About the conference
Humanitarian Leadership and the Future of Humanitarian Action
The 2019 Asia Pacific Humanitarian Leadership Conference brought together leading humanitarian thinkers from around the world for three days of plenary sessions, panels, presentations and networking opportunities.
Participants critically reflected on the challenges facing good leadership in the humanitarian space and the future of humanitarian action in the Asia Pacific and fragile states.
The key themes that the conference explored were:
- Humanitarian leadership in a shifting system
- The future of humanitarian action
- Climate change and leadership
- Localisation
The program included over 25 separate sessions where delegates heard from over 60 international and national speakers. Our keynote speakers presented in morning plenaries, and the afternoon sessions were held across four breakout rooms.
Keynote Speakers
Our keynote speakers were:
- Per Heggenes – CEO, IKEA Foundation
- Degan Ali – Executive Director, Adeso and founder of NEAR
- Dr Hugo Slim – Head of Policy, International Committee of the Red Cross; and
- Lan Mercado – Asia Regional Director, Oxfam
Find out more about our conference keynote speakers in the speakers tab.
Our attendees were humanitarian practitioners, academics, researchers and stakeholders from government, NGOs and the private sector. This was a truly international conference and our delegate list included nationals from over 25 countries.
Networking events
Networking opportunities included a welcome reception, a farewell afternoon tea; and the official conference dinner on Thursday night under the iconic Spire at the Arts Centre Melbourne.
Conference Partners
The 2019 Asia Pacific Humanitarian Leadership Conference was proudly brought to you by the Centre for Humanitarian Leadership with the support of the IKEA Foundation and the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
General enquiries
For all enquiries regarding the conference, please contact events@cfhl.org.au.
Keynote Speakers
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Mr Per Heggenes
Chief Executive Officer, IKEA Foundation (Sweden)
Per Heggenes is the CEO of the IKEA Foundation, the philanthropic arm of INGKA Foundation, the owner of the IKEA Group of companies. As CEO, Per sets and drives the Foundation’s funding and innovation strategies, and is a tireless … advocate for children living in some of the world’s poorest communities. Since becoming the Foundation’s first CEO in 2009, Per has presided over the Foundation’s evolution into a global, grant-making philanthropy that funds programs in more than 35 countries. In 2012, Per was appointed to the UN Commission on Life-Saving Commodities for Women and Children by UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, who created the commission to increase access to lifesaving medicines and health supplies for the world’s most vulnerable people. Previously, Per was the Global Head of Corporate Affairs for the shipping and logistics company Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics. Before joining WWL, he was the UK President and CEO for the global public relations firm Burson-Marsteller and Co-CEO for Europe. He also held different global roles for Burson-Marsteller based in their New York headquarters. Per served in the Norwegian Air Force and graduated from the University of Augsburg in Germany with a “Diplom Oekonom” (MBA).
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Ms Degan Ali
Executive Director, Adeso (Kenya)
Adeso recognised early on the interconnection between humanitarian crisis and environmental degradation and climate change and is a leader in advocating for strong policies to reduce the negative impact of environmental degradation and climate change, and environmental justice, both in … Somalia and around the globe. Adeso also pioneered cash transfers as the most effective, timely, and dignified means of delivering aid to vulnerable populations. Under Degan Ali’s leadership, Adeso has become a pioneer in conducting innovative humanitarian and development programming. Degan Ali is a passionate advocate at the global level on the mainstreaming of cash as the primary response mechanism to humanitarian crisis. She sees cash as not only an efficient and less costly response tool, but also as a more dignified aid response that gives power to affected people to make decisions based on their needs. Degan believes that cash transfers have many positive multiplier effects including boosting economies in affected communities. Under Degan’s leadership, the first large-scale cash transfer program led by NGOs was successfully implemented in Somalia in response to the famine of 2011. This paved the way for the large-scale use of cash transfers in the Syrian crisis and continues to grow as the primary response tool around the globe, including the rise of new technology to digitise monetary transfers and the use of mobile money infrastructure. Degan founded NEAR, the first global south civil society network advocating for the transformation of humanitarian and development aid architecture, which launched in Istanbul at the World Humanitarian Summit in May 2016. In more recent years, Degan’s advocacy efforts focus on challenging the power dynamics of humanitarian response and creating equitable solutions, such as the direct financing of local actors in the global south.
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Dr Hugo Slim
Head of Policy, International Committee of the Red Cross, (Switzerland)
Before joining ICRC in 2015, Hugo was Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Ethics, Law and Armed Conflict (ELAC) at the University of Oxford where he led research on humanitarian ethics and the protection of civilians. Hugo has combined a … career between academia and practice. He was Chief Scholar at the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue from 2003–07 and Reader in International Humanitarianism at Oxford Brookes University from 1994–2003. Between 1983 and 1994, Hugo worked for Save the Children and the United Nations in Morocco, Sudan, Ethiopia, the Occupied Palestinian Territories and Bangladesh. He received his PhD in humanitarian ethics from Oxford Brookes University in 2002. His most recent books are Humanitarian Ethics: A Guide to the Morality of Aid in War and Disaster (2015 Hurst/OUP) and Killing Civilians: Method, Madness and Morality in War (2007 Hurst/OUP).
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Ms Lan Mercado
Asia Regional Director for Oxfam
Lan Mercado is an activist and is the Asia Regional Director for Oxfam. She oversees a portfolio that spans 14 countries and multi-country and regional programmes including advocacy and campaigns. In Asia, Oxfam is focused on addressing inequalities and vulnerabilities in … a region that boasts of economic growth. Under her leadership, Oxfam is implementing a future-oriented strategy for an inclusive, sustainable and resilient region. Lan returned to Asia after serving as Oxfam’s Deputy Director for Global Campaigns. Prior to this, she was Country Director in the Philippines and served as Advisor to the ASEAN on disaster management and emergency Response. For many years before joining Oxfam, Lan held various positions in Philippine consumer groups, human rights and anti-dictatorship movements, and an international women’s NGO. She practiced as a journalist and radio broadcaster. Now back in her home country, Lan has picked up her involvement in Philippine social movements. Lan has a degree in mass communication and pursued post-graduate studies on sustainable development. She had won an award for investigative journalism. She was recently recognized by the University of the Philippines as a Distinguished Alumna and conferred the inaugural Glory Award by the UP College of Mass Communication for social advocacy and leadership in the development sector.
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Ms Akuol Garang
Refugee Advocate (Australia) - Conference dinner guest speaker
Akuol Garang is a Melbourne-based refugee and human rights advocate. As a Registered Migration Agent, Akuol provides advice and assistance in the preparation and lodgement of Australian visa applications. While studying towards her Masters in Human Rights Law, Akuol also … volunteers for a number of organisations, including the Asylum Seeker Resource Center where she advocates for the Sudanese-Australian community, multiculturalism and for people seeking asylum in Australia. Akuol and her parents escaped her country of birth, resulting in 11 years of her childhood being spent in refugee camp.
All presenters are listed below A-Z by first name.
(Last updated 3 June 2019)
Plenary Sessions
Andrew Henck University of San Diego (USA) | Plenary 4
Daniel McAvoy Centre for Humanitarian Leadership | Plenary 4
Dr Ghassan Elkahlout Doha Institute for Graduate Studies (Qatar) | Plenary 2
Judy Slatyer Australian Red Cross (Australia) | Plenary 6
Lars Peter Nissen ACAPS (France) | Plenary 2
Sandie Walton-Ellery ACAPS (Australia) | Plenary 2
Breakout Sessions
Amaia Sotés InsideOut Adventure Ltd (UK) | Session C
Alice Banfield Centre for Humanitarian Leadership (Australia) | Session D
Ancilla Bere Oxfam (Indonesia) | Session J
Andrew Bidnell InsideOut Consulting (UK) | Session C
Annie Ingram Australian Red Cross (Australia) | Session J
Aradhana Gurung World Vision International (Nepal) | Session F
Belinda Lauria Anglican Overseas Aid (Australia) | Session R
Caelin Briggs World vision Australia (Australia) | Session M
Chandan Kumar Save the Children (India) | Session H
Clare Condillac Bongo HR (Thailand) | Session H
Claire Beck World Vision International | Session E
Cornelia Walther | Session Q
Cris Birzer The University of Adelaide (Australia) | Session G
Dan McClure Practical Clarity (USA) | Session A
Daniel McAvoy Centre for Humanitarian Leadership (Australia) | Plenary 4
Dino Argianto Oxfam (Indonesia) | Session J
Elsa Carnaby Oxfam (Australia) | Session B, Session J
Ethel George Anglican Church of Melanesia | Session R
Claire Beck World Vision International (Australia) | Session E
Emily Chapman UNSW Canberra (Australia) | Session L
Emily Dwyer Edge Effect (Australia) | Session B
Emma Watton Lancaster University Management School (UK) | Session E
Eri Tayama Columbia University (USA) | Session E
Ethel George Anglican Church of Melanesi (Vanuatu) | Session R
Gerald S. Brown Tufts University (USA) | Session O
Gopinath Parayil The Blue Yonder (India) | Session J
Greg Barton Deakin University (Australia) | Session O
Helen Martin Centre for Humanitarian Leadership (Australia) | Session N
Howard Harris University of South Australia (Australia) | Session Q
Isikeli Vulavou Rainbow Pride Foundation | Session B
Jade Legrand Save the Children (Sweden) | Session F
Jason Brown Australian Humanitarian Partnership (Australia) | Session I
Jeevika Vivekananthan Centre for Humanitarian Leadership (Australia) | Session H
Jeremy Wellard ICVA (Thailand) | Session I and Plenary 6
Jessica Lees Humanitarian Advisory Group (Australia) | Session I
Joanne Durham Queensland University of Technology (Australia) | Session K
Joelson Anere Department of National Planning and Monitoring (Papua New Guinea) | Session B
Juhi Sonrexa Plan International Australia (Australia) | Session G & Session O
Karen Flanagan AM Save the Children (Australia) | Session N
Katherine Phillips Plan International Australia (Australia) | Session G
Dr Kristen Beek University of Technology Sydney (Australia) | Session K
Dr Laarnie Calindas Philippine Military Academy (Philippines) | Session L
Lana Wolff, Edge Effect | Session B
Lazarus Kenni Humanitarian Advisory Group (Australia) | Session N
Leo Cusack Aspen Medical (Australia) | Session N
Louise McCosker Australian Red Cross | Session I
Masood Ul Mulk Sarhad Rural Support Programme (Pakistan) | Session D
Meg Northrope DFAT (Australia) | Session L
Melanie Book Centre for Humanitarian Leadership (Australia) | Session F
Melita Smilovic HOST International (Australia) | Session A
Mike McCusker Invisible children (US) | Session A
Dr Mirwais Khan International Committee of the Red Cross (Pakistan) | Session G
Mohammed Abul Kalam | Session C
Naima Weibel Centre of Competence on Humanitarian Negotiation (Switzerland) | Session E
Nazanin Zadeh-Cummings Centre for Humanitarian Leadership (Australia) | Session O
Nils von Kalm Anglican Overseas Aid (Australia) | Session R
Nora Charif Chefchaouni Save the Children (Australia) | Session M
Paul Bailey Fire & Rescue NSW (Australia) | Session L
Peter Zwide Khumalo | Session S
Pip Henty Humanitarian Advisory group (Australia) | Session B
Rachel Coghlan Centre for Humanitarian Leadership (Australia) | Session K
Rahmawati Husein Muhammadiyah Disaster Management Centre (Indonesia) | Session I
Raymond Lopinski Green Plain Promotion Ltd (Hong Kong) | Session S
Rebecca Barber Centre for Humanitarian Leadership (Australia) | Session K
Dr Saima Ahmad Monash University (Australia) | Session G
Samantha Davis Save the Children (UK) | Session P
Sonia Brockington Centre for Humanitarian Leadership (Australia) | Session K
Spyros Schismenos Western Sydney University (Australia) | Session F
Subadhra Rai National University of Singapore (Singapore) | Session M
Subhashis Roy Lutheran World Relief (India) | Session C
Tanya Stelmach School of Global, Urban and Social Studies, RMIT University (Australia) | Session N
Tobias Bienz University of Gallen (Switzerland) | Session A
Uma Nepal Muna Foundation on Nepal (Nepal) | Session H
Vandra Harris RMIT University (Australia) | Session L, Session Q
Veronica Bell Lancaster University Management School (UK) | Session E
Plenary & Breakout Session Chairs
Degan Ali Adeso (Kenya) | Session D
Hugo Slim Committee of the Red Cross (Geneva) | Session G
Jeremy Wellard ICVA (Thailand) | Plenary 6
Kathryn Harries Centre for Humanitarian Leadership (Australia) | Session Q
Lan Mercado Oxfam (Philippines) | Session O
Lauren Harris Save the Children (Australia) | Session L
Lizzie Irvine Save the Children (Australia) | Session K, Session N
Mat Tinkler Save the Children and CHL CEC (Australia) | Plenary 1
Melanie Book Centre for Humanitarian Leadership (Australia) | Session A
Nazanin Zadeh-Cummings Centre for Humanitarian Leadership (Australia) | Session B, Session E
Dr Phil Connors Centre for Humanitarian Leadership (Australia) | Plenary 2, Session H, Session M, Plenary 5
Rachel Coghlan Centre for Humanitarian Leadership | Session R
Rebecca Barber Centre for Humanitarian Leadership (Australia) | Session C, Plenary 4
Sophie Perreard Centre for Humanitarian Leadership (Australia) | Session J, Session Q
Steve McDonald Centre for Humanitarian Leadership (Australia) | Session F, Plenary 3
Final Program
The Final Program (PDF) is now available for downloading here (updated 21 May 19).
Please note that the Final Program may be subject to change without notice. (Updated 3 June 2019)
- Plenary
- Breakouts
- Networking
| 7.45am |
Registration desk opens | Light breakfast available |
|---|---|
| 8.45am |
Plenary 1: Welcome SessionChair – Mat Tinkler – Save the Children Australia and CHL CEC Boon Wurrung Foundation Prof Jane den Hollander AO – Vice Chancellor, Deakin University Steve McDonald and Assoc Prof Phil Connors Degan Ali – Executive Director, Adeso |
| 10.25am |
Morning tea |
| 10.50am |
Plenary 2: LocalisationChair – Assoc Prof Phil Connors Dr Ghassan Elkahlout Sandie Walton-Ellery and Lars Peter Nissen Response – Degan Ali; Panel discussion/Q&A |
| 12.20pm |
Lunch |
| 1.20pm |
Session A
|
| 3.00pm |
Afternoon tea |
| 3.30pm |
Session E
|
| 5.10pm |
Informal welcome reception | Deakin Downtown |
| 7.45am |
Registration desk opens |
|---|---|
| 8.45am |
Plenary 3:Chair – Steve McDonald Per Heggenes – CEO, IKEA Foundation Lan Mercado – Asia Regional Director, Oxfam |
| 10.25 |
Morning tea |
| 11.00am |
Plenary 4: Leadership in a Shifting SystemChair – Rebecca Barber Andrew Henck Daniel McAvoy Response – Lan Mercado and Per Heggenes; Panel discussion/Q&A |
| 12.35pm |
Lunch |
| 1.25pm |
Session I
|
| 3.05pm |
Afternoon tea |
| 3.30pm |
Session M
|
| 6.45pm onwards |
Conference Dinner | Arts Centre Melbourne |
| 8.15am |
Registration desk opens |
|---|---|
| 9.00am |
Plenary 5: Keynote presentationChair – Assoc Prof Phil Connors Dr Hugo Slim – Head of Policy, International Committee of the Red Cross |
| 10.15am |
Morning tea |
| 10.45am |
Plenary 6: Panel SessionLocalisation and Complementarity in Different Humanitarian Contexts Chair – Jeremy Wellard Panelists |
| 12.00pm |
Lunch |
| 1.00pm |
Session Q
|
| 2.20pm |
Plenary 7: Closing SessionAssoc Prof Phil Connors |
| 3.00pm |
Farewell afternoon tea | Deakin Downtown |
