DAHLIA attended ALNAP’s 32nd annual meeting (15/16 October) hosted by the German Federal Foreign Office in Berlin. DAHLIA then traveled to Bonn at the invitation of the DW Akademie to attend the conference “Beyond the crisis. Communication, engagement and accountability in forced migration settings”.

This year participants of ALNAP’s were invited to share their views on the relevance of humanitarian action opposite to people’s diverse needs. Group discussion, presentations and debates focused on a series on key interrogations such as “Who has the power to decide what’s relevant and how?” or “To what extent can humanitarian aid be culturally and contextually relevant, while upholding principles and delivering on time and at scale?” The theme also raised questions about humanitarian politics, structures and the resources of the response. As part of the annual meeting DAHLIA was invited to present its activities in an open Agora where organizations had a stand showcasing their work. Visitors showed a great interest in our recent mission to Colombia and Ecuador related to the migrant and refugee crisis from Venezuela. DAHLIA’s use of alternative supports, such as video, to disseminate better evaluations findings and recommendations also aroused debates and interesting discussions.

The Bonn conference organised by Deutsche Welle Akademie brought together refugees, communication professionals and humanitarian experts to discuss issues of access to information and dialogue in forced migration settings. The initial assessment was to recognize that because of conflicts, natural disasters and inequality more than 70 million people have been forced from their homes in 2019. One of the main challenges facing displaced people and host communities is access to reliable information. Participants were invited, through panels, workshops and presentations, to discuss the role of information and communication flows in the context of forced migration. These discussions focused on the provision of life-saving information to affected communities and the improvement of community engagement and accountability mechanisms. DAHLIA presented and facilitated a panel on the benefits of using video as a means to raise the voices of affected populations, build more engaging relationships with all possible stakeholders, and collect, communicate, and disseminate data in a way that can lead to a more meaningful commitment to bettering future programs. DAHLIA presented two case studies: Walking Voices: a refugee and migrant crisis from Venezuela and Safe and dignified burials in DRC.