TEDxGenevaChange - Katharina Samara Wickrama - Accountable aid

Katharina is an expert in the field of humanitarian accountability particularly responding to sexual abuse and exploitation of beneficiaries by humanitarian workers. She began her career as a lawyer but has spent the last twenty years in the humanitarian field, first at UNHCR then as the Co-ordinator of Building Safer Organizations (BSO) project. In 2007, Katharina brought BSO to the Humanitarian Accountability Project (HAP) and took on the responsibilities of Regulatory Services Director (managing social audits of humanitarian organisations) before being appointed HAP's Executive Director (interim) in 2010. She is presently NHRP Phase II Project Coordinator at ICVA, the International Council of Voluntary Agencies. The NHRP project is implementing practical ways to bring the national and international NGO voice to the UN led humanitarian reform process, recognising that civil society has a key role in responding effectively to crisis.

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• Category

  Nonprofits & Activism

[hsm543]

I'm really not sure why this talk needed to be ~20 minutes just to say: people who receive aid should be allowed to provide feedback that counts (i.e., that actually influences the aid delivery process). Duh. It would have been more interesting if she described in detail the how and what was being done to make that happen.

[mynameisdrj]

That is because they are in distress and not as competent as possible

[onabean1]

A provocative and controversial talk! I'm looking forward to the comments on this one. Is humanitarian aid repeatedly failing to be accountable? To what extend should communities be involved in designing humanitarian aid programmes and measuring success? Should humanitarian responders hold themselves to account to ensure the delivery of quality assistance? How much money could be saved? And how many unwanted yoga mats?