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Greetings!
The Harvard Humanitarian is a monthly e-newsletter compiled by the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative (HHI) to publicize news, publications, and events in the Harvard community related to advancing responses to humanitarian crises of war and disaster. Please help us make this a robust resource by contributing your Harvard community news items via email. |
SPECIAL FEATURE: HUMANITARIAN ACADEMY LAUNCHES
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Introducing the Humanitarian Academy at Harvard
 HHI is proud to announce the establishment of the Humanitarian Academy at Harvard, a new comprehensive training program for humanitarian workers. The mission of the Humanitarian Academy is to drive positive change in the humanitarian sector through rigorous undergraduate, graduate, and professional education and training in the theory and practice of humanitarian action. It aims to help thousands around the world who work in war zones, respond in the wake of natural disasters, or serve in other relief settings.A University-wide center that uses research to improve aid response, the Humanitarian Academy will engage Harvard faculty from multiple disciplines, providing an integrated curriculum, and leveraging the latest technologies to make available innovative teaching and professional education opportunities that are grounded in field-based realities. The Academy will include the Lavine Family Humanitarian Studies Initiative, an existing training program for humanitarian professionals that was recently expanded through a gift from Harvard alumni Jonathan and Jeannie Lavine.There also will be a new, interdisciplinary concentration in humanitarian studies, ethics, and human rights, to be offered at the Harvard School of Public Health beginning in 2013, and hands-on training through internships with relief agencies. The Humanitarian Academy at Harvard will create a professional pathway for students and existing workers in the humanitarian space, serve as a prototype for other academic centers of excellence in humanitarian education, and encourage an international movement to increase the impact of humanitarian relief efforts through a focus on both professional skill building. |
ANNOUNCEMENTS
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Women in War Program Launches Project to Understand Women's Roles in Eastern DRC
The Women in War (WiW) program, in collaboration with the World Bank and its Nordic Trust Fund aimed at supporting human rights in development, will launch a project to better understand women's roles in artisanal mining in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. This project will explore not only women's vulnerabilities to human rights violations, but also sources of resilience and ways to build on positive economic systems within artisanal mining towns.
In March, Jocelyn Kelly and Lindsay Branham, program director for the international NGO Discover the Journey, co-wrote a guest post for the New York Times blog, 'On the Ground,' about their recent qualitative assessment of violence perpetrated in northeastern DRC by the Lord's Resistance Army. They argue that, "A critical perspective has been missing from the conversation resulting from the Kony 2012 campaign: that of those currently living in Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) affected areas. The voices of affected individuals and communities should be at the center of this swelling chorus of opinions." The blog post can be read here: http://kristof.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/21/engaging-african-voices-on-kony/. The WiW program will be publishing a report in collaboration with Discover the Journey this spring on its assessment of the impact of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) on communities in eastern DRC.
HSI Simulation Exercise 2012 Trains Students in the Complex Realities of Humanitarian Response  The 2012 Lavine Family Humanitarian Studies Initiative, Simulation Exercise (SimEx 2012) was the largest training event to date organized by the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative. This past April, 115 students and nearly 100 volunteers converged in a forest area just north of Boston, Massachusetts to simulate an international response to a complex humanitarian emergency. Faculty and staff from Harvard as well as a small army of volunteers from organizations such as the US Army 95th Civil Affairs Brigade, the US Navy Maritime Civil Affairs and Security Training Command, Open Street Map, the Standby Task Force, Samaritan's Purse, the Center for Safety and Development (CSD) and Arbeiter-Samariter-Bund (ASB), all helped to create a hands on learning experience for students of the HSPH annual Humanitarian Studies Course.
HHI Researchers' Kobo Suite Helps Streamline Digital Data Collection
 | | YouTube Video: Introducing KoBoToolbox |
HHI researchers Phuong Pham and Patrick Vinck have created KoBo Suite, which consists of several software tools and streamlined methods to help practitioners implement rapid digital data collection projects. Together, these tools allow any practitioner to design and implement a research instrument for digital data collection, to conduct research in the field, and to then aggregate the collected data into a database. KoBo is based on the Open Data Kit, and has been widely tested in austere conditions for ease of use and reliability. Pham and Vinck first piloted this method of handheld digital data collection in 2007 in northern Uganda. The effort gave its name to the project: KoBo means "transfer" in Acholi, one of the local languages. The development of KoBoToolbox was uniquely driven by field-based needs and challenges.
The development of KoBoToolbox and its use in the field has been made possible by grants from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, with additional support from Humanity United.
Satellite Sentinel Project Documents Buildup of Sudanese Military Strike Aircraft in Range of South Sudan and Evidence of Reported SPLA Looting | | Image courtesy of DigitalGlobe |
The Satellite Sentinel Project (SSP) has published new imagery confirming that the Government of Sudan has dramatically increased the number of military strike aircraft at two airbases and that many are in range to fly deep into South Sudan. SSP has also documented, through the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative's analysis of DigitalGlobe satellite imagery, craters consistent with reports that Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) aerially bombarded an apparent civilian area near a strategic bridge in Bentiu, the capital of Unity State, South Sudan. SSP has also identified visual evidence consistent with reports of looting by Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) and southern-aligned forces at a SAF military base in the disputed border town of Heglig. The destruction or seizure of enemy property may violate international law governing the conduct of land warfare.
 Jocelyn Kelly, director of the Women in War program, is a featured author in an upcoming book published by the Forum for International Criminal and Humanitarian Law. Kelly and Alejandra Azuero co-authored the chapter, "A Tale of Two Conflicts: An Unexpected Reading of Sexual Violence in Conflict Through the Cases of Colombia and Democratic Republic of the Congo." The Forum for International Criminal and Humanitarian Law formally launched the two volumes, Proving and Understanding International Sex Crimes, on April 25, at the Georgetown Center for Transnational Legal Studies in London.
HHI Faculty member Susan Bartels, HHI Fellow Orly Stern, and Women in War Director Jocelyn Kelly attended a Workshop on Children Born of Rape at Wolfson College in Cambridge, UK, on April 13-14. They each presented their field work from eastern DRC examining this issue. The core aim of the project is to create a sustainable network exploring the life courses of children born of war in order to inform current ideological, political, legal, ethical and moral debates about how to improve the live experiences of these children and their communities in the future.
On April 23, Beth Maclin, research assistant for the Women in War program, presented research on sexual violence in eastern DRC as part of a panel examining gender-based violence and the implications for healthcare delivery in places where such violence is prevalent. The event was co-hosted by the undergraduate Harvard Haitian Alliance and Harvard Consent, Assault Awareness, and Relationship Educators.
Reminder for Harvard Affiliates: Register travel abroad on the Harvard Travel Registry
 Harvard has recently established an International Travel Registry. The University has asked that any individuals traveling abroad on official Harvard business must register their itinerary so that Harvard can locate its affiliates quickly and provide assistance in the event of an emergency (i.e., natural disaster, civil unrest, etc.). Registering is required for all students traveling on trips funded or arranged by the University, and is strongly recommended for everyone.
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UPCOMING EVENTS
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Event times, dates, and locations listed here are subject to change without notice. Please contact the event host for more information.
Intensive Course on Health and Human Rights: Concepts, Implementation and Impact
 Monday, June 11 - Wednesday, June 13, 201212:15-2:00 PM
François-Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health and Human Rights / Harvard School of Public Health
Professionals and leaders in public health, medicine, law, development, education, humanitarian intervention, and economics are increasingly expected to integrate human rights in policy and programs. This course will equip decision-makers with the skills necessary to apply methods and practices grounded in basic human rights.
Recognizing the importance and utility of the intersection between health and human rights, this three-day intensive program equips professionals and leaders with the concepts, skills, and tools to integrate human rights into their professional activities. Participants will acquire an in-depth knowledge of international human rights and humanitarian law through the lens of real-world application, especially in contexts of poverty, conflict, and social upheaval. Participants will also develop insight into methods used to analyze the human rights dimensions of public health programs and policies, and international mechanisms and procedures that further the human rights of vulnerable individuals and populations. The program will critically examine existing institutions and systems from the perspectives of both theory and practice, and assess their role in promoting and protecting a broad range of health-related human rights.
For more information and to register, please click here.
Humanitarian Assistance Webcast 9: Peace Building and Humanitarian Engagement
 Tuesday, June 12, 2012 9:30AM - 11:30AM (EDT) Online
Save the Date: 2013 Humanitarian Studies Course
April 16-28, 2013
Boston, Massachusetts
The Humanitarian Studies Course is the annual 10 day training program offered to the public by the Lavine Family Humanitarian Studies Initiative. This course taught by experienced faculty from a number of academic institutions, is a combination of classroom study, interactive group workshops and simulated complex humanitarian emergency response. The curriculum will train participants in current humanitarian issues as well as the methodologies and essential skills that best prepare humanitarian workers to operate in the field.
Don't miss future information on how to participate in this event! To be added to the course information distribution list, please email here.
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PUBLICATIONS & PRESS
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- BBC Wire Staff. "Satellite tracks Sudan oil damage." BCC. April 22, 2012.
- Blanding, Michael. "Inside Harvard's Spy Lab." Boston Globe. April 29, 2012.
- Burkle, Jr., Frederick M. "The Development of Multidisciplinary Core Competencies: The First Step in the Professionalization of Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness on a Global Scale." Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness. 2012.
- Callaway DW, Yim ES, Stack C, Burkle FM Jr. "Integrating the disaster cycle model into traditional disaster diplomacy concepts." Disaster Med Public Health Prep. March 2012.
- Clooney, George and Prendergast, John. "The Crisis in the Sudans: The Urgency of U.S.-China Cooperation." Time. April 13, 2012.
- CNN Wire Staff. "Witness: Sudanese warplanes strike at South Sudan border towns." CNN. April 23, 2012.
- Ferrie, Jared. "South Sudan accuses Sudan of aerial, ground attacks," CNN. April 22, 2012.
- Kron, Josh. "South Sudan Reports Air Attacks by Sudan." New York Times. April 23, 2012.
- Legemaate GA, Burkle FM, and Bierens JJ. "The Evaluation of Research Methods during Disaster Exercises: Applicability for Improving Disaster Health Management." Prehosp Disaster Med. Jan-Feb 2012.
- McColl GJ and Burkle, FM. "The New Normal: Twelve Months of Resiliency and Recovery in Christchurch." Disaster Med Public Health Prep. March 2012.
- Meldrum, Andrew. "Tensions remain high between Sudan and South Sudan." GlobalPost. April 22, 2012.
- Nickerson JW, Chackungal S, Knowlton L, McQueen K, and Burkle FM. "Surgical Care during Humanitarian Crises: A Systematic Review of Published Surgical Caseload Data from Foreign Medical Teams." Prehosp Disaster Med. May 2012.
- Patel RB and Burkle FM. "Rapid Urbanization and the Growing Threat of Violence and Conflict: A 21st Century Crisis." Prehosp Disaster Med. May 2012.
- Powell, Alvin. "A training lifeline for rescuers." Harvard Gazette. May 4, 2012.
- Powell, Alvin. "Disaster by the Numbers." Harvard Gazette. April 5, 2012.
- Powell, Kendall. "A lab app for that." Nature. April 25, 2012.
- WBUR. "Satellite Monitoring Used To Track Human Rights Violations." April 19, 2012.
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About The Harvard Humanitarian Initiative
HHI fosters interdisciplinary collaboration at Harvard University in order to improve the effectiveness of humanitarian strategies for relief, protection, and prevention; instill human rights principles and practices in these strategies; and educate and train the next generation of humanitarian leaders. In 2005, the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative was established as a University-wide interfaculty academic and research center, supported by the Office of the Provost and the Harvard School of Public Health with the participation of faculty from Harvard schools and affiliated hospitals. For more information, visit www.hhi.harvard.edu.
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