For 2 days, almost 80 participants discussed current issues facing the humanitarian sector. Representatives of NGOs, of the French and German governments, of the European Commission, of research institutes, and of United Nations agencies, etc. discussed problems encountered in crisis contexts to try to find ways of making improvements for the future.
In a context of economic crisis, there are an increasing number of humanitarian crises and disasters, putting pressure on actors to use the resources available more and more efficiently. Though it is important to be economical with resources and though the aid sector has become more professional and more structured in recent years, it is also important not to forget the caring impulse which is the source of humanitarian aid and it is important not to get bogged down in procedures or to allow ourselves to get trapped in bureaucratization. Putting the human back into humanitarianism was the common theme to all the discussions over the two days.