The Grand Bargain has boldly called for a “participation revolution” in humanitarian action. However, truly designing projects from the bottom up, with and for people who are directly affected by crises, often proves difficult in practice. Not every method fits everywhere and with each community. Time pressure and moral dilemmas make it even harder.

In this training we are looking in detail at what methods are available and which to select at what time. This requires a good look at the context, our own roles and responsibilities, and limitations of methods and mandates. The training itself is designed in a highly engaging way getting you to use the methods from the outset.

The online training will take place between 17 November, 22 November and 01 December 2021 and includes group-learning activities. The course is eligible for the Certificate of Advanced Studies in “Locally-led Humanitarian Action”.

In this course you will learn the basics of humanitarian action. This includes important basic concepts, such as different types of disasters or the differentiation of humanitarian aid from other fields of action such as development cooperation. Special attention is paid to international humanitarian law and humanitarian standards and principles. Using concrete case studies, you will be able to actively deal with various situations in which humanitarian principles play a central role or are at risk.

Together with the course "Basics of the Humanitarian System", this course forms a self-contained unit as a starter package into humanitarian action. Participation in both courses is therefore highly recommended. The training is part of aha's certification scheme and can be credited towards a Certificate of Advanced Studies in "Foundations of Humanitarian Action". The course is planned as an online training on November 23, 25, and 30 and includes regular breaks. Further details on registration will follow shortly via the aha newsletter.

Working in the humanitarian sector is associated with a high level of stress for staff. Direct encounter with human suffering, heavy workloads, stressful managerial practices and travelling to crisis and/or disaster contexts can have massive impacts on their psychosocial stability. The corona pandemic also adds to this burden. In this online training, you will learn what impact mental stress can have on your work and the organizational culture. After the training, you will be equipped with solid basic knowledge on concepts for integrating psychosocial dimensions into staff welfare and project design as well as methods to pass on the knowledge to colleagues and partner organizations.

The sessions will take place from November 30 to December 2 online from 9 am to 4 pm each day and include regular breaks.