This is the Season …

… for the Humanitarian Congress Vienna to stop for a moment, to reflect, to say thank you, and to look forward to the year to come.

We were delighted that so many accepted our invitation to discuss “The Future of Humanitarian Aid” in March 2019. We think that we learned a lot, got a lot to think about, and that we all concluded that there is no reason to grow complacent. Quite the opposite. Things may change in many ways, but:

 “In 2020, nearly 168 million people will need humanitarian assistance and protection. This represents 1 in about 45 people in the world”-

That is what OCHA´s Global Humanitarian Overview now tells us. The  future discussed in March has thus already caught up with us  in some ways. 

Politicians and national and international humanitarian organisations and personnel will be challenged  when attempting to build a humanitarian response serving effectively such a record number of  people in distress. 

We again have a lot to talk about! The Humanitarian Congress Vienna will be part of the conversation next year, and will  seek to facilitate dialogue as well. But, most importantly, we will also be gearing up for the 6th Humanitarian Congress Vienna in 2021, where we hope to see you again and to meet many new friends as well.

As we say goodbye to a year where our community again did its very best to alleviate suffering and fight disaster, the Humanitarian Congress Vienna salutes the efforts of everyone, and looks forward to us all approaching the coming year with new inspiration and without fear in the face of  the enormity of our tasks!

The team of the Humanitarian Congress Vienna