2020 virtual annual conference: live – with Swiss Humanitarian Aid
Bern, 19.08.2020 - Humanitarian challenges in the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic will be the focus of the 2020 Annual Conference of Swiss Humanitarian Aid, which this year will take place online from 1.30pm to 3pm on 20 August. This free event will take you behind the scenes of Swiss Humanitarian Aid at head office in Bern.
Half a year ago the world looked quite different – including for the work of Swiss Humanitarian Aid. Humanitarian crises such as natural disasters and protracted conflicts have always placed great demands on humanitarian aid, but the COVID-19 pandemic poses new challenges for the world. It is hitting the poorest hardest and exacerbating humanitarian crises worldwide. So in times of disrupted supply chains and closed borders, how can Swiss Humanitarian Aid continue to fulfil its mandate to save lives and alleviate suffering'?
Swiss Humanitarian Aid at the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, part of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, is inviting partners and the public to learn more about its work in these uncertain times. Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis will speak at the virtual annual conference about the future of humanitarian commitment, while the new SDC director general, Patricia Danzi, will explain her views on humanitarian aid. In addition, specialists will report from the field on the current situation with regard to various humanitarian crises and natural disasters; and side-effects of the pandemic, such as domestic violence, will also be discussed. The audience will have the opportunity to ask questions and express their opinions from home, the office or wherever they happen to be.
This 90-minute virtual version of the annual conference will be filled with interviews and discussion rounds that will give participants a good insight into how Swiss Humanitarian Aid is working under the additional challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The virtual annual conference will take place on 20 August between 1.30pm and 3pm (CET) from the SDC's offices at Effingerstrasse 27 in Bern. The event is free of charge and simultaneous interpretation will be provided into German, French and English.
Address for enquiries
FDFA Communication
Federal Palace West Wing
CH-3003 Bern, Switzerland
Tel. Press service: +41 58 460 55 55
E-mail: kommunikation@eda.admin.ch
Twitter: @SwissMFA
Publisher
Federal Department of Foreign Affairs
https://www.eda.admin.ch/eda/en/home.html
