Religious belief and practice are part of any urban humanitarian context, both for practitioners and for those affected by the crisis. Ignoring it, or pushing it to one side, will not make it go away but instead, as Dr Olivia Wilkinson argues, can lead to further mistakes and misunderstandings down the line. In this blog... Continue Reading →
Soka Gakkai International – Faith-Based Humanitarian Action During Large Scale Disaster
Local faith communities are often the first responders to communities affected by conflict and displacement, providing food, shelter and other material needs in addition to providing spiritual and pastoral support (Kidwai and Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, 2017). In this blog post, Nobuyuki Asai describes how Soka Gakkai International, a community-based Buddhist organization, provided shelter and support to large... Continue Reading →
Local Faith Actors in Disaster Response and Risk Reduction – ALNAP Webinar
What happens when international agencies intervene without knowledge of the historical, geographical, or relational contexts of the area? Should engagement with and use of local faith leaders as intermediaries become standardised within international aid provision? In March 2019 our Research Associate Dr Estella Carpi participated in a seminar organised by ALNAP-Overseas Development Institute and the... Continue Reading →
Dr Estella Carpi speaking at Lebanese American University (LAU)
On 27th of March 2019 at 4pm Southern Responses Research Associate Dr Estella Carpi will offer a lecture at LAU, exploring: 'The Displacement of Religious Authorities from Syria and their Involvement in Aid Provision: Looking beyond Humanitarianism.' The event is hosted by The Institute for Social Justice and Conflict Resolution (ISJCR) and the Department of Social... Continue Reading →
Faith-Based Humanitarianism
Our second introductory mini blog provides a brief over view of how local faith communities are often the first responders to communities affected by conflict and displacement.