Prepare for Humanitarian Action

The academy for humanitarian action (aha) provides advanced training courses for the humanitarian community. It combines unique insights from humanitarian practice and academic research. Join us on our mission to spread the skills we need when crises hit – start today.

Upcoming courses

Participatory Data Collection Methods

Fully booked

© Aktion Deutschland Hilft / Thorsten Thor

Data collection is an essential part of humanitarian projects. Yet, affected communities are often treated as passive respondents, and overlooked when it comes to humanitarian project design. In this online training, you will get an overview on different participatory data collection methods (traditional and innovative, remote and on-the-ground) and get the opportunity to practice them. The training consists of four half-day online sessions on November 2nd, 16th, 28th and Dezember 6th; please note, however, that homework tasks will be assigned after each session. We estimate that each task will take you a maximum of 120 minutes to complete.

This training is part of the aha’s certification program and is eligible for a Certificate of Advanced Studies in the area of “Foundations of Humanitarian Action”.

Shifting Power – Reducing Power Imbalances in Humanitarian Action

Fully booked

© Aktion Deutschland Hilft / Thorsten Thor

The consequences of colonialism continue to affect countries around the world to this day. This also affects the field of humanitarian action. As a key stakeholder in the humanitarian system, NGOs operate in an environment characterized by power imbalances and dependencies. A critical reflection on the systems, structures and roles organizations play in this environment, is an important starting point to overcome colonial continuities. The seminar will introduce you to the terminologies of decolonizing aid and you will explore through practical examples how shifting the power can work in reality.

The seminar consists of three half-day online sessions on 15 and 27 November as well as 7 December and includes regular breaks.

Green Humanitarian Standards and Tools

Fully booked

© Alice Smeets / Aktion Deutschland Hilft

It is increasingly vital for humanitarian practitioners to have a good understanding of sustainable, environmentally reasonable “green response” approaches. This course will introduce to you the existing tools and standards currently available to help you implement green humanitarian responses in your own organization. After the course, you will be able to confidently and independently use at least one green response tool and you will be very familiar with three others, including “NEAT+” and the IFRC “Green Response Guide”. Further, you will learn where to find more green response learning resources and support. The training will be delivered as a combination of interactive lectures, which will include the use of interactive mobile phone polls and scenario-based practical activities. In these scenario-based activities small group work will be done in virtual breakout rooms and learnings will be shared in moderated large group discussions.

The training will take place on 30 November and 1 December and includes regular breaks.

Who we are

The academy for humanitarian action (aha) is an institution for further education in the humanitarian sector. It is located at the intersection of humanitarian practice and research and pools the expertise from over 25 years of work in the humanitarian sector. The aha carries out high quality trainings and offers a platform for other training providers in the field of humanitarian action. Our trainings are based on internationally established initiatives to systematize and standardize education in humanitarian action. Visit the about us section to find out more!

What we aim for

Our work is inspired by the desire to create a positive impact and advance the professionalization of humanitarian action in Germany and beyond. Our aim is to support humanitarians in their continuous effort to further improve the quality of their work, address new challenges and meet important requests for reform, such as the commitments that were made in the course of the World Humanitarian Summit. A special emphasis of our work is on anticipatory humanitarian action and community-led response. Visit the about us section to find out more!

What we offer

The academy for humanitarian action offers a wide range of different training courses on topics related to humanitarian action and international collaboration. The trainings are carried out by aha members and by external providers who have proven expertise in selected areas. Our curriculum is based on the indicated needs of target communities and will be continuously updated and adapted in collaboration with experts from different practical and academic disciplines. Click here to get an overview of our current course offer or here to download a pdf version of our course curriculum for 2023 and 2024. Participating in several courses of the curriculum will allow you to gain a “Certificate of Advanced Studies” (CAS).

Aktion Deutschland HilftRUBInstitut für Friedenssicherungsrecht und Humanitäres VölkerrechtFH MünsterKompetenzzentrum Humanitäre HilfeAkademie der Ruhr-Universität Bochum

Your tailor-made certificate

The academy for humanitarian action offers flexible and tailor-made certificates that can be adapted to your purpose. You may opt for a simple certificate of attendance, a course certificate or a “Certificate of Advanced Studies” from one of the core tracks: Foundations of Humanitarian Action, Anticipatory Humanitarian Action or Locally-led Humanitarian Action. Each “Certificate of Advanced Studies” comprises five course certificates. To get a more detailed overview of our modular certification scheme, click here.