A word from Annelies Vilim

Dear colleagues and friends of the Humanitarian Congress Vienna,

I would like to take the opportunity to introduce to you Lukas Wank who will start on 3 April as the new Director of Global Responsibility, Platform for Development and Humanitarian Aid. In this position Lukas will be a member of the Humanitarian Congress Steering Committee, a challenging but important task. Those of you who haven´t met Lukas already, take the opportunity to discuss with him at the 6^th Humanitarian Congress Vienna on 16 June.

As many of you already know, I myself headed for new shores as Special Representative for Humanitarian Aid (Sonderbeauftragte für Humanitäre Hilfe) of the Austrian Government at the start of 2023.

During my time as the Director of Global Responsibility, Platform for Development and Humanitarian Aid, it has been a big pleasure and a rewarding challenge for me to co-organize and co-host the Humanitarian Congress Vienna five times. The Humanitarian Congress Vienna gave me an opportunity to meet outstanding personalities from all walks of humanitarian life, to work alongside inspiring colleagues who together tried fearlessly to give pressing humanitarian topics a platform and always strived to put the most vulnerable humans at the centre of interest. Jointly we made the Humanitarian Congress Vienna an important fixed item in the humanitarian calendar.

To my colleagues, to all the speakers and participants I met along the journey, I want to say thank you for the many wonderful experiences and for being enthusiastic about the humanitarian idea. Meeting you, and working with you, made my work rewarding no matter the challenges that also inevitably arise.

I wish Lukas and the team of the Humanitarian Congress Vienna all the best! I really look forward to seeing you all on 16 June for the 6^th Humanitarian Congress Vienna with its lively and exciting discussions.

This is a heartfelt ‘so long’ but of course never a good-bye!

Annelies Vilim