NOHA Winter School in the Humanitarian-Development Nexus 2017 / Pavia

Fostering the "Humanitarian-Development nexus" represents a major aim among international assistance priorities, as declared in the EU Commission Agenda for Change 2011 and, afterwards, by the 2016 World Humanitarian Summit. Creating the humanitarian-development nexus consists in establishing an interface between humanitarian aid, as a rapid response in emergency situation, and more forward-looking development action, through the adoption of measures able to facilitate transition, at all stages of intervention.

The humanitarian-development nexus has received endorsement by the donors' community in a number of policy documents, academic and institutional occasions. The possibility to go further was even considered, thus adding to the nexus a new dimension: resilience of the most vulnerable subjects when recurrent crisis are at stake. Nevertheless, several challenges are to be tackled, concerning both a theoretical and operational perspective, the latter demonstrated by the frequent cases of relatively uncoordinated EU responses to crises.

The need to further invest in this approach is strong, as well as the demand for enhanced coordination, leading to collaborative implementation, joint monitoring and effective progress tracking. However, the nexus is above all a matter of culture and involved actors, as its peculiar pattern requires development and humanitarian staff to work together. Consequently, collaboration may result hindered by different personal backgrounds, procedures and practices.

The second edition of the Winter School presents the humanitarian-development nexus' main aspects and implications and will be based on lecturers' presentations, case studies, group works, individual exercises, video presentations, group discussions and debates.

The NOHA Winter School is organized by the University of Pavia and CISP (International Committee for Development of Peoples), and will involve lecturers from academia, international organizations (such as FAO), NGOs (such as CISP) and NGO associations (such as the AOI, Associazione delle organizzazioni italiane di cooperazione e solidarietà internazionale).