response.
Upon completion of the training, the
participants are able to respond to international
emergencies with increased capacity,
apply key emergency standards and indicators
in emergency operations planning and
implementation, manage personal and team
security on disaster and humanitarian crisis
sites and function successfully with other
international humanitarian actors within
humanitarian clusters and international
emergency response standards.
SSD How is the workshop structured?
Shaima Al Zarooni The workshop is
structured based on the UNHCR’s longstanding
training exercise held at regular
intervals throughout the year in Germany,
Norway, Sweden, and will be commencing
later this year in Senegal. The UNHCR has
fielded specialist trainers from its Global
Learning Centre in Budapest to manage
the exercise as well as experienced resources
from Amman, Beirut, and Riyadh to support
the training.
SSD Is formal training in various skills for
aid workers generally an area that may have
been under-resourced in the past?
Shaima Al Zarooni International
SSD_Q&A_Shaima Al Zarooni.indd 26 04/03/2015 13:56

INTERVIEW
Until equal numbers of girls and
boys are in school, it will be
impossible to build the knowledge
necessary to eradicate poverty and
hunger, combat disease, and ensure
environmental sustainability.
Humanitarian City is keen to enhance
the capabilities of the international and
local humanitarian workers through
utilising the exceptional platform provided
by the International Humanitarian City
community, where international and local
experts exchange experiences, knowledge
in emergency response implementations,
and explore potential collaborations and
partnerships.
The International Humanitarian City’s
strategy launched recently in January 2015
includes an important pillar, ‘Connect:
Humanity’, with an aim to position the International
Humanitarian City as a leading
organiser, facilitator, and host of annual
regional and world humanitarian events.
Also, the International Humanitarian City
launched the World Humanitarian Forum
which will be held in September, every two
years, in the UAE.
SSD Digital technology is obviously a vital
element in organising aid. Are you able
to say something about its importance
to the implementation of International
Humanitarian City’s four strategy pillars?
Shaima Al Zarooni Through ‘Innovate:
Humanity’ pillar, the International
Humanitarian City shall create a ‘think-tank’
for the humanitarian sector, develop global
online humanitarian portal, and support
start-ups focusing on innovations applicable
to humanitarian aid, in order to position
International Humanitarian City as a global
centre of research, development and thought
leadership in the humanitarian space.
There will be a global online knowledge
and experience sharing portal, innovation
labs to drive entrepreneurship in line with
Dubai plan 2021, and the smart city.
SSD In February 2014 the International
Humanitarian City’s board of directors
expressed their gratitude to Dubai Customs
for its support and co-operation with the
International Humanitarian City through
facilitating customs transactions for
International Humanitarian City members
and partners. Clearly, such bodies have a key
role to play in ensuring that humanitarian
aid is transported expediently, and that aid
consignments comply with the necessary
regulations, so that delays are minimised
– and that’s hard work. Stakeholder
partnerships are clearly important in this
respect.
Shaima Al Zarooni There are several local
partners who play big role in supporting
the International Humanitarian City work
and its valuable members’ operations – in
particular, those run from UAE and Dubai.
Those partners comprise a large number of
federal and local government departments
and institutions. The International
Humanitarian City’s partnership with
the different stakeholders maximises the
facilitations given to the International
Humanitarian City members to deliver aid
as fast as possible with less cost. I take this
opportunity to extend the International
Humanitarian City’s gratitude and
appreciation to the leadership of the UAE
who leads this inspirations and to all our
partners who support the humanitarian work
and its efforts.
SSD In 2012 International Humanitarian
City signed a memorandum of
understanding with the Dubai press club
as part of a partnership to support and
enhance humanitarian journalism as a
media genre. How is the impact that the
mainstream media has on humanitarian and
development programmes changing?
Shaima Al Zarooni Media plays an
important and big role in shaping the future
of nations and definitely, it has a great
impact on forming the humanitarian work
development and progress. Whether we
are in need to spread awareness about the
humanitarian crises and appeals to overcome
the challenges and needs of beneficiaries, or
to encourage media intervention to reflect
the reality and ensure active engagement by
the local community and public support.
SSD Last November, the International
Humanitarian City hosted the first
Humanitarian Action Rooted in Islam and
International Humanitarian Law (IHL)
Forum. Can you explain why you believe the
outcomes of this gathering are important for
the humanitarian aid sector, and also what,
for you, were the most interesting aspects of
the event?
Shaima Al Zarooni This forum is first of
its kind, it tackled the complementary rules
of Islam and International Humanitarian
Law (IHL). The forum also presented
the opportunity to increase participants’
awareness on our neutral and independent
humanitarian action in the region and
we were pleased to join the efforts with
International Committee for Red Cross and
the Norwegian Refugee Council to host such
an informative Forum.
Our unique platform at the International
Humanitarian City enables our members
and partners to utilise Dubai’s unique
facilities for capacity building, information
sharing and dialogue about various relevant
topics in the humanitarian field. ■
HE Shaima Al Zarooni:
career briefing
PRINCIPLE LEADERSHIP ROLE: Chief Executive
Officer, International Humanitarian City, Dubai.
HE received her Bachelor Degree in Business
Sciences from Zayed University and two Master
Degrees – one in International Business from the
University of Wollongong, and the other in Public
Administration from the Dubai School of Government.
She also graduated from the Mohammed
Bin Rashid Centre for Leadership Development
in June 2011.
Prior to joining IHC in 2011, HE worked for the
Office of HRH Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein,
Wife of HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al
Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of
UAE, Ruler of Dubai. HE also worked in the Office
of HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum,
Vice President and Prime Minister of the
UAE and Ruler of Dubai at the Ruler’s Court prior
to joining the Executive Council of Dubai.
HE is a member of various local and international
institutions and bodies, among which are:
• Member of the Executive Office of UAE National
Olympic Committee
• Member of Dubai Free Zones Council
• Member of DIHAD Scientific Advisory Board
• Member of Humanitarian Partnership and Information
Sharing Steering Committee
• Member of External Advisory Council of the
University of Wollongong in Dubai
• Prestigious Judge on the 2013 and 2014 Hult
Prize Committee
• Sphere Project Trainer: Humanitarian Charter &
Min. Standards in Humanitarian Response
• Mentor of Hamdan Bin Mohammed Student
Personal Development Programme
27
SSD_Q&A_Shaima Al Zarooni.indd 27 04/03/2015 13:56

SPONSORED FEATURE
SADIK GULEC/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
Accountability
in Somalia
Somalia, with an estimated population of 10 addressing its underlying causes – social, economic
Million, is a country emaciated with war. Its and environmental. Illegal fishing and waste
terrain is known to be challenging and significantly dumping are now seen as a new form of piracy,
dangerous. This is largely owing to high levels including by the new pirates themselves. While
of insecurity, poor infrastructure and a widely security in Mogadishu has improved as armed
scattered population. After more than two
confrontations moved to agricultural areas of Lower
decades,the international community recognized Shabelle and Middle Shabelle, as well as to the
a new federal government in 2012. However, regions of Lower Jubba, Gedo, Bay, Bakool and
insecurity still remains a grave threat in most Hiiran, the costs for these badly drought-affected
parts of country. This has thus, led to the country areas will be huge
remaining under the control of militant groups. The United Nations for years handed out tens of
Oxford’s Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) millions of dollars to non-government organizations
reported from a 2006 survey that 65.6% of the involved in humanitarian work in strife-battered
population lives in severe poverty, lacking basic Somalia with “no assurance” that the money
services, including access to education. Moreover, was used for the intended purposes. In 2012,
the Fund for Peace report in 2012 indicated that Somalia received US$627 million in international
appalling as it was in the past, the situation is humanitarian assistance, making it the fourth
growing worse. Together with the rest of Horn of largest recipient. In 2014, the U.S. has contributed
Africa, Somalia is now facing another food crisis, $207.6 million, or nearly 38 percent of the total
and the politicized aid system is unable to meet donated so far. Overall, Somalia’s consolidated aid
basic needs
appeal for 2014 is calling for $933 million.
Massive deforestations, concomitant shortages The dozens of organizations assess the needs
in rainfall, and the long-neglected impacts of prior to their interventions, as a practical way to
droughts are the main issues related to conflict and discover the needs of destitute people. However,
environment. Although the incidence of off-shore the findings are seldom used to refine objectives,
piracy has declined, it is generally recognized, develop new strategies or design new interventions
including by the UN Security Council that patrolling that are tailored to the needs of the targeted
the coast is not enough to fight piracy without people. It was reported that one rural villager,
addressing a United Nations team commissioned
in 2012 to conduct assessments in that area,
stated: ‘Every month, two or three assessment
teams come to our village enquiring about our
needs. We tell them the challenges we face. They
disappear and do not come back. I wonder what
kind of needs these people look for that they are
not seeing in our communities.’
In view of this, large donors have recently
begun auditing the millions of dollars pumped
into Somalia. Baker Tilly Merali’s, Certified Public
Accountants is an established firm of accountants
having being formed in 1983. Its head office
is based in Nairobi and it has other offices in
Uganda- Kampala, Rwanda- Kigali and recently
opened an affiliate office in Mogadishu - Somalia.
It is an independent member firm of Baker Tilly
International Ltd - the 8th largest accountancy and
business advisory network in the world. Baker Tilly
International is owned by its members, all of whom
hold an equal interest in the legal entity. Client
services are delivered regionally and nationally
by the members of Baker Tilly International, each
of which is a locally owned and managed as an
independent firm.
Baker Tilly Merali’s conducts its Somalia audits
and other assessments keeping in mind the safety
of its staff with low profile, 24 hour armed security,
coupled with local and international intelligence
as they traverse the unfriendly region. Despite
numerous challenges such as limited movement,
threats on personal safety, presence of Al Shabab
and lack of governance structures, the firm has
created safeguard pillars within its structures to
ensure top quality on all assignments.
Baker Tilly Meralis partners and staff are aware
that Somalia is an intimidating and fearsome
country for auditors seeking to uncover the truth.
Managing partner, Bhandari says a massive ‘bravo’
to his auditors who have done a great job in
Somalia and continue to do so! He adds that
accounting is not accountability and ultimately
it is up to the citizens of Somalia and those in
the diaspora to hold the government and the
international community to account. Developing
such a framework will take time.
Jimmy Merali
Practice
Development
Manager
Madhav Bhandari
Managing
Partner
Mahmud Merali
Group Executive
Partner -
EMEA region
28
Baker Tilly Merali Ad.indd 28 04/03/2015 13:57

DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY
Why it’s worth taking a risk…
Around the world, some new business ideas succeed, and some don’t. For anyone looking
to invest in technology start-up projects that are emerging in Africa, the risk levels may
seem daunting – but those looking to fund grassroots innovation should not be deterred,
argues Dr Loren Treisman, Executive, The Indigo Trust
As a grant-making foundation, The Indigo
Trust provides small grants – usually
in the region of £10,000-£15,000 – to
organisations which are using Web and
mobile communications-based technologies,
in demonstrably innovative ways, to bring
about social change in Africa. While it has a
special interest in the areas of transparency,
accountability, and citizen empowerment,
the Trust also supports the use of digital
technologies in other social sectors. These
include health, education, and agriculture.
Although technology can prove a tremendous
enabler when applied to social
transformation, it is not a panacea for all
social problems; but it certainly has the
ability to enable people to access, create and
share information at a cost, scale, and speed
which was never previously possible. This, in
turn, empowers people to make the changes
which they wish to see in their own lives and
communities.
When integrated into well-devised programmes,
technology can also help to
▲
29
SSD_Digital Technology.indd 29 04/03/2015 13:58

DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY
Successful grassroots projects
can have a tremendous impact
at a scale and cost that was
almost impossible before new
digital technologies arrived on
the African aid scene.
amplify the voices of marginalised communities,
and to strengthen offline mobilisation,
campaigning and development programming.
The Indigo Trust views itself as a
‘high-risk’ funder: providing small grants to
grassroots organisations across the African
continent allows social entrepreneurs,
community-based organisations, and technologists,
to pilot new ideas, with room for
trial-and-error to occur.
It is a risky business, and the Trust freely
acknowledges the fact that many of the projects
supported are unlikely to achieve scale
or financial sustainability; so, it is reasonable
to ask – why does it bother?
The risk-innovation equation
The answer is both simple and complex. A
high-risk strategy allows a thousand flowers
to bloom, in a manner of speaking. Encourage
people to test-out many ideas from many
sources, and while some will falter, those that
do succeed can have a tremendous impact at
a scale and cost that was almost impossible
before new digital technologies arrived on
the African aid scene.
Furthermore, some have the potential to
become financially sustainable, removing the
on-going reliance on aid that often results in
given projects falling to the wayside at the
end of their funding cycles.
While the Indigo Trust is happy to award
App specialist Pledge 51 has developed a
Nigerian Constitution App which has now been
downloaded more than 1,000,000 times.
Nigerian start-up Co-Creation Hub generates revenue through consultancy work and from
corporates for training, managing community relations, business advice, and corporate membership.
high-risk grants, it takes a portfolio approach,
so the risk is managed across lots of
different grants. This might prompt another
question: why does the Trust fund projects
that many would view as more appropriate
for commercial investment from venture capitalists
and ‘angel’ investors than a charitable
foundation? This time the answer is simple.
To begin with, few investors will come in
at the critical early stages from ideation to
prototype – and sometimes beyond. While
they are willing to take some risks, they are
seldom ready to take a leap of faith before
they are confident in their investment.
For social entrepreneurships, this consideration
can take time. So The Indigo Trust
comes in to fill the gap, giving entrepreneurs
some crucial breathing space to innovate,
experiment, and optimise their concepts so
that they are then ready for commercial investors
to scrutinise. Entrepreneurs may also
seek funding from larger donors when they
are ready to scale, or become sustainable via
partnerships with the public/private sectors.
Challenges to innovation
It is also worth mentioning that the pool of
venture capitalists and angel investors willing
to invest in African countries is very small.
The ‘social tech sector’ is still at a relatively
early stage in its development, and the continent
of Africa is viewed as risky to investors
for a variety of factors.
First, in many countries on the continent,
the policy environment, high costs, and
poor infrastructure, minimise the likelihood
of a project’s eventual success. Second,
the tech for social change sector is in its
infancy; and there are few examples of
profitable, scalable solutions for them to
draw upon.
So investors entering this space need to
adopt new investment models and shift
their expectations in terms of returns on
investment. Many just are not ready to take
the plunge.
This is a key consideration in how Indigo
trust differs in its approach. It is often even
willing to take a chance to support driven
and talented individuals who have not
even established an organisation yet. For
example, three years ago the Trust awarded
a grant of £5,000 to Bosun Tijani and
Femi Longe to run a ‘Tech in Governance
Hackathon’ in Lagos, Nigeria. It brought
together techies, government officials, and
activists, to explore the ways in which technology
could improve governance in that
country, and empower citizens to hold their
leaders more to account.
The event attracted much interest on the
day, and it was clear that Bosun and Femi
▲
30
SSD_Digital Technology.indd 30 04/03/2015 13:58

SSD_Digital Technology.indd 31 04/03/2015 13:58
31

DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY
Investors entering
this space need to
adopt new investment
models and shift their
expectations in terms of
returns on investment.
really understood how to build community
and stimulate innovation. The concepts
being developed were certainly impressive.
They included iWatch Live, a platform
that enables citizens to track the budgets of
government projects, and to submit reports
monitoring their progress. Another concept,
called BudgIT, develops infographics which
explain critical elements of Nigeria’s national
and state budgets in a simple format,
contributing towards more informed public
debate. More on them later…
Following the event, Bosun and Tunji
expressed an interest in establishing a technology
innovation hub in Lagos to support
social tech entrepreneurs, and they were the
right people to do it. Back in the UK, The
Indigo Trust was able to stimulate interest
from social investor Omidyar Network and
together, the organisations funded them to
set up Co-Creation Hub with $245,000.
Investing in such an unknown entity
might seem, on the face of it, rather crazy;
but it was certainly worthwhile. Walking
into the Co-Creation Hub space now brings
to mind Silicon Valley. Set on two floors,
with a roof balcony and funky furniture,
the space buzzes with activity. State-of-theart
facilities, high-speed Internet access, and
a stimulatingly collaborative environment,
have attracted young, tech-savvy talent. The
team support social entrepreneurs from
ideation through to incubation.
Impressively, they generated 40 per cent
of their income independently in the first
year, and they are aiming for 55 per cent in
the second. This has been achieved through
consultancy work and from corporates for
training, managing community relations,
business advice, and corporate membership.
The UK’s Department for International
Development has paid them £30,000 for
innovation mapping, and tech companies
pay $3,650 each to pitch to the community
they have created.
They also managed to leverage free
Internet access from African telecommunications
services provider MainOne; and
they have been so successful that industry
is now leading an initiative to turn Lagos
suburb Yaba, where the hub is located, into
an ‘innovation city’ – a hotspot attracting
a range of stakeholders with adequate
resources and infrastructure where creative
ventures can thrive and prosper. Fibre-optic
cables are now being brought directly to the
hub, which should help attract more tech
players into the area.
Hi-tech start-ups are enabling Nigerians to become more involved in how their country is run
Success leads to success
So what about the projects they’re supporting?
BudgIT, mentioned previously here,
has secured over $500,000 in grants, and is
already generating some of its own income
through providing infographics to banks, the
Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative,
and other clients.
Wecyclers, meanwhile, collect recyclable
waste from households on bicycles in
exchange for points which are managed
through mobile phones, and can be exchanged
for household products and other
goods. Wecyclers then brings the waste to
processing plants, which utilise it to make
products and pay the team for the raw materials:
a win-win situation for all involved.
To date, around $3,000-worth of prizes have
been collected, and it has generated $13,000
in revenue, and now generates $25-per-day
in profit.
Efiko, a mobile platform (based on Android)
designed to enhance learning through
fun-to-use social quizzes, already has over
10,000 users, and over 150,000 quizzes have
been played. And Pledge 51 has developed a
Nigerian Constitution App which has been
downloaded more than 1,000,000 times.
The Indigo Trust has invested in both enterprises,
and is naturally delighted with the
progress made so far: how often can a funder
say that an investment of just £7,000 has
gone on to reach this many people?
Business applications
It is not easy for projects to become financially
sustainable in the social space, but
models are emerging. Some are based on
end-user charging. Take iCow, one of the
best cases in point. It provides critical information
to dairy farmers in Kenya through
SMS. Farmers are willing to pay a premium
rate for the services.
This is because through using this service,
their incomes have increased as a result
of increased milk yields, and of decreased
disease outbreaks. The iCow service is now
scaling across the country with Safaricom,
Kenya’s largest mobile network operator,
and adopting a revenue share model.
Organisations are also exploring ‘freemium’
models, where users are able to pay
for additional services, generating income
32
SSD_Digital Technology.indd 32 04/03/2015 13:58

DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY
Impressively, they
generated 40 per cent of
their income independently
in the first year, and they
are aiming for 55 per cent
in the second.
through advertising, providing chargeable
services like consulting and data mining/
analysis, and through seeking impact investors
who pay for delivery against outcomes
which save governments money in the longterm.
Private-public-charity partnerships can
also provide a route to sustainability.
This is not to suggest that The Indigo
Trust, as a charitable foundation, expects all
the projects that it supports to be financially
sustainable. Many of the projects which it
supports fall into a category which economists
refer to as ‘public goods and services’,
an area which has experienced conspicuous
market failure. Although some examples of
projects focusing on transparency, accountability,
and citizen empowerment, do generate
income, these are certainly the exception
rather than the norm.
Models are being explored – such as the
consultancy services offered by BudgIT and
mySociety – which build websites to benefit
the civic and community aspect of people’s
lives. Others, like the Lungisa platform
(created by Cell Life) enables citizens in
Khayelitsha to report problems in local service
delivery aim to outsource their service to
other non-governmental organisations.
Nonetheless, whether on the African continent,
in the UK, or anywhere else around
the world, it is likely that many transparency
projects will require on-going funding; and
in these cases, The Indigo Trust simply expects
teams to keep their operating costs low.
Grant proposal attributes
Given its somewhat unorthodox ethos in
respect to the projects its supports, what does
The Indigo Trust look for when reviewing a
grant proposal? Crucially, a proposed solution
must address a genuine need in society,
and it needs to be convinced that technology
is the right way to tackle the problem. The
trust wants potential grantees to demonstrate
a clear theory of change, that is, it
wants them to be able to demonstrate how
their solution will contribute towards social
change, and to show how they will measure
their potential impact.
Whatever form it takes, digital technology
on its own is rarely provides the total
solution. Tech platforms need to be integrated
into a well-devised programme. Techies
Wecyclers collect recyclable waste from
households on bicycles in exchange for points
which are managed through mobile phones
working in isolation often struggle to create
societal change. This usually requires close
connections to end-users, such as farmers
groups or community health workers.
Projects are also usually most successful
when the tech solution is built into a broader
campaign, and connected to an organisation
which is able to respond to queries or reports
through close connections to communities
on the ground – and ideally, to government
and other service providers.
It is important that grantees utilise technology
that is appropriate to their target users.
If a project is targeting rural farmers or
pregnant mothers, they are unlikely to have
the latest smartphones or broadband-speed
Internet access; so the use of SMS, USSD
(Unstructured Supplementary Service Data,
a protocol used by GSM phones to communicate
with the service provider’s computers),
or Interactive Voice Response services
(IVR) from basic feature phones are most
appropriate.
In some cases, information does not
necessarily have to reach the whole population
to be impactful. For example, if the
information in a parliamentary monitoring
site – such as People’s Assembly in South
Africa or Odekro in Ghana – is picked up
by journalists, other media, or activists, who
can amplify crucial messages, this can have
the desired effect of holding politicians to
account. In these such cases, smartphone or
Internet-based solutions may be appropriate.
The Indigo Trust also requires grantees to
be transparent and open about their work,
just as the Trust itself is. Ideally, it looks for
sustainable, replicable and/or scalable solutions,
or solutions with low operating costs.
And it admits to a soft-spot for local organisations
with small budgets, open-source, and
interoperable solutions, innovative approaches,
and two-way interactivity.
The Trust has often found that it is a passionate
individual that really drives a project
forward – someone who really understands
the sector and local context, and who is truly
dedicated to the cause. ■
For more information about The Indigo Trust,
visit http://indigotrust.org.uk.
33
THE INDIGO TRUST, CO-CREATION HUB, WWW.SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
SSD_Digital Technology.indd 33 04/03/2015 13:58

CITIES AND SUSTAINABLE INNOVATION
34
SSD_Sustainable Cities.indd 34 04/03/2015 13:59

CITIES AND SUSTAINABLE INNOVATION
Smart gets
Smarter
Smart city concepts can go beyond their original remit and help create incubatory
environments that encourage and promote innovative sustainability at grassroots levels,
reports Professor Martin Charter, Director of the Centre for Sustainable Design
Cities are major hotbeds of environmental,
social and economic problems, as we well
know; but they can also be catalysts for the
development of new sustainable solutions.
Cities are important, and are predicted to
become even more important: 70 per cent of
the global population will be located in cities
by 2050, compared to 50 per cent at present
(according to UN World Urbanisation
Prospects); at present, 60 per cent of global
GDP is from 600 cities (says consulting firm
McKinsey); and cities currently account for
70 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions
(according to UN Habitat).
The expanding city populations will
mean growing environmental impacts and
challenges, as well as, potential opportunities
related to the development of more
sustainable solutions for energy, water,
and food production/storage/distribution,
transportation, housing and waste (or
resource) management.
What, however, will the increase in
urbanisation mean for regions, towns,
villages and rural areas? What will be the
future role and influence of regional and
provincial governments (and other local
stakeholders) as populations migrate to
cities? And what will be the implications for
more sustainable economic development?
‘Green Growth’
Post-2008, the concept of ‘green growth’
has gained international support among
policy makers as a means of reconciling
the ongoing need for economic growth set
within environmental limits. Reports in
the late 2000s from the World Economic
Forum (WEF), United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP), and the Organisation
of Economic Cooperation and Development
(OECD) helped to shape the development
of the ‘green economy’ and ‘green growth’
policy agendas. This thinking has now
filtered down into a range of national,
regional, and city government initiatives as
illustrated in the recent report by the Global
Green Growth Institute.
To facilitate discussion, the Danish
government have established and host the
3GF (Global Green Growth Forum), an
annual gathering of policy makers, CEOs,
and other key decision-makers that debates
the evolving ‘green growth’ agenda while
acting as a platform for the development of
national and international public-private
partnership projects.
A number of cities are engaging in and
taking leadership on the ‘green growth’
agenda and are embracing the associated
change. For example, Copenhagen is the
2014 European Green capital, was voted
number one in the European green city
index, and hosts the 3GF.
Climate change returns
Cities face major climate change impacts
and will increasingly need to implement
climate change mitigation and adaptation
strategies. In 2013, the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reported
that the evidence for global climate change
is unequivocal, and there are likely to
be an increased number of extreme and
unpredictable weather events.
Climate change is moving back into the
spotlight. In September 2014, there were
demonstrations in New York and London
over the need for action over climate
change in parallel to United Nations
Climate Change Summit in New York.
Coupled to this, the Hollywood movie
actor and environmental activist, Leonardo
DiCaprio, was appointed the United Nations
Messenger of Peace, and delivered a keynote
speech on the climate change imperative as
part of a strategy of raising the media profile
in advance of the 2015 United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change
(UNFCCC) in Paris.
November 2015 will be a pivotal date in
the climate change agenda as UNFCCC will
aim to decide on a legally-binding agreement
on greenhouse gas emission targets linked
to the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. City leaders are
likely to play a prominent role in discussions
drawing on lessons from initiatives such as
C40 and the Mayors Covenant that have
developed city-based learning networks
focused on reducing carbon emissions and
developing low-carbon innovation.
Related challenges
Alongside climate change, cities need to
tackle many other environmental challenges
– such as access to water and food, and
health issues associated with air and water
pollution. For example, over the last 12
months, Beijing has faced significant air
pollution problems, where on a significant
number of days, emissions have far-exceeded
World Health Organisation (WHO) safety
levels.
While not achieving the public visibility of
climate change, there is growing recognition
among policy makers, business, civil
society, and a number of innovative cities,
of the need to move away from the linear
‘take-make-waste’ economy, to a Circular
Economy model that aims to stimulate
improved resource efficiency and innovation
through, for example, re-manufacturing,
re-conditioning, refurbishment, and repair –
35
▲
SSD_Sustainable Cities.indd 35 04/03/2015 13:59

SSD_Sustainable PSIPW 7th Ad 21x27_6cm.indd Cities.indd 36 1
3/3/2015 04/03/2015 1:50:4513:59
PM

CITIES AND SUSTAINABLE INNOVATION
‘Places and spaces’ are
emerging where people
come together to make,
modify and/or repair
products – such as
consumer goods.
while at the same time creating jobs. Despite,
the financial cut backs that many cities in
western economies have faced post-2008,
there is a sense that sustainability has moved
back onto the agenda for many mayors.
‘Turning point’?
Despite the financial challenges imposed
by the ‘austerity age’, are we now moving
toward a turning point in relation to the
sustainability of our cities? Are we now in a
time of major change driven by a range of
environmental, social, and economic issues?
And how significant will that change be?
Some cities may embrace the change and
transform (e.g., Copenhagen); and some may
react or rebel against it. Will responses to
the change be driven ‘top down’ (by policy
makers) or emerge ‘bottom up’ (by civil
society and citizens)? If we are to achieve
more resilient, resource-efficient, low-carbon
economies and societies, we will need to
break away from the conventional ‘ways
of doing things’ to the creation of new
models of – for example – consumption and
production.
Managing that change will not be
easy. Cities are large and complex ‘living
organisms’, and include many subsystems
and networks that are often unconnected.
To enable change, those subsystems and
networks will need to be connected-up more
effectively; and this may mean re-designing
city systems to bring together those groups in
different ways.
For example, building new platforms to
connect-up policy makers with inventors,
thinkers, designers, financiers, entrepreneurs,
and researchers to accelerate the creation,
development, and commercialisation
of sustainable solutions through labs,
incubators, clusters and new ‘places and
spaces’.
Smart city motivators
Cities need to get ‘smarter’. There has
been a growing discussion over smart cities,
and significant interest being expressed
in the concept by some. However, are
smart cities purely large-scale strategic
experiments created by a small number of
transitional corporations, rather than being
real catalysts for smarter, more sustainable
Seen here with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, actor and environmental activist Leonardo
DiCaprio was appointed the United Nations Messenger of Peace
urban regeneration? At present much of the
smart city development is being driven by a
few key information and communications
technology (ICT) players – names such as
IBM, Cisco Systems, Schneider Electric,
and Siemens, in co-operation with a
number of major cities. For example,
Songdo in Korea, is a smart city that has
been built from scratch in partnership with
companies, including Cisco.
To develop smarter, more sustainable
cities will require partnerships between
a range of stakeholders, including
government, business, finance and civil
society. Smart cities, smart grid, and Big
Data (of more later) discussions should
dovetail and a key part of the focus should
be on how we establish secure and effective
systems to collect, analyse, and present
environmental, social and economic data to
enable improved decision-making.
The ‘Internet of Things’ (IoT) – the
network of physical objects accessed through
the Internet – linking-up data from vehicles,
buildings, smart meters, lighting systems,
etc., will expand the available pool of Big
Data. A standard definition of Big Data is
as an all-encompassing term for data sets
so large or complex – in terms of volume
or structure – that it becomes impractical,
if not impossible, to process using
traditional data processing applications.
Main challenges posed by Big Data include
analysis, capture, search, storage, transfer,
and visualisation.
In a number of cities – Barcelona is a
good example – major networks of sensors
have been installed throughout the city to
monitor, for example, recycling rates and
levels of air pollution.
Smart cities are a techno-centric concept,
and a key issue will be how we move
beyond technological discussions to explore
how civil society and citizens can engage
and involve themselves in the process of
making cities smarter, more sustainable, and
importantly, liveable. How cities democratise
smart city development to engender and
motivate citizen feedback (in terms of
ideas and information through online polls,
observations and sharing pictures through
social networks and mobile devices) will
again be key to helping to develop new
behavioural-, as well as, technological-,
solutions to environmental, social, and
economic problems.
▲
37
PM
SSD_Sustainable Cities.indd 37 04/03/2015 13:59

CITIES AND SUSTAINABLE INNOVATION
City leaders are likely to play a
prominent role in discussions
drawing on lessons from initiatives
that have developed city-based
learning networks focused on
developing low-carbon innovation.
Innovation toward sustainability
As part of the Big Data revolution, many
companies are starting to explore the use of
open innovation competitions to source ideas
and funding from ‘the crowd’. A number
of major companies have started to utilise
crowd sourcing strategies related to the
development of more sustainable solutions
– they include big names like Unilever and
GE.
In parallel, a range of new initiatives are
starting to emerge from city governments
and civil society. These include ‘hackathons’
and ‘jams’ focused on environmental or
broader sustainability issues. Hackathons
bring together computer software coders,
programmers and other creatives in intensive
sessions. They have been established by some
cities to hack Big Data datasets to produce
apps to improve, for example, recycling. At
the leading-edge of this initiative are New
York and Singapore, for example.
Such sustainability-focused hackathons
and jams – intensive ‘open’ innovation
collaborative workshops – have also been
organised by civil society groups from the
‘bottom-up’. For example, last year the
Sensors are monitoring air pollution levels in
Barcelona - good news for the city’s cyclists
38
Futuristic metropolitan
developments, such as
Chengdu in China, set
the benchmark for the
smart cities concept
Global Sustainability Jam documented
around 80 simultaneous events worldwide in
late November 2014.
There are indications that traditional
boundaries of innovation are starting
to dissolve, with the potential means to
innovate increasing from civil society
and citizens. So are we moving into
(or have already entered) a new age of
industrialisation – ‘Industrialisation 4.0’ –
that is based on information, collaboration,
and decentralisation. The advent of this
‘new Industrial Age’ appears to be driven by
a new spirit of doing and making, increased
access to information through Internet,
increased sharing of ideas and information
through social networking technologies,
increased access to Open Source designs,
availability of new ‘making’ tools such as
additive manufacturing (or 3D printing), and
new ‘places and spaces’ to enable individuals
to ‘make, modify, and fix’.
New places and spaces
We may be starting to see the emergence of
a new Industrial Renaissance. As indicated,
these new ‘places and spaces’ are starting to
emerge in many cities where individuals are
coming together physically, face-to-face to
discuss, collaborate, experiment, and share
information and ideas to make, modify
and/or repair products – products such as
consumer goods. As indicated above, these
new ‘places and places’ are part of a process
of democratising innovation by providing
access to the knowledge and equipment for
prototype development and job production
outside of corporate research and
development laboratories and factories.
Fab Labs
Is this a threat or opportunity in relation
to the established order? At present, this
democratisation appears to be primarily
in the spirit of experimentation but there
some indications that some of these new
‘places and spaces’ may start to incubate the
development of new products and businesses.
Perhaps the most well-known example of
these new ‘places and spaces’ are the ‘Fab
Labs’ that emerged from Massachusetts Institute
of Technology in 2001, by providing
organised facilities to enable individuals to
fabricate products from digital images utilising
a portfolio of manufacturing equipment
including 3D printers and laser cutters.
As of 2013, there were 125 Fab Labs in
34 countries. Alongside Fab Labs, there has
been the explosion of Makerspaces around
the world, where organised facilities are
being created or ‘opened up’ for individuals
to network, design, and make products. For
example, the RDM campus in Rotterdam in
the Netherlands has established the RDM
Makerspace where citizens can rent the
use of equipment from the technical school
SSD_Sustainable Cities.indd 38 04/03/2015 13:59

CITIES AND SUSTAINABLE INNOVATION
for a fee during certain time periods. More
informally, Hackerspaces have also seen
significant growth from around 20 in 2005 to
1035 in 2014 (Hackerspaces, 2014 1 ).
Other recent research (Charter & Keiller 2 )
has indicated that individuals participating
in Hackerspaces are not just making and/or
hacking or modifying products, but are also
fixing or repairing products. For example,
members of the Reading Hackspace in
the UK reported that they repaired (and
therefore extended the product life) of
broken baby stroller by downloading an
Open Source design and 3D printing a
missing component (Charter, 2014 3 ). Repair
Cafés – informal groups that get together to
repair and modify products – have also seen
significant growth.
Since the inception of the Repair Café
Foundation in 2010, numbers have grown to
more than 700 Repair Cafés worldwide, with
the Netherlands accounting for more than
200, and Amsterdam around 15 (Repair
Café Foundation, 2014 4 ). A new group that
may start to emerge are hybrid community
businesses that combine facets of the above:
cafés for networking with repair workshops
for learning, incubators for making up-cycled
products with in-house retail outlets to sell
the products; a notable example of this is
Repair cafés are expanding in cities and towns
worldwide, with over 400 starting in 2014. For
example, after a series of test sessions, Farnham
Repair Café (FRC) was launched in February 2015
as a unique collaboration between a university and
civil society organisation (The Centre for Sustainable
Design at University for the Creative Arts and Transition
Town Farnham). FRC provides repair stations covering
a range of product categories: electronics, electrical,
mechanical; and bicycles; and has a ‘creative zone’ to
create art and products from waste.
Editor’s background briefing: smart cities investment and the smart money
The promise of smart cities was already gathering
pace when United Nations Secretary General Ban
Ki-moon, opined that new ideas from smart cities
will point the way to sustainable urbanisation,
in a message issued to mark World Habitat Day
2009. In the intervening five years the smart city
concept has evolved apace with developments in
information and communications technology and
the connected built environment.
A general definition maintains that smart cities
use a mix of digital technologies to enhance
performance and well-being, to reduce costs
and resource consumption, and to engage
more effectively and actively with its inhabitants.
Key ‘smart’ sectors include transport, energy,
healthcare, water and waste. A smart city should be
able to respond faster to city and global challenges
than one with a simple ‘transactional’ relationship
with its citizens. “Smart cities are places where IT is
wielded to address problems [both] old and new,”
explains Anthony M. Townsend, author of the book
Smart Cities: Big Data, Civic Hackers, and the
The Goldfinger Factory in London, UK.
Futures and forecasts
The world is a very different place, in many
senses, compared to even five-to-ten years
ago. Change is the constant, and predicting
the future is an increasingly difficult exercise.
However, it is likely that cities will become
significantly more important and powerful;
but will cities become smarter, more
sustainable and liveable? As we see more
urbanisation, what will this process mean
outside of cities, in regions, in provinces, in
towns and rural areas?
The process is likely to mean that
knowledge, finance and other resources
may get more concentrated in major cities.
Cities may increasingly be designed to be
the ‘hubs of innovation’; however, we may
increasingly see innovation arise bottom-up
from civil society and citizens in a new age
of experimentation driven by a new ‘do it’
mind-set of Generation Z (people born after
the Millennial Generation or Generation Y),
increased access and sharing of information
and ideas, availability of new tools and new,
decentralised ‘places and spaces’ that enable
collaboration, making, modifying, and fixing.
That said, it is reasonable to ask: will
these trends be truly transformative or
Quest for a New Utopia.
Since then the perception that the smart cities
concept applies mainly to high-profile future
(and futuristic) builds – such as Songdo in South
Korea, Dubai in United Arab Emirates, Chengdu
in China, and Konza City in Kenya – has been
overtaken by developments in the smart built
environment sector. More recently there has
also been growing interest in applying smart
city principles and techniques to established
metropolitan areas that might be anything but
‘smart’ – a trend that has been described as
‘retrofitting the future’.
Interest in smart cities is motivated by major
challenges, including climate change, economic
restructuring, the transition to online retail and
entertainment, ageing populations, and pressures
on public finances. It has sponsorship at the
highest levels: the European Union, for instance,
has assigned constant efforts to devising a
strategy for achieving ‘smart’ urban growth for its
many city-regions.
just be a peripheral grassroots innovation
movement that does not enter the
mainstream? Will cities become the nexus
for new developments or will innovators
increasingly feel that cities stifle creativity
with ‘innovation hubs’ breaking out of cities?
Will this new age of experimentation lead
to a more sustainable path (environmentally,
socially or economically)? Or not? There are
many open questions – and the book is still,
very much, open. ■
Professor Martin Charter is Director of the Centre for
Sustainable Design ® - mcharter@ucreative.ac.uk /
www.cfsd.org.uk.
References
1. Hackerspaces (2014), List if Active Hackerspaces
[online]. Available from http://hackerspace.org/wiki/
List_of_Hacker_Spaces [accessed on 20th May 2014].
2. Charter & Keiller (2014), Grassroots Innovation &
Circular Economy: A Global Survey of Repair Cafés
and Hackerspaces [online]. Available from www.cfsd.org.
uk/news/circular-economy-innovation [accessed on 27th
October 2014].
3. Charter (2014), Makers & Fixers: Circular Economy
& Grassroots Innovation: 10 Lessons Learnt [online].
Available from www.cfsd.org.uk/news/circular-economyinnovation
[accessed on 27th October 2014].
4. Repair Café Foundation (2014), Repair Café Locations
[online]. Available from http://repaircafe.org/locations
[accessed on 09/02/2015].
The smartening of urban centres around the
world shouldn’t be easily confused with more
traditional concepts of urban regeneration and
renewal, although there are many overlaps. The
sustainability element to smart cities is, arguably,
the defining factor that takes urban renewal
toward a more comparable level of achievement.
Another compelling motive is that cities large and
small, smart and non-smart, will continue to be
both sources of environmental challenges, but
also continue to be critical revenue generator
and contributors to their respective gross national
products well into the foreseeable future.
Investment in smart cities and smart city projects
is also good news for economic growth prospects.
According to market analyst Frost & Sullivan, the
global smart city market will be valued at $1.565
trillion in 2020, with over 26 global cities expected
to be in a position to qualify as ‘Smart Cities’ in
2025. More than 50 per cent of these smart cities
will be located in Europe and North America.
James Hayes
39
UN PHOTO/MARK GARTEN, ANNA KOMMERS, NATSUMI ARAGAKI, IAKOV FILIMONOV/WWW.SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
SSD_Sustainable Cities.indd 39 04/03/2015 13:59

INTERVIEW
40
SSD_Q&A_Mukesh Kapila.indd 40 04/03/2015 13:59

INTERVIEW
Q & A
Professor Mukesh Kapila CBE
Professor of Global Health and Humanitarian Affairs / Executive Director,
Office for Global Health, University of Manchester, United Kingdom
Professor Mukesh Kapila shares his perspectives on the nature of
humanitarian progress, and on why the mix of cultures between
private and public sectors in the cause of humanitarian aid
provisioning can prove to be constructive
SOURCE: Sustainable Development
You are speaking on Day 2 of the DIHAD
2015 conference sessions - a keynote address
on the topic of ‘Sustainability’. One of the
great advantages hosting the three-day event
in Dubai is that it affords opportunities
for contact with the city’s entrepreneurial
atmosphere. In what ways do you think that
the spirit of entrepreneurism, so to speak,
affects the way in which humanitarian aid in
general is organised and delivered?
Professor Mukesh Kapila Good
partnerships between the private and public
sector are vital – because the best methods
and capacities of both need to deployed
in service of humanity, as the needs are so
great. [My view is that] DIHAD and Dubai
provide good models for doing that.
SSD One of the principle objectives of
DIHAD is the sharing of knowledge –
through presentations, through debate, and
via face-to-face dialogue. Are there more
ways in which the first-hand experience of
professionals engaged in the humanitarian
and sustainable development sectors, for
instance, could be captured, and best
practice made available to colleagues and
other agencies facing similar challenges? If
so, what are they, in your view?
Professor Mukesh Kapila DIHAD
provides a great opportunity for mutual
learning, as it brings together experts,
practitioners, and students from many
walks... More could be done through
organising more training and coaching
sessions beyond the conferencing. Sponsors
for that are welcome.
SSD What are the most significant
developments that you have been aware of
over the seven years in the humanitarian
▲
41
SSD_Q&A_Mukesh Kapila.indd 41 04/03/2015 14:00

INTERVIEW
Listening to their feedback is
the best way to co-ordinate
– rather than top-down
bureaucratic co-ordination that
can be remote from issues.
programmes you have been involved with?
Professor Mukesh Kapila A great deal
of progress has been made – especially in
making the cause of humanitarianism a
global concern and improving co-operation.
SSD How important are modern
communications technologies in bringing
about progress?
Professor Mukesh Kapila Modern
technologies being used now, especially for
needs assessments, and for communications,
as well as greater emphasis on beneficiary
participation and accountability for results,
have [certainly] improved effectiveness.
SSD You have spoken about the importance
of partnerships between private and public
sector in support of the humanitarian cause.
Do you think there is any risk of a clash
of ‘cultures’ with the corporate world as
gets more directly involved in supporting
humanitarian aid and development
programmes? We mean, as it finds that its
approaches differ from those of what might
be called the ‘professional’ aid providers,
such as NGOs, charities, and other agencies?
Professor Mukesh Kapila Such a clash
in organisational cultures [if it does occur]
is not necessarily a bad thing if each side is
sufficiently open-minded to learn the best
practices from the other.
SSD There are now many organisations
and agencies active in the humanitarian
aid initiatives around the world. What do
you see as the challenges in terms of coordinating
those efforts, and in ensuring that
efforts are not duplicated, nor that the coexisting
bodies are not inadvertently creating
problems for each-other?
Professor Mukesh Kapila We should not
over-emphasise the problem of co-ordination.
It is good that many more groups are interested
in contributing to addressing [the alleviation
of] human misery. There is plenty for all to
do. The best coordination is on the ground
– addressing real problems, and providing
necessary services. Those at the receiving end
soon figure out who is working well, and who
is not. Listening to their feedback is the best
way to co-ordinate – rather than top-down
bureaucratic co-ordination that can be remote
from issues, and certainly more expensive.
Long-time allies: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (right) met with Mukesh Kapila, former UN staff member and currently Professor of Global Health
and Humanitarian Affairs at the University of Manchester in November 2012.
42
SSD_Q&A_Mukesh Kapila.indd 42 04/03/2015 14:00

INTERVIEW
ICT is transforming the
humanitarian world, because
knowledge and experience can
be instantly shared, as well as
skills and opportunities
SSD In your opinion, is the world actually
getting better at responding to crises or
disasters as they happen?
Professor Mukesh Kapila Yes, by and
large, the world is getting better at disaster
response – not least because of more and
more practice.
Dubai is an
event location
that affords
opportunities for
entrepreneurial
interaction
SSD It is a situation that varies from country
to country.
Professor Mukesh Kapila For many
communities and countries, living with
repeated disasters is a new norm, and they,
and their governments, have a direct stake
in investing for preparedness and protection.
Of course, more can be done – but best
returns are at local level.
SSD The information and communications
technology that has had a profound impact
on the developed world is increasing finding
its way into the developing world. Could you
comment on the impact this is having on
humanitarian programmes, and on how you
feel this will continue into the future?
Professor Mukesh Kapila This is
transforming the humanitarian world because
knowledge and experience from anywhere
can be instantly shared, as well as skills and
opportunities. And most importantly, people
can witness the suffering of others, even if
they are far away. This builds empathy – the
most important human and social capital
necessary in humanitarianism. ■
For full DIHAD 2015 Conference Programme
details, see page 77 of this issue of SOURCE:
Sustainable Development
Professor Mukesh Kapila: career briefing
PRINCIPLE LEADERSHIP ROLES: Professor of
Global Health and Humanitarian Affairs / Executive
Director, Office for Global Health, University of
Manchester; Special Representative of the Aegis
Trust for the prevention of crimes against humanity;
Vice Chair of the Board of Nonviolent Peaceforce;
Associate Fellow of the Geneva Centre for Security
Policy; and Adjunct Professor at the International
Centre for Humanitarian Affairs, Nairobi.
Professor Kapila has extensive experience
in the policy and practice of international
development, humanitarian
affairs, human rights and
diplomacy, with particular
expertise in tackling crimes
against humanity, disaster, and
conflict management, and in
global public health. He is an
extensive public and media
speaker. His published memoir
Against a Tide of Evil was
nominated for the ‘2013 Best
Non Fiction Book award’.
Previously in his career he was Under Secretary
General at the International Federation of Red
Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the world’s
largest humanitarian and development network.
Earlier, he served the United Nations in different
roles as Special Adviser to the United Nations
High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva
and then Special Adviser at the UN Mission in
Afghanistan. Subsequently, he led the UN’s largest
country mission at the time as the United Nations
Resident and Humanitarian Co-ordinator for the
Sudan, and then became a Director at the World
Health Organisation.
Prior to the UN, Professor Kapila was at the UK
Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Overseas
Development Administration (now Department
for International Development), initially as senior
health and population adviser, and latterly as the
first head of a new Conflict and Humanitarian
Affairs Department that he set-up.
He has also been Chief Executive of the
PHG Foundation, a senior policy adviser to the
World Bank, worked as part of the UN Disaster
Assessment and Co-ordination system, and
advised the UN International Strategy for Disaster
Reduction, International Labour Organisation,
UNAIDS, and many other agencies. In 2014 he
founded People4Sudan.
His earliest career was in clinical medicine,
primary health care, and public health in the British
National Health Service in Oxford, Cambridge, and
London, where he helped set up the UK’s first
national HIV and AIDS programme at the Health
Education Authority, becoming its deputy director.
He has initiated several NGOs, and served
on the Boards of many bodies, including the
UN Institute for Training and Research, and the
International Peace Academy in New York, and as
Chair of Minority Rights Group International. He is
also a Senior Member of Hughes Hall College at
Cambridge University.
Born in India, Professor Kapila is a citizen of
the United Kingdom. He has qualifications in
medicine, public health, and development from
the Universities of Oxford and London. In 2003, he
was honoured by Queen Elizabeth II, and named a
Commander of the Order of the British Empire for
his international service. In 2007, he received the
Global Citizenship Award of the Institute for Global
Leadership. In 2013, he received the ‘I Witness’
award for his work on human rights, and a special
resolution of the California State Legislature for
‘lifetime achievements and meritorious service’.
More information about Professor Kapila’s life
and work can be found at www.mukeshkapila.
org, and on his blog, ‘Flesh and Blood’, at
www.e-ir.info/category/blogs/kapila/
UN/RICK BAJORNAS, WWW.SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
43
SSD_Q&A_Mukesh Kapila.indd 43 04/03/2015 14:00

NGOS
Capacity at the core
Capacity building is a vital element in taking a pre-emptive approach to
dealing with distress and disaster, explains Martin McCann, CEO, RedR UK.
In July last year, Ian Birrell, an occasional
columnist in the UK’s Guardian
newspaper, and former speechwriter for UK
Prime Minister David Cameron, highlighted
what he felt were major shortfalls of the
humanitarian sector.
Citing a report by MSF, he claimed
the sector was failing in its most basic
duty: to help ensure the continuation and
improvement of people’s lives. He claimed
aid organisations were instead choosing
to undertake: ‘lucrative work on modish
concepts such as conflict resolution, capacity
building and governance’.
We should, of course, welcome criticism
of our sector. Openness and transparency
should be priorities in all our activities, and
enabling people to understand what we do
– and why – helps us focus our attention on
the most important elements of our work. But
criticism can sometimes miss its target.
Capacity building, for example, may
be ‘modish’ (though it is not especially
‘lucrative’), but just because an idea is
popular – particularly among experts in a
sector – does not make it wrong. In fact,
capacity building is central to what the
44
SSD_NGO_capacity_building.indd 44 04/03/2015 14:00

NGOS
In response to the Syria
crisis, for example, dedicated
Syrians, Lebanese, Turkish,
Jordanian and Iraqi people
are committed to helping the
millions of displaced - but
the helpers also need help
humanitarian sector is, to the role of NGOs,
to the saving and improvement of lives
around the world.
There is a multiplicity of potential roles
for NGOs in the modern world. Front-line
delivery of services, policy discourse and
suggestion, the facilitation and promotion
of best practice. But in all cases, the aim
of these organisations is to preserve and
promote life. To keep people alive despite
immense challenges, and to help them thrive
and succeed. And capacity building is one of
the surest ways to help that happen.
RedR UK focuses on front-line agencies:
their skills, and the future humanitarian
agenda. In times of disaster, local capacity,
even including the state, is by definition
overwhelmed. When war, earthquake,
typhoon or floods strike, the state – the
guarantor of the welfare of the people –
may be forced to call upon the UN, other
nation states, and national and international
NGOs.
The work of each of these actors
deserves – and receives – praise. But each
also have their own limitations. The UN
and international donors cannot possibly
be expected to have sufficient manpower to
reach all areas affected by disasters. And in
the kind of life-and-death situations caused
by disaster, speed is critical.
Speed of response
In the Asian tsunami of 2004, 80 per cent
of those who died, did so in the first hour. It
is a reminder that although an international
response and the expertise and help it brings,
is vital, many lives will be lost if we only wait
for people to fly across numerous time zones
to arrive where disaster strikes.
People in regions where disaster strikes need
the skills and abilities to respond when it
happens; and local knowledge is also vital.
In the ongoing Ebola virus outbreak in
West Africa, some communities resisted
outside expert assistance because of
unfamiliarity with Western medical practice,
and because of a desire to continue local
burial traditions – in some cases delaying aid
being delivered.
This is a timely reminder that all those
operating on the ground must understand
the cultural and legal norms in the
location in which they are working; and
▲
45
SSD_NGO_capacity_building.indd 45 04/03/2015 14:00

NGOS
One positive shift in the last
decade has been a move away
from external players flooding an
area to assist ‘helpless victims’,
or regarding local people as
‘consumers of assistance’.
people actually within those communities
understand those norms better than anyone
else. Equally, the unfortunate truth is that
regions where natural disaster strikes once
are likely to experience other, similar,
disasters in future.
Disaster mitigation
So disaster response must go further than the
on-the-spot, immediate saving of lives, and
begin also to work on disaster mitigation:
showing people how to build their homes
stronger. How to restructure water supply
systems, and what to do while a disaster
is taking place, as well as in its immediate
aftermath.
All of these things save lives. And
all require a commitment to capacitybuilding,
enabling people to prepare for
and respond to disasters themselves, with
outside assistance helping to support existing
expertise.
The humanitarian sector has significantly
altered its approach to aid and development.
One positive shift in the last decade has
been a move away from external players
flooding an area to assist ‘helpless victims’,
or regarding local people as recipients,
consumers of assistance. And the
professionalisation of the sector is another
encouraging improvement. Initiatives such
as the NOHA Humanitarian qualifications,
and ELRHA’s adoption of a ‘humanitarian
passport’ set the basis for recognisable
industry-wide standards, and are important
recognitions that it takes more than just
abstract technical knowledge to make an
effective humanitarian.
Capacity building develops
RedR UK illustrates this trend of continuing
improvement in the global humanitarian
Success story: building back stronger in the Philippines
The Build Back Safer
scheme is helping up to
5,000 Filipino households
affected by Typhoon
Haiyan to construct more
resilient dwellings
“I carried my nephews through the surges the
typhoon caused. I was a council worker, but I found
myself up to my neck in water, with two boys raised
above my head to keep them safe”: Kenneth
Renera was one of the estimated 11 million people
caught in and affected by Typhoon Haiyan, which
struck the Philippines on 8th-9th November 2013.
Across the state, the Typhoon’s 195mph winds
caused more than 7,400 deaths, and more than
20,000 injuries. More than one million homes were
destroyed or damaged, leaving more than four
million people homeless.
“More than 50 per cent of homes in some
parts of this region were destroyed,” said Kenneth
– who lives in Santo Nino, near the town
of Palo on the eastern side of Leyte island. “My
own house was swamped by flood waters, and
the oil refinery close to my home spilled oil into
the water I waded through while carrying my
nephews.”
In response, using training developed and
delivered by RedR in Disaster Risk Reduction and
Shelter, he is mobilising people in his and neighbouring
communities, to benefit from the Build
Back Safer scheme. The initiative, which RedR
UK designed for Oxfam and its Philippines-based
partner Green Mindanao, has trained Philippines
nationals to build more resilient housing and
community buildings – and to pass those skills
on to others.
It was attended by 16 people, who are
training 3,000-5,000 households to reconstruct
their homes to help them stand up better to
future disasters. Kenneth added: “The training is
excellent. It means I can help people not just to
rebuild their homes, but to make them stronger.”
46
SSD_NGO_capacity_building.indd 46 04/03/2015 14:00

NGOS
People in regions where
disaster strikes need
the skills and abilities
to respond when it
happens; and local
knowledge is also vital.
sector. It was set-up more than 30 years
ago, as a register of engineers to provide
technically-skilled people to international aid
agencies responding to disasters.
From there, it developed to take the
lessons learned from those engineers’
experiences, and use them to train people to
adapt these technical learned skills to other
environments. For many years, its main
activities were sending Western experts to
the field, and training Western experts to
improve the quality and effectiveness of their
work.
But in the last decade, it has turned
this model on its head. Now, it is taking
the skills in which we specialise – water
and sanitation, shelter, security, logistics,
needs assessment, project management
and humanitarian procedural training – to
communities in disaster-prone regions of
the world. To the first responders, who live
where disasters strike.
In the last year, RedR trained 8,600
people in more than 30 countries, including
INGO and NGO workers, government
employees and community members. Ninety
per cent of those were nationals of disasterprone
countries.
In response to the Syria crisis, for example,
dedicated Syrians, Lebanese, Turkish,
Jordanian and Iraqi people are committed to
helping the millions of people displaced by
the nation’s grim, four-year war. But they are
new to the humanitarian sector.
We are training them in humanitarian
skills, including security, so they can stay
safe and deliver life-saving food, water and
shelter to the people who urgently need
them. In Pakistan, we are training teachers
and schoolchildren potentially lifesaving
The Syrian crisis has caused millions to flee their homes, some leaving the state altogether. Al Za’atri
refugee camp was, in 2013, officially Jordan’s third largest ‘city’ by population.
RedR training in the
Middle East is helping
humanitarian aid
workers develop the
skills they need to
operate in the field.
skills. Communities in the South Asian
state have, in recent years, faced floods,
earthquakes and conflict involving illegal
militia groups.
And shocking recent experience shows
that schools, children and teachers are just as
likely to be struck by the latter as the former.
The skills we and our partners in Pakistan
are delivering have the potential to save lives
when disaster strikes.
Skills transference
These skills are not restricted to those
who take the first training. In the Lower
Dir region, we have trained 16 teachers,
who have in turn passed on the life-saving
techniques to 551 pupils. Those pupils took
their new knowledge home to their families,
while the teachers themselves shared their
skills with their families and with 46 more
teachers.
Training just 18 people has already spread
skills to hundreds of people, and has the
potential to deliver the ability to save lives to
many thousands. This is capacity building in
action.
The same approach was used during
▲
47
SSD_NGO_capacity_building.indd 47 04/03/2015 14:00

NGOS
Capacity building is central
to what the humanitarian
sector is, to the role of
NGOs, to the saving and
improvement of lives
around the world.
the response to Typhoon Haiyan, which
struck the Philippines on 8th-9th November
2013. Haiyan killed more than 7,400
people, injured 20,000 and left four million
homeless. It inspired a unified response,
as the public funded INGOs to deliver
shelter, WASH (water, sanitation and
hygiene) materials, food, water and technical
assistance, while the state’s government and
national NGOs met the crises the Typhoon
had caused (see panel box-out, p46).
RedR UK trained 577 people, 98 per
cent of them Philippine nationals, who were
employed by large international and local
NGOs, as well as government workers and
community members. In one project, Build
Back Stronger, we worked with Oxfam and
Philippine organisation Green Mindanao
to develop and deliver training to people in
how to rebuild their homes and community
structures to better withstand future disaster.
And those skills are transferable. The 16
people we trained spread the knowledge
they had gained to 4,000 households, and it
can be shared further, building the capacity
of communities to mitigate against future
disaster. A similar ‘domino effect’ was used
to spread skills and expertise in Haiti, in the
aftermath of the devastating earthquake
in January 2010, which killed more than
200,000 people.
One part of our skills-based training there
took the form of a WASH week, in which
local aid workers were given core water,
sanitation and hygiene training in Port
Au Prince, where more than one million
people had been left homeless. In total,
1,439 people received WASH training, each
training 30 more, meaning the skills reached
more than 43,000 people.
At RedR UK, we use the slogan We
Train Lifesavers. There are many ways to
save lives, but capacity building – spreading
knowledge and delivering skills to help
people respond to and mitigate against
disaster – is a central component of that.
If the humanitarian sector is dedicated
to saving and improving lives, then building
capacity is one of the most vital and
appropriate roles NGOs can play. ■
For more information about RedR and its work,
see www.redr.org.uk.
Success story: school safety training in Pakistan
“I have been taught that if I see a person unconscious
I should remove anything dangerous and
check if they are breathing, and clear the airway
then check the circulation by checking their
pulse. I will then put them in the recovery position
and wait for help to arrive...” Sawera Saad*
is eight-years-old. She attends school in a village
in Lower Dir region, Pakistan, where natural and
man-made disasters are a real risk.
She has already experienced serious flooding
in her home town, and also faces risk simply
because she attends school, as illegal militia
organisations operating in the region oppose the
education of girls, as well as the employment of
female teachers. As a result, she and her classmates
brave potential attack by going to school.
RedR UK is training teachers who can show
girls like Sawera, as well as boys, teachers and
community members, how to reduce risk,
perform first aid and give them other potentially
life-saving skills. Asma, an English teacher at
another school, says: “First aid saves life. I have
taught the children and other teachers how to
stop bleeding, deal with burns and poisoning.
We learned how to stop fires, and what to do
if the school comes under gunfire and attack.
We have taught children to take cover under
desks, or if they are outside to run inside into the
classrooms.”
Pakistani
schoolchildren
learn first aid as
part of RedR’s Safer
Schools initiative.
RedR UK, with local partner Khwendo Kor,
trained 18 teachers in the Lower Dir region. In
turn, they have trained 551 pupils, and another
46 teachers (who will in turn train their students).
The skills they have learned will be taught to each
new intake of pupils, meaning many thousands
of young people will have the knowledge and
ability to reduce risk, and save lives.
And girls like Sawera are sharing the knowledge
they have learned. She said: “My mother
learned how to tie a bandage from me, and was
very happy that she could do it all by herself.”
*Names changed to protect those interviewed
First aid training taking place as part of RedR’s
Safer Schools initiative in Pakistan.
DONNA BOZZI/REDR, WWW.SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
48
SSD_NGO_capacity_building.indd 48 04/03/2015 14:00
Buty

EMERGENCY AID • TEMPORARY CAMPS •
INDUSTRY • CONSTRUCTION • AGRICULTURE
Flexigester
The FIRST rapid deployment anaerobic digestion system with a capacity of 10 tonnes+
Developed to provide a simple solution to many of the challenges facing communities in the global south, the Flexigester kit is an anaerobic
digestion system which easily converts organic waste into biofertiliser and biogas.
It can be attached directly to a pourflush latrine system, capturing sewage and effectively removing waste from the vicinity. This in turn reduces
the risks associated with open defecation / odours / vermin / flies. In addition, waste water from kitchens and latrines, animal manures & food
waste can be reutilised via the Flexigester, returning valuable plant nutrients from the waste material to the land in the form of liquid fertiliser to
help improve soil quality and therefore crop yields.
The smokeless biogas helps to protect and sustain the environment, reducing the need for charcoal and wood as a fuel, potentially decreasing
cases of smoke related respiratory issues and helping to maintain a cleaner kitchen while reducing the time needed for cooking meals.
Small and lightweight : the system can be delivered by air to destinations around the world. The standard V10 unit fits into the back of an
estate car, yet has the capacity to treat around 280 litres of waste per day. The system is available in larger sizes and is scalable dependant
on client requirements. Can be ready for use within 24 hours using simple hand tools for installation. The Flexigester system is an ideal tool to
promote health, agriculture and employment, enabling communities to start building a better world in a matter of weeks.
Flexigester installed at Namisu Orphanage, Malawi Flexigester Biogas storage bags Children at the Namisu Orphanage
Sewage Isolation Bag
An innovative alternative to open sewage pits / lagoons
Holds sewage in a watertight and gas tight robust Butyl Rubber bag.
Associated fittings keep the contents secure.
Once isolated inside the SIB there are:
• No odours from sewage in the bag
• No flies, disease or other vermin attracted to the sewage
• No risk to groundwater from the secure contents of the SIB
• Many options for treatment and disposal of the sewage
A standard 5000 litre capacity system fits neatly into a 120 x 80 x 50cm crate and can easily be carried by 2 people.
The bag is available in a range of sizes dependant on requirements and needs no concrete or other groundworks. It is simply installed in a
shallow trench that can be dug by hand.
The input tubes can be connected to latrine pipework or used for manual filling.
The Sewage Isolation Bag is ideal for temporary camp use and can be cleaned and packed for transport and reused elsewhere as required.
Butyl Products Ltd carry an extensive range of Water Storage, Treatment, Distribution and Testing equipment designed for use in emergency aid, camp
infrastructure, civil engineering and agricultural applications, and has the experience and framework in place to react quickly to client’s needs with
worldwide shipping to meet those important deadlines. Please visit our website to see how our range of products and services can help you.
BUTYL PRODUCTS LIMITED
11 Radford Crescent, Billericay, Essex, CM12 0DW, England
Telephone: +44 (0)1277 653 281 Fax: +44 (0)1277 657 921
Email: Craig@butylproducts.co.uk (Sales & Business Development Director)
Website: www.butylproducts.co.uk
Butyl_Ad.indd SSD_NGO_capacity_building.indd 49 49 03/03/2015 04/03/2015 17:27 14:00

WATER MANAGEMENT
Managing canals
both for multiple
users and natural
systems ensures that
the water they carry
can benefit as many
people as possible
50
SSD_Water_Management.indd 50 04/03/2015 17:56

WATER MANAGEMENT
Protecting our
liquid assets
A changing climate will cause us to adapt our management
of water to new techniques and practices – techniques and
practices that can also contribute to greater productivity,
explains Peter McCornick, Deputy Director General, Research,
International Water Management Institute
Population growth may be slowing, but
the world is projected to have around
9.6 billion inhabitants by 2050. Most of the
population increase will be in developing
countries where land and water are already
under considerable pressure, and producing
food is already stressing ecosystems. There
remains great uncertainty in how climate
change will affect given localities; but it is
likely that it will have a profound effect on
water resources, exacerbating the effects of
other drivers, such as urbanisation and the
need for more food.
Projected rises in average temperature,
more extreme temperatures, and changes
in precipitation patterns, are likely to alter
the amounts and distribution of rainfall,
soil moisture, river flows, groundwater
availability, and ice and snow melt. Now
and in the future, agriculture and food
security depend on managing water,
particularly the variability in time and
space.
Managing water to adapt to changes in
climate emphasises the need to measure
and improve understanding of variability,
and improve understanding of the impacts
of climate change on that variability.
Options to improve the management of
water includes rethinking water storage,
▲
51
SSD_Water_Management.indd 51 04/03/2015 17:56

SPONSORED FEATURE
Harnessing the Power of Earth
Observations to Manage Disaster
Risk and Water Resources
Understanding the Earth system is crucial to addressing the challenges of
economic and social development and environmental sustainability.
Comprehensive, coordinated and sustained observations of the Earth improves
monitoring of the state of the planet, increases our understanding of Earth
processes, and enhances the predictive capability of the behavior of the Earth
system. Earth observations from space, airborne, land or marine-based systems,
collected consistently over time, are critical to providing decision makers at all
levels of society with the information and tools necessary to protect and improve
the lives of citizens while, at the same time, encouraging sustainable growth.
Established in 2005, the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) is a voluntary
partnership of governments and organizations that envisions a future where
decisions and actions for the benefit of humankind are informed by coordinated,
comprehensive and sustained Earth observations and information. GEO
Member governments include 96 nations and the European Commission, and
88 Participating Organizations comprised of international bodies with a mandate
in Earth observations. Together, the GEO community is creating a Global Earth
Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) that will link Earth observation
resources world-wide across multiple Societal Benefit Areas - agriculture,
biodiversity, climate, disasters, ecosystems, energy, health, water and weather -
and make those resources available for informed decision-making.
One of the key elements in preventing humanitarian crises caused by natural
disasters is for countries to develop robust national disaster risk management
(DRM) systems. Coordinated Earth observations, complemented by in
situ measurements and properly linked to modeling, can provide reliable,
accurate, consistent and continuous information, which is the foundation for
the development and operation of national DRM systems. Natural and humaninduced
extreme events require Earth observation capacities that almost never
can be provided by one country alone; effective response requires regional/
international collaboration and coordination so that, when such events occur, the
flow of data from various countries, as well as international organizations, occurs
seamlessly. GEO is committed to facilitating dialogue between science and civil
society; encouraging the adoption and use of quantitative and qualitative tools
to measure risk; and creating mechanisms and guidelines to communicate and
understand risk and uncertainty.
In the area of water security, members of the GEO community have spent
much of the past decade developing Earth observation-based tools to better
manage and predict the floods and droughts of the natural water cycle. The everchanging
climate poses ever-greater challenges to water management, as variation
in components of the water cycle can wreak havoc on water and energy resources
and food security, and cause both catastrophic droughts and floods, engendering
tremendous human and economic damage. The Water Cycle Integrator (WCI),
developed and refined by GEO
members through years of field
experience in Africa and Asia,
can help national and regional
governments around the world
mitigate water-related disasters and
promote the efficient use of scarce
water resources.
GEO is prepared to work with
governments, development and aid
organizations, the private sector and
civil society, in the Arab region and
across the globe, to develop robust
disaster risk management and water
cycle management systems that will
contribute to the national, regional
and global resilience necessary
to withstand the harsh forces that
nature displays.
www.earthobservations.org
Changes in use of pivot-irrigation in
Saudi Arabia 1991-2012.
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Jeddah Flood-King Abdullah Street
by Rami Awad (2009) - Own work.
Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
52
SSD_Water_Management.indd 52 04/03/2015 17:56

WATER MANAGEMENT
Managing water to
respond to climatic
variability is not
something that can
be done in isolation.
from small to large scale, and emphasising
underground opportunities to improve water
security.
Fundamental to any such approaches
is recognition of the vital role played by
ecosystems, so we need to improve our
understanding of the function of ecosystems
in variability, and how human interventions
influence variability. Our goal should be to
develop and manage water resources fairly –
share water, land, and food, in a co-operative
manner, and in a way that also emphasises
the needs of vulnerable groups and ensure
that they as not disproportionately burdened
by the impacts of variability.
Managing water to respond to climatic
variability is not something that can be done
in isolation. Water underpins sustainable
development. There is broad consensus
that adapting to climate change is best
addressed in the context of sustainable
development. Depending on local contexts,
needs, and interests there are opportunities
for improving water management that
simultaneously help adaptation to climatic
and other changes, and simultaneously
advance development. Improving
our collection of data and developing
comprehensive models will enable scientists
to better advise policy makers how this can
be achieved – and yet decisions will also need
to be made in data scarce environments,
especially in the developing world.
Agricultural changes
Change is nothing new – but the people,
communities, and societies that cope best
with change of any kind are resilient and
able to adapt. The more resilient they are,
the more they are able to manage climatic
variability, diversify their livelihoods, and
reduce risk.
Given that globally agriculture accounts
for 70 per cent–80 per cent of fresh
water use, competition for water among
agricultural and other water users will be an
issue for years to come in many countries.
Over the next 40 years, farmers will have
to find ways to produce 60 per cent to 70
per cent more to feed the growing global
population. They will have to do this
while faced with growing competition for
resources from other sectors, minimising –
▲
A holistic approach to
water management can
support both agriculture
and the ecosystems on
which it depends.
53
SSD_Water_Management.indd 53 04/03/2015 17:56

WATER MANAGEMENT
Farmers have always lived
with climate variability
and have coping strategies
that they can build on to
adapt to climate change.
or even reducing – the impact on already
stressed ecosystems and while adapting to a
progressively changing climate. This means
making each unit of water produce more.
Poverty and food insecurity are often
highest where water productivity is lowest.
Increasing water productivity is an effective
way to intensify agricultural production,
improve community resilience, and reduce
environmental degradation. In many areas
this is already happening.
In South-East Asia and Africa, farmers
who have adopted the ‘system of rice
intensification’ not only use less water –
because they irrigate intermittently instead
of flooding paddy fields continuously – but
also raise yields and benefit the environment.
Nevertheless, adoption of such technologies
often involves trade-offs. In this case,
growing rice more intensively requires more
labour, more weeding, and more attention
to water management. There are very few
completely win-win solutions.
Managing variability
Farmers have always lived with climate
variability and have coping strategies that
they can build on to adapt to climate change.
They already deal with variations between
seasons, and rains coming earlier or later
than usual and lasting for shorter or longer
periods. Following several years of low
rainfall, farmers in the Upper Bhima River
Basin in South-West India, for instance, are
already shifting from ‘thirsty’ sugar-cane to
less-thirsty soybean: an adaptation to water
scarcity that also gives them a better return.
In diversifying their cropping system by
An International Water Management Institute
review has shown that women in Nepal have
less access to land, education, information, and
social networks than men, so are less resilient
than men and have fewer options for adapting to
changes in climate.
Indigenous and Dalit women in Nepal are
more vulnerable still, as they face gender and
caste discrimination. Although Nepal has a
strategy for targeting adaptation programs to the
vulnerable, such as Dalits, women, and disabled
people, this is mainly through groups.
Storing water
at farm level
is an effective
insurance policy
against periods
of water scarcity
Unequal access to adaptation funds in Nepal
planting vegetables as well as rice to adapt
to urbanisation and developing markets, rice
farmers on the outskirts of towns and cities
in South-East Asia are producing more food
per unit of water. At the same time they
are also becoming more resilient to climate
change.
Combining tactics such as growing a
greater variety of crops, growing crops that
are more drought-resistant or need less water
at critical times, installing micro-irrigation,
and constructing small ponds or tanks
However, a study on ‘unequal citizens’ found
that Dalit men and women have no time to be
involved in group activities.
Groups are dominated by men and women
from higher castes. This means that although
the national climate change adaptation policy
endeavors to direct adaptation funds to women
and marginalised groups, Dalit men and women,
and indigenous communities are not accessing
these funds because group members from higher
castes control their distribution.
Source: Sugden et al. Forthcoming
decrease the risk of crop failure, raise overall
farm yields, sustainable use the resource,
and build resilience to changing conditions.
In Madhya Pradesh, incomes of farmers
who constructed on-farm ponds to irrigate
pulses and wheat have risen by over 70 per
cent.
In Tanzania, meanwhile, half of the
dry-season cash incomes of smallholders
come from growing irrigated vegetables.
In Zambia, meanwhile, the 20 per cent of
smallholders who cultivate vegetables in the
dry season by irrigating on a small scale earn
35 per cent more than those who do not.
While farmers can be helped to adapt to
climate variability and change at local level,
the authority to plan and approve basinwide
projects, such as diverting saved water
from irrigation to preserve the environment
and benefit from ecosystem services, may lie
in political or other spheres. Assessments –
for example, that value the benefits forgone
by reallocating water from canal irrigation
to environmental flows under different
water allocation schemes and climate
change scenarios – can help decision-makers
understand trade-offs and manage demand.
54
SSD_Water_Management.indd 54 04/03/2015 17:56

WATER MANAGEMENT
Download the free book
Tackling Change: Futureproofing
water, agriculture
and food security in an era
of climate uncertainty at
www.iwmi.org
Sixty percent of the world’s food
is produced on rain-fed crop-land.
Supplemental irrigation – irrigation applied
only at the critical stages of crop growth
– combined with better management of
soil, nutrients, and crops can more than
double water productivity and yields in
small-scale rain-fed agriculture. Major
increases in production in the Mekong
delta, for example, have been achieved by
supplemental irrigation in the dry season.
Simple water-lifting equipment – powered
by fossil fuels, electricity, the sun, people, or
animals – and micro-irrigation techniques,
ranging from clay pots to drippers, can,
when appropriately used, also dramatically
boost the ability to cope with climatic
variability, and can have a profound effect
on agricultural productivity. Dry-season
irrigation of rice could improve yields
between 70 per cent and 300 per cent across
sub-Saharan Africa.
How governments can help
In the short-term, adaptation in many
agro-economies is likely to involve the
uptake of improved agricultural and
water management technologies. In the
long term, however, diversifying sources
of income is likely to become the main
Farmers will need to
diversify their crops to
cope with climate change
adaptation strategy. Trends in migration
to urban centres, off-farm employment,
remittances from abroad, and new businesses
that capitalise on advances in information
technology and other infrastructure, signal
that adaptation to changes in climate and
Data collection is
vital for sustainable
water management
other circumstances is already underway.
Governments could help men, women,
and communities adapt to changing
circumstances – including more variable
and extreme climate – by delivering public
services (such as sanitation, drinking water),
and information about agriculture, livestock,
and fisheries, more effectively.
Taking a sustainable development
approach to adaptation addresses
vulnerability, rather than just climate change.
Promoting broad-based agricultural
development, appropriate to the respective
ecosystems, to lift rural communities out of
poverty, represents an effective adaptation
strategy in rural areas. The sustainable
development approach builds resilience
in the production and ecosystems and the
ability to cope with climatic variability and
unforeseen circumstances both now and in
the future.
For many communities, adaptation and
sustainable development will be one and the
same. As incomes, livelihoods, and wellbeing
improve, so will resilience. ■
Peter McCornick is Deputy Director General, Research, at the
International Water Management Institute, and co-author
of Tackling change: Future-proofing water, agriculture and
food security in an era of climate uncertainty
DAVID BRAZIER, HAMISH APPLEBY, DAVID WILLIAMS, PETTERIK WIGGERS, FASEEH SHAMS/IWMI
55
SSD_Water_Management.indd 55 04/03/2015 17:56

FOOD SECURITY
Feeding the need
for food education
At first sight, the factors that make gender equality
and women’s empowerment a food and nutrition
issue may not be obvious – but the issues are closely
interdependent. By understanding how, we are better
placed to promote equality, social equity, gender equality
– and women’s empowerment, argues Sonsoles Ruedas,
Director of the Gender Office at The World Food Programme.
56
SSD_Food security and gender.indd 56 04/03/2015 14:02

FOOD SECURITY
The World Food Program (WFP)’s
mandate is to end hunger. In recent years
the organisation has moved from a food aid
model to a food assistance one, that allows
us to close the gap between its humanitarian
work and its development work: this means
that it increases impact and delivers more
efficient and effective services – and more
long-term results and impacts on the lives of
the most vulnerable.
We do not have a real chance of achieving
the Zero Hunger goal unless we better
understand who is hungry or malnourished –
and why. It is for this reason that setting goals
for gender equality in food assistance is a
must-have. If we do not use a gender ‘lens’ to
analyse vulnerabilities to food and nutritional
insecurity, we will fail in our duty to the
world’s hungry.
As long as there is one hungry person in
the world, we will need to continue to ask
‘why?’, and also who that person is (woman?
man? girl? boy?). We will continue to ask their
age, and try to understand what other factors
(disability, race, ethnicity, etc.) keep them
unseen – and unheard; and how all these
factors together contribute to making that
person more likely to suffer from hunger.
The Zero Hunger Challenge
Eliminating hunger means investing in
agriculture, rural development, decent
work, social protection, and equality of
opportunity, investments that will make a
major contribution to peace and stability and
the reduction of poverty and will contribute
to better nutrition for all – especially during
the first 1,000 days of life for a baby girl or
boy: from conception to the age of two.
During pregnancy, under-nutrition can
have a devastating impact on the healthy
growth and development of a child. Babies
who are malnourished in the womb have
a higher risk of dying in infancy, and are
more likely to face life-long cognitive and
physical deficits, and other chronic health
problems. For children under the age of
two, under nutrition can be life-threatening.
It can weaken a child’s immune system and
make him or her more susceptible to dying
from common illnesses such as pneumonia,
diarrhoea and malaria.
There are five challenges outlined in the
Zero Hunger Challenge that will require
contributions from the global community:
1. Zero stunted children less than two
years
Ensuring universal access to nutritious food
in the 1,000-day window of opportunity
between the start of pregnancy and a
child’s second birthday, supported by
nutrition-sensitive health care, water,
sanitation, education, and specific nutrition
interventions, coupled with initiatives that
empower women.
2. 100 per cent access to adequate food
all year-round
Enabling all people to access the food
they need at all times through decent and
productive employment, a social protection
floor, targeted safety nets, and food assistance
3. All food systems are sustainable.
Encouraging and rewarding universal
adoption of sustainable and climate-resilient
agriculture practices; pursuing cross-sectoral
policy coherence (encompassing energy,
land use, water and climate); implementing
responsible governance of land, fisheries,
and forests.
4. 100 per cent increase in smallholder
productivity and income
Supporting nutrition-sensitive agriculture
and food systems and marketing; boosting
food supply from local producers; through
open, fair and well-functioning markets
and trade policies at local, regional and
international level, preventing excessive food
price volatility.
5. Zero loss or waste of food
Minimising food losses during storage and
transport, and waste of food by retailers
and consumers; achieving progress through
▲
57
SSD_Food security and gender.indd 57 04/03/2015 14:02

FOOD SECURITY
During pregnancy,
under-nutrition can
have a devastating
impact on the
healthy growth and
development of a child.
financial incentives, collective pledges,
locally-relevant technologies, and changed
behaviour.
But achieving zero stunting and 100 per
cent access to adequate food (and, indeed,
all five goals) requires systematic gender
analysis: a profound understanding of
what are the specific barriers that prevent
vulnerable women, men, girls and boys
from having access to appropriate food no
matter what context they live in.
Breaking the cycle of poverty and hunger
requires more efforts in joining-up the dots
between peoples’ ability to produce food
from their own land, their off-farm or selfemployment
earnings so that they can meet
their entire food and nutrition needs.
One example of a programme designed
to close some of the gaps described above
and in ensuring access to food that has
transformative potential for the lives of
subsistence women and men farmers comes
from WFP’s Purchase for Progress (P4P)
programme. This type of project can make
a significant contribution to the economic
and social empowerment of both genders,
with specific targeted actions to include
women and promote gender-equality at the
grass-roots level.
P4P started in 2008 as a pilot initiative
to assist smallholder farmers – most of
whom are women – by offering them
opportunities to have better access
to agricultural markets and become
competitive players in the market place.
P4P was designed to boost the skills and
incomes of women farmers, as they often
are not on the agenda when it comes to
having access to training, inputs, and skillsbuilding.
The vision of P4P is to promote
opportunities for small-holder women
and men farmers in supporting the
development of agricultural markets so
that a targeted number of low-income
smallholder farmers (again, mostly women),
are able to produce food surpluses and sell
them at a competitive price. The result is
improved incomes and capacity-building
training offered to farmers of both sexes,
so as to increase their skill-sets, improve
their production, and make their business
models better suited for the market place.
Piloted from 2008 to 2013 in 21 countries,
of which 15 were located in Africa, it
enabled 41,230 women farmers to sell their
agricultural surpluses to WFP, and 225,575
women farmers to participate in capacitybuilding
training sessions.
Throughout the five-year pilot project,
P4P has shifted from gender-conscious to
gender-transformative, specifically targeting
women farmers and testing models that
benefit them.
In collaboration with a wide range
of partners, P4P has supported women
producers to gain greater control over
their lives, as well as enhanced voice at
community and household levels. Women’s
participation in P4P-supported farmers’
organizations tripled during the pilot period.
However, the experience demonstrated
that numerical participation in a project,
while necessary, does not directly translate
into a positive impact on the lives of women
farmers, nor provide them with the same
financial gains as their male counterparts.
Instead, a range of interventions are
needed to address underlying inequalities,
empowering women farmers socially,
economically and through capacity
development, and assisting them to access
markets and benefit financially from their
work.
Cash transfer schemes
Another of the WFP’s interventions that
has significantly contributed to reducing the
burden of poverty, especially for women, is
the Cash Transfers, Voucher Programmes
and Cash for Work initiatives. Since 2008,
Cash Transfer and Voucher Programmes
and Cash-for-Work (CFW) programmes
have been designed to ensure that women
benefit equally with men, without any
harmful effects.
For years labour-intensive programmes
have targeted women with the well-meaning
objective of increasing their income and
productivity; other income-generating
schemes have demanded that women attend
a slew of training courses and sit on project
management bodies. The results of these
endeavours have, however, often resulted in
doing more harm than good.
A large percentage (if not all) of the work
that women do at the household level is
Involving men in food projects and learning betters the chances that a family’s nutrition will improve
58
SSD_Food security and gender.indd 58 04/03/2015 14:02

FOOD SECURITY
Numerical participation in a
project does not directly translate
into a positive impact on the lives
of women farmers, nor provide
them with the same financial gains
as their male counterparts.
unpaid and hence uncounted. The poorer
the woman, the heavier the burden: she has
to fetch and carry firewood and water; she
has to cook and clean; she is more often
than not responsible for tending the fields
and the small animals. And here comes the
development project heaping more activities
on this already over-burdened woman…
Through cash-transfer schemes the WFP
ensures that:
• The programmes take into account the
needs of women and children, including
food and nutrition security and links analysis
of the potential for domestic violence with
the issue of control over cash or vouchers
distributed
• A monitoring system is put in place to
ascertain whether women are empowered
by cash transfer and voucher programmes,
through gender analysis of decision-making
processes at the household level, improved
livelihoods, and the introduction of laboursaving
technologies.
• The long-term goal of all of these projects
and interventions is that there will come a
time when all nations will move from social
protection to full empowerment and food
security as envisaged in the Zero Hunger
Challenge.
Challenges: cultural barriers,
stereotypes
If Zero Hunger is to be achieved within in
our lifetime we need to challenge harmful
cultural barriers that render people invisible,
unheard and, as a result, excluded. Together
with stereotypes of women’s and men’s roles
in society, in agriculture, in commercial
business, and the public sector, these cultural
practices can limit people’s ability to become
empowered, accountable citizens who have
the freedom to have a hand in their own
future. While respecting cultural diversity,
we do need to tackle harmful traditions that
perpetuate gender inequality.
These include:
• Child marriage and female genital
mutilation (FGM)
• Empowering women to have better access
and control over agricultural resources will
also increase food security (see the UN Food
and Agriculture Organisation’s ‘State of
Food and Agriculture’ report, 2011 – lifting
Recognition of unpaid
work breaks down
mistaken notions of
women in the home as
just being consumers
100 million out of hunger if women get
better access to improved agricultural to
inputs, and so forth.)
• Involving men in nutrition projects and
learning – because men are entitled to be
educated too about good nutrition; and in
many cultures, because they are responsible
for buying food at the market, there is a
better chance that their family’s nutrition will
improve also
• Keeping children out of school
• Reaching women and children with
lifesaving services, including nutrition
interventions: in food-insecure contexts
asks that we link health and food systems,
and our experience of working in difficult
contexts and in close collaboration with
governments.
• Taboos on food consumption in pregnancy,
which affect nutrition and the well-being
of the unborn child; knowing that there is
a direct link between better nutrition and
healthier children
Over the last 20 years, WFP has done a lot
to contribute to improving women’s access to
food and better nutrition. Mother-and-child
health and nutrition (MCHN) programmes
can break gender barriers in childcare, and
as we have learnt by including men and boys
in nutrition and health education activities,
these improvements have greater impact and
sustainability.
While in the past WFP MCHN programs
had a tendency to focus solely on mothers,
and to ignore fathers and other household
members who can potentially play a
supportive role in improving mother and
child nutrition.
This situation is rapidly changing.
Some WFP programs have taken steps to
introduce gender sensitive approaches to
MCHN by involving men. In Sri Lanka,
for the MCHN program pregnant women
and their husbands were invited to the first
ante-natal check-up at the clinic to discuss
issues related to pregnancy, such as nutrition,
food taboos, hygiene, and domestic violence.
This ensured that both partners were aware
of basic health and nutrition issues during
pregnancy.
In Burkina Faso the evaluation of a WFP
programme there for protracted relief
and recovery in 2012 highlighted that
the gender-bias towards mothers reduced
the possibilities of influencing change in
maternal health and nutrition. Husbands
▲
59
SSD_Food security and gender.indd 59 04/03/2015 14:02

FOOD SECURITY
Eliminating hunger means
investing in agriculture,
rural development,
decent work, social
protection, and equality
of opportunity.
WFP-AMJAD JAMAL, WFP-FRANCES KENNEDY, WFP-AHNNA GUDMUNDS, WFP-TERESA HA, WWW.SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
Breaking the cycle of poverty and hunger requires more understanding of the food-earnings relationship
were only involved erratically in clinic visits.
The evaluation recommended that positive
changes in MCHN could result, if husbands
are involved and also other members of
the household, such as mothers-in-law and
aunts, who often influence young mothers’
nutritional and behavioural health choices
during pregnancy and after.
Supporting evidence...
Gender equality can make substantial
contributions to a country’s economic
growth, and is the single most important
determinant of food security. According to
an the recently-published report, ‘Gender
Equality and Food Security – Women’s
Empowerment as a Tool against Hunger’
(FAO/ADB, 2013), a pan-national study of
developing countries covering the period
1970 –1995, 43 per cent of the reduction of
hunger that was achieved was attributable
to progress in women’s education. The
study goes on to suggest that 55 per cent of
the gains against hunger in said countries
were due to the improvement of women’s
situation in society, reinforcing recent global
comparisons that show a strong correlation
between hunger and gender inequalities.
If the unpaid work of women and girls in
developing countries were to be financed by
the public purse, it would represent 94 per
cent of the total tax revenue of the Republic
of Korea, and 182 per cent of the total tax
revenue of India, according to the ‘Gender
Equality and Food Security’ report. The
contribution made by care and carers to the
economy needs better acknowledgement –
especially in developing countries, because
research indicates that this is done, mostly, by
women.
Recognition of unpaid work in the
care economy breaks down the common
dichotomy that, while men (and women who
join the labour market) produce, women
at home consume. The difference is not
between production and consumption,
it is between work that is recognised and
compensated and work that is not.
Improved representation of women at the
local level is at least as significant as such
improvement in national parliaments and
executives. Decisions made at the local level
are of great practical importance to what
matters most to women’s ability to contribute
to food security.
Such decisions may concern allocation
of land, choice of which crops to grow, or
how available labour is shared between the
plots of land. ‘Gender Equality and Food
Security’ documents how participation
in local decision-making is where women
can most readily challenge dominant
representations concerning power and
voice. Effective gender sensitisation efforts
incorporate the needs of communities,
responding to the opportunities, challenges,
and recommendations identified by countryand
region-specific assessments. Both men
and women have been included during
gender awareness training, providing a
space to stress the economic gains gender
equality can provide for households and
communities.
These methods can assist men to
understand that women’s empowerment
does not mean men’s disempowerment.
They have also proven effective at acquiring
the buy-in of influential members of
communities, such as religious and
customary leaders. In some cases, male
authorities and community leaders have
played leading roles in supporting women
farmers to increase agricultural production
and access markets, recognising the value
of women’s equitable participation in
agriculture.
These are some of the considerations that
motivate the WFP to ensure that women’s
agency in projects such as RWEE, P4P,
R4, etc., as they are based on the idea that
economic and political empowerment are
mutually supportive. ■
The World Food Programme is the world’s
largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger
worldwide – more information at www.wfp.org.
We have a better chance of achieving Zero
Hunger if we know who’s feeling hungry...
60
SSD_Food security and gender.indd 60 04/03/2015 14:02

SSD_Al-Khair_ad.indd 61 04/03/2015 14:37

ECONOMIC GROWTH
Challenging times
for challenge funds
Enabling the efficient and effective spending of public and private funds for an
array of development purposes has been an important facet of Crown Agents’
work for many years. Defrim Dedej, one of Crown Agents’ senior fund managers,
looks at how challenge funds can help to strengthen the private sectors of
developing countries, and the important considerations of their use
62
SSD_supply chain.indd 62 04/03/2015 14:03

ECONOMIC GROWTH
In recent years, a number of donors have
increasingly championed the importance
of supporting economic growth to help
bring about sustainable gains in developing
countries. Large volumes of public capital
from DFID, SIDA, and others, have been
targeted at developing with the aim of
private sector development (PSD).
The approaches to facilitating this are
varied but one mechanism utilised with
enthusiasm – one that is seen to yield real
results – is the challenge fund. As a grant
making mechanism, challenge funds are
used in a variety of contexts and targeted at
specific groups of people or issues.
Managed carefully, they can achieve not
only the desired outcomes, but also encourage
innovation and foster genuine partnerships
among various stakeholders, which can
then lead to better learning and stronger
impact in the future. Some of the benefits
arising from using a challenge fund mechanism
include:
• A cost-effective and transparent funding
mechanism
• A mechanism that encourages competition
through triggering a search for smart and
cost-effective solutions
• The ability to generate and test new business
ideas without distorting local markets
▲
63
SSD_supply chain.indd 63 04/03/2015 14:03

ECONOMIC GROWTH
It is vital to have a mindset
that acknowledges
the risk and a clear
acceptance of a challenge
fund’s fundamental role
in funding experiments
Challenge funds can
encourage innovation
and potentially
transform how
particular complex
problems are tackled
• A mechanism that if managed well can
encourage and achieve systemic change to
benefit the poor
However, bear in mind that no funding
mechanism is without risks, and neither are
there any funding mechanisms that cannot
be improved upon. Based on Crown Agents’
wide experience in managing donors’ funds
in this way, here, we look at some key ways
in which we try to improve the efficiency of
challenge funds, increasing the likelihood of
more efficient use of private and public capital
and enhancing developmental outcomes.
Better programme design
Strengthening the design of challenge
funds can ensure that they are based
on good research, a strong theory of
change and carefully constructed logical
framework. From Crown Agents perspective,
active challenge funds that are rather
unfocused and overly ambitious and fail
to take particular local conditions into
consideration, are numerous. The potential
implication of this is damage or distortion of
local economies – which goes against the key
‘do no harm’ principle of grant making.
64
It is important to think about the different
components of a challenge fund, and how
they work as a whole – recognising that
there are numerous factors to be considered.
These include:
• The area of focus
• The type of grant winner desired, and
proposals that will lead to grants
• …And, of course, the outcomes anticipated
Each decision along the way makes an
impact upon the others, and may limit a
donor’s choice in other areas or even ruleout
other choices completely. It is important,
therefore, to consider how decisions relate
to each other; no decision should be taken
in isolation, since this could lead to a huge
waste of money and resources.
As part of the challenge fund design
process, donors also need to specify the
outcomes and impacts they are seeking to
achieve and their plans to measure success.
Without doing so – and without clear key
performance indicators – attached, the end
result can take on an ‘Alice in Wonderland’
sense of uncertainty, which naturally is to
nobody’s ultimate benefit. To recall Lewis
Carroll’s classic’s exchange between Alice
and the smug purrings of the grinning
Cheshire Cat,
‘Cheshire Puss,’ [Alice] began, rather timidly…
‘Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go
from here?’
‘That depends a good deal on where you want to get
to,’ said the Cat.
‘I don’t much care where —’ said Alice.
‘Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,’ said the
Cat
‘—So long as I get somewhere,’ Alice added as an
explanation.
‘Oh, you’re sure to do that,’ said the Cat, ‘if only
you walk long enough.’
The focus factor
One approach to focus this is, for
example, to concentrate on a specific
country and/or particular sector (such as
agriculture, education, health, or mobile
communications technology), rather than
a multi-country and more widely-focused
approach. Such targeting can increase
understanding of real dynamics and needs
and improve the cascade of learning in the
chosen sector, while enhancing opportunities
for replication and improving end impacts.
The resources available to manage the
challenge fund can be used more efficiently
As the Cheshire Cat advised Alice, you’re bound
to get somewhere if you walk for long enough...
SSD_supply chain.indd 64 04/03/2015 14:03

ECONOMIC GROWTH
Bear in mind that no funding
mechanism is without risks,
and neither are there any
funding mechanisms that
cannot be improved upon
A privately-funded challenge fund can have a greater appetite for risk, supporting unconventional problem solvers
– which can improve services to the grantees.
For example, the challenge fund manager
can deliver capacity building to grantees
through a workshop instead of a one-to-one
basis.
All grantees will benefit when they speak
the same language; and all are operating in
the same field, and might be facing similar
challenges with, for example, the legal system.
Undertaking monitoring and evaluation
could also be easily facilitated, using
meaningful standard indicators, and allowing
a donor to report succinctly on the challenge
fund’s overall outcomes and impact.
Balancing risk with returns
Balancing risk with returns on successful
innovation is a key consideration. By design,
the key purpose of a challenge fund is to
encourage innovation which, given the possibility
of a lack of precedent or best practice
on which to base business activity, implies
risk. A high proportion of new businesses fail
for a wide range of reasons even in apparently
prosperous and opportune Western
markets, so the risks of innovation must not
be ignored at any point. It is vital to have a
mind-set that acknowledges the risk and a
clear acceptance of a challenge fund’s fundamental
role in funding experiments, and in
finding new approaches – and potentially
creating a breakthrough change, by transforming
the way that we tackle a particular
complex problem.
While this might mean accepting a higher
risk of failure, the trade-off has the potential
to be a truly game-changing investment if a
venture succeeds. So, the key question when
assessing challenge fund proposals aimed at
supporting private sector development, is
less ‘Is this going to work?’, and more about
‘What could the end impact be in terms of
poverty reduction and wealth creation?’
Another consequence of funding only
those business ventures that are deemed ‘sure
bets’ is that a donor runs the risk of distorting
local markets, as the sure bets may well
be more likely to obtain commercial business
loans without the need for donor grants.
So risk and reward trade-offs hold good
for challenge funds – with the key aim of
generating larger scale, positive social impact
when successful, set against the potential
downside of financial loss when innovations
fail. Failure, in itself, is not necessarily a bad
thing, so long as lessons can be learned, and
they are not repeated.
Setting–up a Challenge Fund
Bearing in mind the above, when creating a
private sector-focused challenge fund, donors
could take several steps to manage the risk,
while also seeking strong impact:
• Collaborate more with private trusts or
foundations, whose risk profiles may be less
constrained by use of private (rather than
public) funds. Their aim could well be to
find the innovative solutions to complex
social problems, and to learn from the
experience or to concentrate the challenge
fund objective on supporting the scale up of
innovative business venture ideas that have
already proved successful.
• Require the challenge fund manager to be
more proactive at identifying and reaching
beyond the ‘usual suspects’ in order to scout
for promising new business ventures whose
growth will significantly assist the poor.
• Use a selection process that views positively
engaging unconventional problem solvers and
high-risk, high-reward business venture ideas.
65
▲
SSD_supply chain.indd 65 04/03/2015 14:03

ECONOMIC GROWTH
The resources available
to manage the
challenge fund can be
used more efficiently
– which can improve
services to the grantees
CROWN AGENTS, NEFTALI/WWW.SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
• As well as providing capital, provide
targeted technical assistance to the new
ventures as they develop. Take a hands-on
approach in helping to shape and guide
early-stage ideas as they move from concept
to implementation – and use mentors, or
others who have good experience of microbusiness
and its growth path.
• Closely monitor and evaluate all funded
business ventures, and consider diverting
funding from weaker performers to the more
promising ideas, allowing enough time for
ideas to percolate, iterate, and emerge.
To conclude, the challenge for statutory
donors as far as deploying the mechanism
of challenge fund to support private sector
development is to achieve a realistic and
balanced approach. In practical terms,
this means improving the challenge fund’s
programmatic design and finding innovative
means of management and perhaps accepting
a higher risk profile.
A key point worth remembering is that the
biggest risk to any donor is not financial loss
but inability to achieve the desired outcome/
impact for their funds because after all money
given away for social purposes is effectively
gone, regardless of outcomes. ■
Crown Agents is an international development
company that partners with governments, aid
agencies, NGOs, and companies in nearly 100
countries. Find out more at www.crownagents.
com.
Challenge funds can generate and test new
business ideas without distorting local economies
Background Briefing: what are challenge funds?
Challenge funds sit among a wide range of funding
mechanisms that exist on the development
finance landscape, but its name is very specifically
defining.
In a challenge fund, a donor provides grants or
subsidies aimed at addressing a core ‘challenge’:
the donor defines a goal and then invites service
providers or agencies to achieve it through competitive
bids for the money. The goal generally
has an explicit public purpose and the grant
recipients are given broad control over how the
goal is achieved and they can share risks with the
grant provider.
They often invite innovation and risk-sharing
– particularly when aimed at private sector
development – opening-up opportunities for new
development ideas to be put forward and tried,
as mentioned in the main part of this article.
Despite inviting this innovation, the allocation of
funding is still strictly monitored through clearly
defined and advertised rules and procedures.
So: what makes challenge funds different from,
say, managed funds or prize funds?
Unlike managed funds, challenge funds are
more defined in what they what to achieve but
they also put more responsibility in the hands
of those being challenged – the grant recipients.
And prize funds are more reward-focused and often
look at the past performance of the recipient.
While bearing strong similarities to prize funds,
challenge funds generally have higher expectations
on the outcomes. Within the definition
of challenge funds there are further variants:
enterprise challenge funds, for example, promote
innovation and enterprise in developing markets
and must pass the business test of being potentially
viable without recurrent subsidy. And civil
society – or social – funds largely contribute to
social goals such as building people’s livelihoods,
promoting human rights or improving public
sector accountability.
Crown Agents has managed numerous challenge
funds over the years, including Department
for International Development (DFID)’s Global
Poverty Action Fund (GPAF), and its Civil Society
Challenge Fund (CSCF).
GPAF is a £120 million fund, running from
2010 to 2017 that supports projects focused on
poverty reduction, service delivery and the most
off-track Millennium Development Goals in countries
including Afghanistan, Cambodia, the Central
African Republic and Somalia.
CSCF, meanwhile, is a fund that Crown Agents
has managed since 2010, funding projects that
are all scheduled to be completed by the end
of 2015. It is aimed at UK-based civil society organisations
(CSOs) to strengthen the role of civil
society in reducing levels of poverty among poor
and marginalised groups around the world.
In both funds we have been integral in carrying
out duties including technical appraisals of project
proposals, performance assessments of project
implementation and overseeing financial management
of the fund to ensure value for money.
66
SSD_supply chain.indd 66 04/03/2015 14:03

IDRF (International Development & Relief Foundation)
A Canadian, registered charitable organization, dedicated to empowering the disadvantaged people of the world.
IDRF provides effective humanitarian aid and sustainable development programs, without discrimination, based
on the Islamic principles of human dignity, self-reliance and social justice.
IDRF SAVE LIVES
When disasters strike or conflicts disrupt communities leaving people in desperate need of shelter, food, medical
attention and psychological support, IDRF swiftly partners with organizations on the ground saving lives, helping them
recover and rebuild.
IDRF DEVELOPS COMMUNITIES
For the past 30 years, IDRF has helped victims of war and disasters while working towards alleviating poverty. We have
reached out to deprived communities in Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and the Americas.
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS
Nearly 75 million children in the world have no opportunity to attend primary school. IDRF’s Enabling Education
campaign provides quality education for poor girls and boys through several strategic initiatives.
Access to safe water is linked to food security, health and hygiene. IDRF Water helps poor families and communities get
clean water through wells and mobile distribution in several regions.
www.idrf.com
908 The East Mall Road
Toronto, Ontario, M9B 6K2
Canada
1 866 497 IDRF (4373); office@idrf.ca IDRF Charitable #: 132542705RR0001
SSD_supply chain.indd 67 04/03/2015 14:03

IMPACT, SCALABILITY, AND SUSTAINABILITY
WASH and learn
Bringing water and sanitation to 220 of Haiti’s earthquake-struck schools
has not only re-established their students’ educational prospects, but
also contributed toward community health and well-being.
Tariq Al Gurg, Chief Executive Officer at Dubai Cares, has the inspiring story.
Haiti was already an impoverished and
politically-unstable country when a 7.0
magnitude earthquake struck on January
12, 2010, reducing much of the Caribbean
country to many mounds of rubble, and
killing tens of thousands of its inhabitants.
In 2015, the country is still suffering from
the aftermath of the earthquake which has
caused poverty and widespread diseases,
such as cholera.
Over one million people were displaced
by the catastrophe, many of them forced to
live in camps with limited access to clean
water and sanitation. Some 5,000 schools
were damaged or destroyed by the disaster
– a staggering figure, by any estimation
– but even before that, sanitation in Haiti’s
schools was often very substandard, putting
the children who attended them at risk of
waterborne diseases.
More than 60 per cent of schools across
the country (both public and private) had no
access to water, hygiene, or sanitation. This
created a difficult learning environment for
children, to say the least.
After the quake, a devastating cholera
outbreak made proper sanitation more
important than ever before. Hundreds of
thousands of people have been sick with
cholera since the outbreak began in October
2010, and there have been more than 7,000
fatalities.
Dubai Cares, in close collaboration with
UNICEF, worked primarily on schools which
are a priority according to the Ministry of
Education. A comprehensive list of 220
68
SSD_Ensuring Impact, Sustainability and Scalability.indd 68 04/03/2015 14:03

IMPACT, SCALABILITY, AND SUSTAINABILITY
WASH and go on: pupils
at the Institution Mixte de
Beauvoir in Port-au-Prince
have learnt how personal
acts as simple as washing
hands with soap, will ensure
better productivity at school.
lacked proper facilities. Children used
latrines; but due to lack of water, they were
constantly dirty, posing a health risk for the
students. To find water, they had to dig a
well, install a pump, and then carry water to
the facilities.
“It was really complicated,” recalls Ms.
Beauvoir. “Now there are enough toilets
for all the school children – and the air is
breathable. Now children can go safely without
worrying about soiling their clothes.”
The change is not just limited to bricks
and mortar. Now that good knowledge can
actually be practiced, Ms. Beauvoir has
instituted new hygiene promotion activities.
“We are doing permanent outreach work
with the students on hygiene,” she explains.
“That way they also become ‘health officers’
– passing on the information they learn here
at school to their families at home, and [then
into the] communities in which they live.
These practices should now become part of
their habits.”
Year after year, millions of school-age
children fall prey to diseases linked to poor
water and sanitation which leave them weakened,
and therefore unable to attend school
on a regular basis or participate to their full
potential. The tragedy of the situation is that
this could be easily prevented by enforcing
sound hygiene and sanitation practices.
Through Dubai Cares’ WASH programs
in Haiti, the organisation is tackling the
issue by changing student attitudes towards
hygiene, and showcasing how a personal act
as simple as washing hands with soap, will
ensure better productivity at school.
These positive results of the WASH
program, achieved in the context of a life
threatening cholera outbreak, and combined
with higher level advocacy, inspired
the Government of Haiti to declare WASH
in schools one of its key priorities – and to
establish a National Alliance for WASH in
Schools. Launched on March 20, 2012 with
the Ministry of Education, this national
alliance unites a variety of actors that see
children as key ‘agents of change’ in their
communities and their nation.
Dubai Cares helped improve the wellbeing
of children through the integration of
water and sanitation facilities and hygiene
activities in primary schools. As part of
the program, Dubai Cares supported the
sustainable integration of WASH in primary
schools by reinforcing the child as the ‘Agent
of Change’ and the school as a ‘centre of
excellence’ for sanitation and hygiene in
the community. With the support of Dubai
Cares, UNICEF has also provided WASH
services in displacement camps in the aftermath
of the disaster.
▲
schools was developed and agreed upon with
the Ministry of Education.
Through this programme, from 2010 to
2011, Dubai Cares reached 132,000 children
and 6,600 teachers and at least a further
20,000 future school children benefiting
from the installation of child-friendly water,
sanitation, and hand-washing facilities.
The WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene)
programme has also provided schools with
chlorine tabs, posters about cholera prevention,
and soap.
Ms. Andrelita Beauvoir, headmistress of
Institution Mixte de Beauvoir in Port-au-
Prince, explained that before the earthquake,
the school was in a different building that
Information technology can play a key part in knowledge-sharing when it comes to hygiene
69
SSD_Ensuring Impact, Sustainability and Scalability.indd 69 04/03/2015 14:03

IMPACT, SCALABILITY, AND SUSTAINABILITY
With the right support,
leadership, and opportunities
– individuals can flourish, and
in turn, initiate real change in
their communities.
Best practice file: Dubai Cares
The United Arab Emirates is a relatively
young country, having only recently celebrated
its 43rd National Day. Despite its
youth, or perhaps because of it, it has fostered
a legacy of change, and has created
a setting where anything may be possible.
Yet just 42 years ago, the UAE was a radically
different place, with approximately
500,000 residents, many of whom lived in
Bedouin communities; in 2015, the UAE is
home to nearly 10 million people, representing
over 200 nationalities.
The UAE has transformed into a vibrant
knowledge-based community – a hub of
culture and commerce where change is celebrated,
and its leaders have the capacity
to contribute and make a real difference.
Experience has taught its citizens that
within the right setting – with the right
support, leadership, and opportunities – individuals
can flourish, and in turn, initiate
real change in their communities.
The UAE has become a substantial
contributor to development aid worldwide,
owing to the vision and hard work
of the UAE’s forefather, His Highness
Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan –
who instilled the virtues of giving, and
this is also due to the leadership of our
President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa
bin Zayed Al Nahyan and His Highness
Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum,
Vice President and Prime Minister
of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai – who have
committed themselves to continue in the
same footsteps. In addition to contributing
to international humanitarian activities,
the UAE has also constantly taken full
advantage of its geographical location and
global standing in procuring aid for the
Middle East.
Much of the UAE’s humanitarian work
that has been contributed locally, regionally
and internationally is spearheaded by
government institutions or philanthropic
and charity organisations, such as the
Abu Dhabi Development Fund, Khalifa Bin
Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation, Zayed bin
Sultan Al Nahyan Charitable and Humanitarian
Foundation, UAE Red Crescent Society,
Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum
Humanitarian and Charity Establishment,
Sharjah Charity Association, Noor Dubai
Foundation, and Dubai Cares, as well as
many others, alongside contributions by
the private sector and individual donors.
The January 2010 earthquake devastated
Haiti’s educational infrastructure: this
site used to be a university
Dubai Cares was established in 2007
by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin
Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and
Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of
Dubai, as a philanthropic organisation with
the aim of improving childrens’ access to
quality primary education in developing
countries. Dubai Cares is headquartered
in Dubai, a strategic location which gives
the organisation a vantage point to access
one-third of the world’s population within
a four-hour flight of UAE airports, and twothirds
within an eight-hour flight.
This enables Dubai Cares to reach out to
developing countries, both regionally and
globally, and be active participants in the
world-wide conversation surrounding the
importance of education.
As an organisation, Dubai Cares’ work
stems from His Highness Sheikh Mohammed’s
vision, guidance and directive. It
works towards eliminating the underlying
obstacles that prevent children from going
to school and learning, and relies on a
holistic approach that motivates children
to attend school, study and move onto the
next level of education.
There are 58 million primary-age
children today who do not have access
to education, and a further 250 million
primary school-age children globally are
still not able to read, write, or count adequately.
Dubai Cares’ basic mandate is to
provide primary-age children in developing
countries with the provisions to gain a
good education while eliminating factors
that lead to drop-outs and absenteeism.
Dubai Cares designs and funds integrated
programmes along with its international
and local implementing partners, which
are aligned with the strategies of the
educational ministries in beneficiary countries.
Programmes comprise building and
renovating schools and classrooms, improving
water, sanitation, and hygiene in
schools; providing school feeding, deworming
activities; early childhood education,
70
SSD_Ensuring Impact, Sustainability and Scalability.indd 70 04/03/2015 14:03

IMPACT, SCALABILITY, AND SUSTAINABILITY
Dubai Cares is
headquartered in
Dubai, a location which
gives the organisation a
vantage point to access
the world’s population
Dubai Cares’ basic mandate is to provide
primary-age children in developing countries
with the provisions to gain a good education
Boys and girls need equality of access to
safe learning environments with adequate
facilities, materials, and academic support
as well as teacher training, curriculum development,
literacy and numeracy. Gender
equality is a cross-cutting theme in Dubai
Cares programs, with an approach that
aims to secure equality of access for boys
and girls to safe learning environments
with adequate facilities, materials, and
academic support from qualified teachers
and engaged communities.
In 2012, Dubai Cares was selected by
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon to join
as a partner in his five-year Global Education
First Initiative, launched during the
week of the UN General Assembly in New
York in September 2012. This initiative is
designed to ensure high-quality, relevant,
and transformative, education for all
children around the world.
Moreover, in 2014, and as part of the
London Declaration on Neglected Tropical
Diseases (NTDs), Dubai Cares joined a
global alliance led by the Bill & Melinda
Gates Foundation, with 13 leading pharmaceutical
companies, global health organisations,
private foundations and donors, and
governments pledging support to reduce
the global burden of NTDs.
One of Dubai Cares’ strategic approaches
to improving student
enrolment, and learning
outcomes, is through an
integrated school health
and nutrition model that
is made-up of NTD control,
school feeding and WASH
(water, sanitation and
hygiene) in schools. Dubai
Cares was also a member
of the Learning Metrics
Task Force (LMTF)
between 2012 and 2014,
which was convened by the Brookings
Institution and UNESCO in order to ensure
that learning becomes a central component
of the global development agenda, in line
with the Global Education First Initiative.
Dubai Cares is currently working directly
with developing countries to support the
implementation of the LMTF recommendations,
assisting governments to evaluate
and improve their national assessment
systems.
Dubai Cares is reaching more than 13
million beneficiaries in 38 developing countries.
In 2014 alone, Dubai cares launched
seven programs in India, Kenya, Namibia,
Pakistan, Palestine, Uganda, and Vietnam;
and during the first quarter of 2015, it
oversaw two successful events in the UAE
– the ‘Rebuild Palestine. Start with Education’
campaign, and ‘Walk for Education
2015’ to engage a total of 11,500 supportive
UAE community members.
Monitoring and evaluation of programs,
as well as targeted research, are integral,
as is the importance of evidence-based
programming. Dubai Cares policy is that
its programmes must be based on, or
contribute to, the evidence base, if they
are to have quantifiable impact. Sixty-five
per cent of its programme designs are
based on existing evidence and proven
models; the remaining 35 per cent of its
programs contribute to the evidence base
by including a research component into
the interventions in order to test and
document the impact.
Sharing experiences and learning are
essential when it comes to tackling the
huge humanitarian aid challenges that
confront us. Dubai Cares has convened
four workshops (in Dubai) on topics as diverse
as ‘Building Evidence in Education’,
‘Home Grown School Feeding programs’,
‘Water, Sanitation and Hygiene in Schools
programs’, and ‘Girls Education programs’.
In February 2012, Dubai Cares also
supported and hosted the second Learning
Metrics Task Force (LMTF) meeting in
Dubai to identify common learning goals
necessary to improve learning opportunities
for children and youth around the
world. These workshops
bring together high-level
representatives and technical
experts from UN
agencies, international
aid organisations and government
representatives
to discuss projects and
exchange best practices,
as well as disseminate key
learnings. ■
For more information about
Dubai Cares and its work,
go to www.dubaicares.ae.
DUBAI CARES, ARINDAMBANERJEE/WWW.SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
71
SSD_Ensuring Impact, Sustainability and Scalability.indd 71 04/03/2015 14:04

SUSTAINABLE TOURISM
72
SSD_Sustainable Tourism.indd 72 04/03/2015 14:05

SUSTAINABLE TOURISM
Islands of
knowledge
When it comes to making the most of the opportunities tourism
brings without jeopardising sustainability, islands – especially
small islands – can find mutually-supporting solutions that
balance the needs of them both, finds Dr Rachel Dodds, Director/
Owner, Sustaining Tourism
The Maldives is one
of the few countries
to establish a tourism
policy that focuses
on setting guidelines
for environmental
construction
Islands are unique not necessarily by size,
but by the physical separation from a
mainland. Being surrounded by water
requires humans to navigate this space by
either air or boat. In a sense, being remote
from other landmasses also gives rise to
heightened challenges for sustainability.
Furthermore, islands – small island
developing states (SIDS) in particular – face
increasingly growing concerns over resource
depletion, climate change, biodiversity loss
and socio-economic inequalities 1 .
The challenge for sustainable development
of these islands involves considering social,
economic and environmental considerations
more urgently than many other destinations
in the world as their predicament is much
more tenuous. Tourism is very often put
forward as a way to achieve sustainable
development, as it can provide employment,
increased foreign exchange, improved
communications, and access and develop
much-needed infrastructure. It should,
however, be properly recognised that tourism
is also dependent on the very resources that
attract tourism and the impacts on islands
are perhaps far greater.
Finite factors
Islands are particularly susceptible to
significant environmental impacts that
may result from the overuse of resources
or uncontrolled tourism development, for
instance. They are also at risk due to their
limited species diversity, often lack of fresh
water, land mass and increasing development
for tourist arrivals.
The sustained beauty of natural and
social environments and hospitality of the
communities where the tourism industry
operates are the core assets of most islands;
yet increased tourism exerts disproportional
influence on the local community; and
cultural homogeneity is ever-increasing.
As the tourism experience is inevitably
linked to many natural and cultural
▲
73
SSD_Sustainable Tourism.indd 73 04/03/2015 14:05

SUSTAINABLE TOURISM
Sustainably-developed
tourism can showcase
positive initiatives that
other countries could
duplicate.
resources that are provided by and shared
with the local community, the need to
address sustainability challenges is vital.
More than 10 per cent of the world’s
population can be designated as islanders,
and recognising and addressing their
vulnerabilities is vital to ensure more
sustainable livelihoods.
Island strengths
Islands of various sizes attract tourism not
only for their natural beauty and beaches
(e.g., the Maldives, Mauritius, Caymans,
Seychelles, etc.), unique environmental
attributes (the Galapagos islands are a pereminent
example), but also their history and
culture (e.g. Andaman and Nicobar Islands,
Guam, and Malta). Looking at global
tourism growth, the number of islands
that are focusing on tourism is increasing
rapidly. Seven of the 15 fastest-growing
countries between 1985 and 1995 were
tourism economies and most of them were
island tourism economies with more than
30 percent of gross domestic product (GDP)
coming from tourism 2 . Indeed, of the most
prosperous countries in the world in 2014 3 ,
nine of the top 30 are islands.
As mentioned earlier, tourism also acts as
a multiplier for employment. The countries
74
The Galapaogos Islands
are a sustainability
success story, with a
higher GNP than Ecuador
that have the highest multiplier effect from
tourism are all islands – Jamaica, Mauritius,
Bermuda, Solomon Islands, Malta, Western
Samoa, and Fiji 4 .
Tourism as an enabler
Tourism, when developed sustainably,
can provide a useful tool for sustainable
development and islands, as well as island
states, now showcase positive initiatives that
other countries could duplicate. Islands
benefit from strong kinship networks – that’s
to say, strong family ties leading to high VFR
tourism (visiting friends and relatives) – and
many of the challenges they face have given
islanders the ability to adapt.
When examining sustainability, islands
have showcased many positive initiatives:
• From a management perspective Chumbe
Island, located off the coast of Tanzania,
developed Africa’s first marine park and
established alternative sources of livelihood
for fishermen 5 .
• In Fiji, villagers are using their traditional
practices and an iterative approach to
safeguard their interests in their island
environment. Lacking the resources to make
new drainage systems and seawalls, local
residents are restoring mangroves and coral
reefs to help prevent flooding and erosion 6 .
• The island of Dominica has focused on
smaller scale tourism that has benefited the
local indigenous community through greater
recognition, revival and maintenance of
their culture, as they are less dependent on
imports to satisfy the mass markets.
• The Maldives is one of the few countries
worldwide to establish a tourism policy
that focused on setting guidelines for
environmental construction 7 . They are also
the first country to aim to be carbon neutral
by 2020 8 .
• Bonaire is famous for its marine strategy
where it was the first of its kind to actively
manage marine resources 9 .
Barbadian farmers
are also turning their
hand to selling local
handicrafts
SSD_Sustainable Tourism.indd 74 04/03/2015 14:05

SUSTAINABLE TOURISM
Of the most prosperous
countries in the world
in 2014, nine of the top
30 are islands…
• When looking at energy and waste,
Tokelau, one of New Zealand’s territories
recently began producing 100 per cent of its
energy from solar sources.
• St Kitts and Nevis are working towards
converting biomass to local electricity and
the Bahamas is aiming to be 99 per cent
fossil fuel free by 2030 10 .
Many islands have put in place waste
water treatment plants to reduce water
pollution, and work towards re-nourishment
and land reclamation (for example, he
Caribbean and Thai islands). In Bonaire, a
small-scale desalination facility powered by
solar energy was established.
The facility was relatively inexpensive
to construct and maintain and is used to
provide communities with safe drinking
water in an environmentally friendly
manner, thus reducing ecological footprint in
remote areas.
In Roatan, Honduras micro-enterprise
solutions have been put in place to
emphasize how to use local knowledge to
manage waste on the island. Now when
islands use traditional wrapping such as
banana leaves, or other plant materials,
for food, it is considered authentic and
interesting to tourists; and these materials
naturally decompose, thereby eliminating
the need for imported plastic bags that may
end-up as unsightly litter 11 .
Island sustainability exemplars
Economically, islands also showcase
positives. The Galapagos, through protection
of wildlife, went from being a largely
unpopulated volcanic outcrop, to become
the richest department in Ecuador – and
now has a higher gross national product
References
1. Graci, S.R. and Dodds, R. Sustainable Tourism in
Islands. Earthscan Press, ISBN 9781844077809
(2010).
2. Giannoni, S. & Maupertuis, M.A. ‘Environmental
quality and optimal investment in tourism infrastructures:
A small island perspective. Tourism Economies, 13(4)
(2007).
3. http://www.businessinsider.com/the-30-mostprosperous-countries-in-the-world-2014-11
499-513
4. http://www.unep.org/resourceefficiency/
Portals/24147/scp/business/tourism/greeneconomy_
tourism.pdf . P423
The island of St. Barthélemy’s
airport’s size limitations have
helped curb mass tourism
(GNP) than mainland Ecuador 12 .
In St. Barthélemy, in the Eastern
Caribbean, meanwhile, a small airport has
prevented the growth of mass tourism, and
has also helped to develop an up-market
destination for French cuisine 13 .
Islands are also supporting livelihoods by
supporting local handicrafts and sourcing.
In Barbados, Antigua and Tobago, efforts
to use local farmers for food production for
tourism as well as selling local handicrafts
have shown many positive benefits 14 .
In the light of these and many other
5. Dodds, R. Ecotourism education and marine conservation:
The Case of Coral Park Chumbe Island, Zanzibar.
Teoros. Vol 1 (2012) .
6. http://www.unep.org/wed/SIDS/about/#.
VNjLY1XF_K0.
7. http://www.unesco.org/culture/natlaws/media/pdf/
maldives/maldives_act_11_08_1998_engl_orof.pdf.
8. http://www.pri.org/stories/2012-01-28/maldivesworking-be-carbon-neutral-2020.
9. http://www.dcnanature.org/bonaire-national-marinepark/.
10. http://www.gseii.org.
success stories, it is evident that islands,
because of their isolation and size and
marginalization and resource limitations
face significant challenges for the sustainable
development of tourism and other
industries. These same traits however, also
offer good examples of how islands can
utilise innovative strategies to become more
sustainable. ■
Dr Rachel Dodds is Director/Owner, Sustaining
Tourism (www.sustainabletourism.net), and Associate
Professor, Ted Rogers School of Hospitality and
Tourism Management, Ryerson University.
11. Graci & Dodds, 2010 ibid.
12. Kerr, S. A. (2005) ‘What is small island sustainable
development about?’ Ocean and Coastal Management,
48: 503-524.
13. McElroy, J. & Dodds, R. ‘What does sustainable
tourism mean for islands’. ID21 Island Insights. P 3
(2007). Special issue invited contribution.
14. PPT (Pro Poor Partnership) & CTO (Caribbean
Tourism Organization). ‘Making Tourism Count for the
Local Economy in the Caribbean: Guidelines for Good
Practice’. UK Travel Foundation, London (2006).
75
DR RACHEL DODDS, STYVE REINECK, MARISA ESTIVILL/WWW.SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
SSD_Sustainable Tourism.indd 75 04/03/2015 14:05

About
DIHAD
DIHAD was launched in 2004 as the Middle East’s first ever humanitarian aid and development event, with a vision of
creating a platform for exchanging humanitarian ideas and values between the East and West. Over the years, DIHAD
has grown into one of the world’s largest humanitarian events that brings together various humanitarian actors and key
decision makers from leading International, Regional & Local NGOs, UN Agencies, Governmental Departments, Charities,
Relief Suppliers, Donors and Funding Agencies.
DIHAD 2015
FEATURED LIST OF SPEAKERS
UN Messenger of Peace and
Chairperson of International
Humanitarian City
HRH Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein
Wife of HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin
Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and
Prime Minister of the United Arab
Emirates and Ruler of Dubai
HE Mr. Christos Stylianides
European Commissioner for
Humanitarian Aid and Crises
Management
HE Mr. Elhadj As Sy
Secretary General, International
Federation of Red Cross and Red
Crescent Societies (IFRC)
HRH Prince Hassan Bin Talal
of Jordan
HE Mr. Ibrahim Bumelha
Humanitarian Advisor of H.H Sheikh
Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum,
Chairman , DIHAD Higher Committee
and President, DISAB
HE Sheikha Lubna Bint Khalid Al
Qasimi
Minister of International Cooperation
and Development, UAE
HE Mr. Pierre Kraehenbul
Commissioner General, United Nations
Relief & Works Agency Palestine
Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA)
HE Mr. William Lacy Swing
Director General, International
Organisation for Migration (IOM)
Mr. Alfredo Zamudio
Director Internal Displacement
Monitoring Centre, Norwegian
Refugee Council – Geneva
Mr. Amin Awad
Director, Middle East & North
Africa Bureau & Regional
Refugee Coordinator (Syria
Situation), United Nations High
- Commissioner For Refugees
(UNHCR)
Mr. Andrew Scott
Research Fellow, Climate &
Environment Programme,
Overseas Development Institute
(ODI) London
H.E. Amb. Atta El Manan
Bakheet El- Haj
Adviser to the Minister, Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, Khartoum, Sudan
Mr. Claus Sorensen
Director General, European
Commission Directorate General
for Humanitarian Aid & Civil
Protection (ECHO)
Ms. Daryl Grisgraber
Senior Advocate For the Middle
East, Refugees International,
Washington DC
Mr. David Kaatrud
Director, Regional Office for Asia &
The Pacific , WFP Bangkok
Ms. Degan Ali
Executive Director, African
Development Solutions (ADESO),
Nairobi
Mr. Didier Le Bret
Director, Crisis Center, Ministry of
Foreign Affairs and Development,
Paris
Mr. Dominique Burgeon
Coordinator, Resilience Strategic
Objective & Director, Emergency
& Rehabilitation Division, Food &
Agriculture Organisation (FAO),
Rome
H.E. Professor Eizi Hibat Allah
Ali Shuraim
Minister For Water & Environment,
Sana’a, Republic of Yemen
Ms. Florika Fink Hooijer
Director Strategy Policy &
International Cooperation,
European Commission Directorate
General for Humanitarian Aid &
Civil Protection (ECHO)
Mr. Francois Grunewald
Executive Director , Groupe
Urgence, Rehabilitation,
Development (URD) France
H.E. Amb. Gerhard Putman-
Cramer
Director , DIHAD International
Scientific Advisory Board
Dr. Ghaith Fariz
Director & Coordinator, Arab
Knowledge Report & (UNDP’s)
Arab Water Governance Report
H.E. Dr. Hamdan Musallam Al
Mazrouie
Speaking on Behalf of H.H Sheikh
Hamdan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan,
Representative of the Ruler of
Abu Dhabi in the Western Region
and President, UAE Red Crescent
Authority
H.H Sheikh Abdul Aziz Bin Ali Al
Nuaimi, Ph.D.
Environmental Advisor to the
Ajman Government, UAE
Mr. Henry Gray
Emergency Operations Manager,
Medicins Sans Frontieres (MSF)
SSD_DIHAD_Programme.indd 76 04/03/2015 14:06

AGENDA SESSIONS
f
y
,
H.E Mr. Hesham Youssef
Assistant Secretary- General
for Humanitarian Affairs,
Organisation of Islamic
Cooperation
Ms. Margareta Wahlstrom
Special Representative of
the Secretary - General for
Disaster Reduction
Mr. Mario Stephan
Gulf Office Director, Norwegian
Refugee Council (NRC), Dubai
Mr. Matthew McKinnon
Specialist, Climate Vulnerable
Forum Support, Environment
& Energy Group, United
Nations Development
Programme (UNDP)
Mr. Michael Talmahi
Regional Water & Habitat
Advisor, ICRC Amman
Mr. Mohamed Beavogui
Director Partnerships &
Resource Mobilisation
Office, Senior Advisor to The
President, International Fund
for Agricultural Development
(IFAD) Rome
Dr. Mohamed Ateeq Al Falahi
Secretary General, UAE Red
Crescent Authority
Dr. Mukesh Kapila
Professor of Global Health
& Humanitarian Affairs,
Humanitarian & Conflict
Response Institute, University
of Manchester, UK
Mr. Olaf Janssen
Project Director, Humanitarian
Logistics , KUHNE Foundation
Swtizerland
Dr. Rami Ghandour
Managing Director, Metito
Utilities Ltd., Dubai UAE
Mr. Ramiro Lopes Da Silva
Deputy Executive Director ,
World Food Programme
Mr. Rashid Khalikov
Director, Office of The
Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs (OCHA), Geneva
Mr. Robert Turner
Director, United Nations Relief
& Works Agency Palestine
Refugees in the Near East
(UNRWA)
Mr. Ross Mountain
Deputy Special Representative
of The Secretary General,
Resident Humanitarian
Coordinator - Lebanon
Ms. Salam Kanaan
Care Country Director,
Amman
Mr. Sean Lowrie
Director, Start Network,
London
H.E. Dr. Sergio Piazzi
Secretary General,
Parliamentary Assembly
of The Mediterranean- St.
Julians, Malta
Dr. Shadi Hamadeh
Director, Environment &
Sustainable Development
Unit, American University of
Beirut
HE Ms. Shaima Al Zarooni
CEO, International
Humanitarian City (IHC), Dubai
Day 1: Tuesday, 24 March 2015
10:00 OPENING CEREMONY
14:00 – 15:30 SESSION 1
Disaster Reduction
and Preparedness –
opportunities
16:00 – 17:30 SESSION 2
Environmental Protection
and Climate Change –
opportunities
Day 2: Wednesday, 25 March 2015
09:00 – 10:30 SESSION 3
Moving relief items, where/
when required efficiently
10:30 – 10:45 KEYNOTE ADDRESS –
“MOBILITY”
11:15 – 12:45 SESSION 4
The forced displacement
of persons, causes and
consequences
14:00 – 15:30 SESSION 5
Sustainable development,
what happens after 2015?
15:30 – 15:45 KEYNOTE ADDRESS –
“SUSTAINABILITY”
16:15 – 17:45 SESSION 6
Water and Energy: will we
have enough tomorrow?
Day 3: Thursday, 26 March 2015
09:00 – 10:30 SPECIAL SESSION (Part 1)
The role of NGOs in the
provision of humanitarian
assistance in today’s crisis
environments
SPECIAL SESSION (Part 2)
The role of NGOs, also as
partners in development
assistance
14:00 – 15:30 SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS
The World Humanitarian
Summit (Istanbul, May 2016)
SSD_DIHAD_Programme.indd 77 04/03/2015 14:06

CONTRIBUTOR PROFILES
Writing for this issue
SOURCE: Sustainable Development contributors represent
a wide range of expertise and specialist knowledge...
Appointed its Chief Executive
Officer in 2009, Tariq Al
Gurg has been the driving
force behind Dubai Cares’
role as a global advocate,
champion of education,
strategic convener, and
information disseminator
on key thematics in primary
education. Tariq Al Gurg’s
experience includes 12
years at senior management
positions within the consumer
and corporate banking at
Emirates NBD (formerly the
National Bank of Dubai). He
is a Founding Board Member
and Deputy Chairperson of
the UAE Genetic Diseases
Association (UAE GDA),
which is under the presidency
of His Highness Sheikh
Nahyan bin Mubarak Al
Nahyan (UAE Minister
of Culture, Youth and
Community Development).
He was also a member of
the National Anti-Money
Laundering Committee of
the UAE (NAMLC).
Professor Martin
Charter is the Director
of The Centre for
Sustainable Design® at
University College for
the Creative Arts. Prof
Charter has completed
product sustainability and
sustainable innovation
research, knowledge
transfer and training projects
worldwide since 1995. He
has also led missions to
Japan, China, Hong Kong,
and Taiwan to explore the
‘state of the art’ in ecodesign
and circular economy;
and he is the organiser of
the Sustainable Innovation
series of international
conferences that is now its
twentieth year. Prof Charter
is the author/co-author,
editor/co-editor of various
publications. Books have
included Managing Ecodesign
(1997), Sustainable
Solutions (2001), and
System Innovation for
Sustainability (2008).
Defrim Dedej is a
Senior Consultant
in Grant and Fund
Management at Crown
Agents, with a strong
academic background
in grant management
and extensive practical
experience. He has
designed and managed
a number of grant
programmes in the
public, CSO, and
private sectors in
the fields of health,
research, education,
poverty, gender equality,
strengthen communities,
civil rights, and arts/
culture. Among Defrim
Dedej’s current projects
are the Global Poverty
Action Fund and Civil
Society Challenge Fund.
Dr Rachel Dodds is a
world-renowned expert
in sustainable tourism. A
Director of consultancy firm
Sustaining Tourism, she is
also an Associate Professor at
Ryerson University in the Ted
Rogers School of Hospitality
and Tourism Management.
Dr Dodds has published and
presented globally about
sustainable tourism, and has
written numerous journal
articles, papers and articles,
and is author of the book
Sustainable Tourism in Island
Destinations. Her expertise
focuses on sustainable tourism
development, climate change,
corporate social responsibility,
and determining tourist
motivations. Dr Dodds holds
a PhD from the University of
Surrey in England, as well as
a Masters degree in Tourism
Management from Griffith
University in Australia.
78
SSD_Contributors.indd 78 04/03/2015 14:06

CONTRIBUTOR PROFILES
Paloma Durán is
the Sustainable
Development Goals
Director at the United
Nations Development
Programme. She holds a
Master and PhD in Law,
as well as a Master and
PhD in Political Science
and has authored
numerous journal
articles, book chapters,
and books in the area
of human rights, gender
issues, development,
and equality. Paloma
Durán has an extensive
professional experience
in government
and international
organisations.
Chief Executive of RedR
UK Martin McCann
has been involved in
international development
and humanitarian work for 30
years, ranging from a volunteer
posting in West Africa, to
being the Programme Director
and Deputy International
Executive Director of a
$700m-a-year charity. He also
worked at the appropriate
technology organisation ITDG
(now Practical Action), where
he designed the restructuring
and systems to restore it to
financial viability. McCann
was a founding Board
member of ChildHelpline
International, and the Hope
for African Children Initiative;
and he is an Independent
Member of Council of the
University of Sussex, a Trustee
of Engineers without Borders,
and the Sphere Project, a
member of the Steering
Committee of ELHRA, and
a Fellow of the Institution of
Civil Engineers.
Sonsoles Ruedas was
born in Spain, where her
father was in the first batch
of Spaniards to join the
United Nations, so she grew
up in New York and Geneva.
Sonsoles has worked at
World Food Programme for
30 years, and during her
career has worked in Angola,
Bhutan, Cape Verde, Cuba,
Nicaragua, South Africa,
and Vietnam,as well as at
the World Food Programme
headquarters in Rome,
Italy. Sonsoles Ruedas has
been Director of the Gender
Office since February 2013.
Peter McCornick is Deputy
Director, General (Research) at the
International Water Management
Institute, based in Colombo, Sri
Lanka. His career focus has been
to improve the understanding and
sustainable management of water
resources. He has led research
and development programs
on water, agriculture and the
environment in Africa, Asia, and
the Middle East. Present areas of
particular interest include water
and food security, the waterfood-energy
nexus, water reuse,
irrigation management, and
water and climate adaptation.
McCornick is a licensed
professional civil engineer in
the US State of Colorado,
a member of the American
Academy of Water Resources
Engineers, a senior fellow at
Duke University’s Nicholas
Institute for Environmental
Policy and an affiliate of the
Faculty of Geosciences, Warner
College of Natural Resources,
Colorado State University.
He has contributed to over 30
peer reviewed publications,
and regularly presents at major
international events.
Dr Loren Treisman is
Executive of Indigo Trust,
a grant-making foundation
which supports technologydriven
projects in Africa
with a focus on transparency,
accountability and citizen
empowerment. She holds
a PhD from Cambridge
University, and has
expertise in international
development, health and the
use of new technologies to
stimulate social change.
Dr Treisman was recognised
as one of 2014’s Powerful
Women to Watch in the
Huffington Post, and regularly
writes in the international
Press including Al Jazeera,
The Guardian, and CNN.
79
SSD_Contributors.indd 79 04/03/2015 14:06

EVENTS
Events calendar 2015
A selection of conferences, exhibitions, and seminars of interest to
sustainable development professionals. For more detailed information
about featured events, please visit the event website via the URL provided.
WWW.SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
ICTTB 2015 International Conference
Sustainable in Tourism Technology
Logistic & Innovation Business Paris
April 12th to 15th April, 2015 / Paris, France
‘The first objective of this program is to
give academics an opportunity to present
their academic works, concepts and new
discoveries; moreover, participants will have
a chance to exchange their ideas and develop
their works; also, they will meet academics
from universities around the world and
create alliances to improve their works.’
Website: http://www.icbtstoronto.
com/14850598/paris-call-for-paper
The Third Conference on Sustainable
Tourism and Hospitality in Asia (COSTA
2015) Conference
April 26th to April 28th 2015 / Hiroshima, Japan
‘The aim of the conference is to foster
greater communication and collaboration
between scientists, practitioners, and policy
makers, in seeking innovative and pragmatic
approaches to sustainable tourism and
hospitality.’
http://presdafoundation.org/sustainabletourism-hospitality-conference
Humanitarian Technology: Science,
Systems and Global Impact
12th May–14th May 2015 / Cambridge, United
States
‘Technically-focused international
conference designed to explore emerging
technologies that further enable global
humanitarian assistance.’
http://www.humanitariantechnology.org
80
7th International Conference on
Sustainable Development and Planning
May 19th-May 21th 2015 / Istanbul, Turkey
‘The Conference addresses subjects of
regional development in an integrated way
as well as in accordance with the principles
of sustainability.’ http://www.wessex.ac.uk/15-
conferences/sustainable-development-andplanning-2015.html
Joint International Conference Managing
Sustainable Growth (MIC 2015)
May 28th to May 30th, 2015 / Portorož, Slovenia
‘The aim of the conference Managing
Sustainable Growth is to analyse various
aspects of sustainable economic growth
and development, and to offer researchers
and professionals the opportunity to
discuss the most demanding other issues of
sustainability.’
Website: http://www.mic15.fm-kp.si
Modelling Innovation Sustainability and
Technologies Conference
June 8th-June 9th, 2015 / Lisbon, Portugal
‘The rise of the middle class in China,
Brazil, and India, among other countries,
the challenges on the employment and the
future of work in the context of automation,
poverty reduction, water and climate
change, represent just a shortlist of very
good reasons to investigate and to discover
innovative solutions to answer the world
global questions, and to design from the
scratch new business models that address
environmental impacts.’
http://misteike.org
Sustainability in Energy and Buildings,
SEB-15 Conference
1st July-3rd July, 2015 / Lisbon, Portugal
‘Aim of the conference is to bring together
researchers and government and industry
professionals to discuss the future of energy
in buildings, neighbourhoods and cities from
a theoretical, practical, implementation, and
simulation perspective. The conference will
be an exciting chance to present, interact,
and learn, about the latest research in
Sustainability in Energy and Buildings.’
http://seb-15.sustainedenergy.org
Sustainable Development Conference
July 5th-July 7th 2015 / Bangkok, Thailand
‘A forum, discussion and networking place
for academics, researchers, professionals,
administrators, educational leaders, policy
makers, industry representatives, advanced
students, and others.’
http://www.sdconference.org
Humanitarian Innovation Conference
2015: Facilitating Innovation
July 17th-July 18th, 2015 / Oxford, United
Kingdom
‘A key focus of the conference will explore
how we enable innovation, by and for
affected communities. It will also seek to
examine what facilitation means across the
wider humanitarian ecosystem, and how
we can better convene the collective talents
of people within and across traditional and
non-traditional humanitarian actors.’
http://www.ox.ac.uk/event/humanitarianinnovation-conference-2015-facilitatinginnovation
International Conference on Education for
Sustainable Development (ICESD 2015)
October 6th-October 7th, 2015 / Ebonyi State,
Nigeria.
‘The conference aims to provide a forum
to researchers, practitioners, educators,
entrepreneurs, representatives of industries,
educational research institutes across
developing nations, and scholars in the
education sector, for sharing their research
findings and experiences on various aspects
of education, including recent trends, issues,
and challenges.’
http://icesd2015.org
SSD_Events.indd 80 04/03/2015 14:07

Print? Digital? Editorial?
Design? Social Media?
We’ve got you covered!
Mediawire’s publications are all about meeting our client’s needs and
requirements from inception, creation, printing, distribution, through to delivery.
Our ability to handle complex publishing projects is unrivalled.
Over the last few years Mediawire has built a reputation for producing high
quality publications, from customer magazines to global business publications.
mw
Sustainable Solutions
We would love to hear from you
mediawireglobal.com T: +44 203 588 5900 M: +44 7958 344 329
Info@mediawireglobal.com publishing@mediawireglobal.com mo.rami@mediawireglobal.com
Mediawire Ad.indd 2 04/03/2015 14:08

SDD_BC.indd 2 04/03/2015 14:12