The biennial International Humanitarian Studies Association (IHSA) World Conference on Humanitarian Studies is on again from 5 to 7 November in Dhaka and online.

With humanitarian crises and responses deeply impacted by changing climates, this year the theme of the conference is “Humanitarianism in changing climates”.

If you are interested in contributing, the call for conference papers is currently open and will close on 15 September 2023.

The proposed panels cover a broad range of humanitarian issues and include a number of panels organised by NCHS associates.

Kristoffer Lidén and Kristina Roepstorff (Peace Research Institute Oslo, PRIO) will lead a panel on ‘cultural and gendered contexts of the ethics of humanitarian negotiations’ and Kristin Bergtora Sandvik (PRIO and University of Oslo) will lead a panel on ‘geopolitics and humanitarian technology’.

Following an earlier workshop co-hosted with the NCHS, Clara Egger (Erasmus University) is hosting a panel on ‘Humanitarian studies in turbulent times: Taking stock of the Agenda for Humanity’.

The 2023 IHSA conference aims to address the question of what changing climates means for humanitarian crises and responses by focusing on the following themes:

• Changes in refugees, displacement, and migration policy and crises
• Protracted crises, sustainable responses? Climate change, conflict, and development
• The digital transformation in humanitarian crises and humanitarianism
• Civic space, advocacy, and locally-led humanitarian response
• Humanitarian studies and education
• From evidence to action: Advancing health in humanitarian contexts

Other sessions organised by NCHS associates include:

Humanitarian studies theory seminar: Conceptualising the digital transformation – Organised by Kristin Bergtora Sandvik

Practitioner-Academic virtual roundtable: ‘Taking stock: How is AI change humanitarian work?’ – Organised by Kristin Bergtora Sandvik

Governing digital risks in humanitarian action – Organised by Kristoffer Lidén and Susanne Jaspars

The IHSA World Conference is hosted by the IHSA together with North South University.