HCBerlin’s Story

For more than 20 years, the Humanitarian Congress Berlin has been debating, analysing, evaluating and developing the theory and practice of humanitarian action. It brings together leading experts from medical and humanitarian organisations, governments, and the media, as well as young professionals interested in humanitarian work.

At the Humanitarian Congress Berlin, we provide a unique opportunity for participants from around the world to come together and share their experiences, knowledge, and ideas about humanitarian action in an international and multi-disciplinary setting. With more than 1000 individuals from different backgrounds and countries attending every year, we have created a vibrant community with a shared interest in addressing the challenges facing humanitarian action.

Our congress is hosted by Médecins du Monde / Doctors of the World, Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors without Borders, the Berlin Chamber of Physicians, and the German Red Cross, who are all committed to advancing the cause of humanitarian action. Learn more about our partners here.

Join us at the Humanitarian Congress Berlin and be a part of our global conversation on humanitarian action.

HCBerlin’s Mission – How we work & what we believe in

COMMUNITY

We want to bring people from all different back-grounds together to learn from each others experience: Our aim is therefore to bring people to the discussion table who would not necessarily meet in other circumstances. We are also convinced that critical debate and change can only grow and flourish in community, through joint experiences and discussions.

We are aware that the sector is strongly build from and still influenced by colonial history, white supremacy, sexism and gender inequality. In the past years, one of our aims has been to address the impact of those structural injustices in various fields and from various perspectives and to discuss pathways to incorporate changes. Our focus during the congress is therefore to highlight voices and perspectives from all people working in, affected by or concerned with humanitarian action.

Exchange is necessary to keep us alive, to nourish our thoughts and to further develop critical debates and ideas: During the past decades, ways of communication and thereby ways of exchanging have constantly changed – due to new technical developments, but in the past years also due to the pandemic. Our aim is to adapt to and use constantly changing methods of exchange, in digital as well as physical spaces.

Moreover, the congress should not only be focused on the exchange that takes place at the discussion table in front of the camera. Therefore, we also seek to provide other opportunities to chat, to connect, to construct and deconstruct thoughts, to imagine the future of the sector together. This means that we invite not only speakers, but also participants to actively engage in the debates.

EXCHANGE

PLATFORM

We see the congress as a platform – a space that gives room for open, critical, thought provoking discussions: Even though we may not be able to insure a fix solution to ongoing problems in three days. We still seek to further develop ongoing debates by in-depth analysis and by enriching them with diverse and critical perspectives, so we can take home new impressions and viewpoints. Those cannot only lead to a personal enrichment but also be further discussed with family and friends, at our workplaces and with relevant decision makers.

Therefore, the goal is not to end debates with ultimate solutions, but to shed light on discussions that have not been sufficiently illuminated before. Although we try not to set boundaries to the debates, there are some necessary rules to provide a safe space for everyone: Every kind of sexist, racist, homophobic behavoir is strictly excluded from our platform.

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