Title：Humanitarian Leadership in Crises
Speaker：Sara Pantuliano, Director of Humanitarian Policy Group, Overseas Development Institute
Time：12:00-14:00, September 29
Venue：Room 609, SPPM
Abstract：
The lecture will focus on a number of crucial questions revolving around humanitarian leadership. First starting with the question of what defines good humanitarian leadership, it will investigate three different approaches to what makes a good leader, and highlight different manifestations of leadership drawing on two case studies (the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami and the 2011 Van Earthquake). The lecture will then continue to explain the flow of leadership and decision-making process within the global humanitarian system down to the national level. By explaining the different global coordination mechanisms, it will present and discuss current arrangements such as the IASC (Inter-Agency Standing Committee) and the Cluster Approach, drawing attention to the challenges which still remain in deploying adequate leadership.
The lecture aims to provide a better understanding of the existing global humanitarian leadership structure, what factors determine successful leadership in the humanitarian sector, and what actions humanitarian actors can take to improve the quality of leadership.
Bio of Speaker：
Sara Pantuliano is head of Humanitarian Policy Group, Overseas Development Institute (ODI), London (earlier Research Fellow and Programme Leader).She is an expert in conflict and post-conflict contexts and a recognised public speaker on humanitarian issues. She is also Managing Editor of Disasters and member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Risk and Resilience.
As a political scientist with extensive experience in conflict and post-conflict contexts, she led UNDP Sudan’s Peace Building Unit, managed a high-profile post-conflict response in the Nuba Mountains and was an observer at the IGAD Sudan peace process. She holds a PhD in Politics, has written widely on Sudan and South Sudan and is a recognised public speaker and media commentator on humanitarian issues. She is also the Managing Editor of Disasters and a Member of the Global Agenda Council on Risk and Resilience of the World Economic Forum. She is a Trustee of SOS Sahel and serves on a range of advisory boards, including the Humanitarian Innovation Fund, the Refugees Studies Centre and the UN Association of the UK.
