Looking ahead to the 12th Global Dialogue Platform

This year, I’m eager to explore how anticipatory action is evolving globally, and to dive into discussions around innovative strategies that can be applied in diverse contexts. With growing challenges in disaster risk reduction and disaster response, I am particularly excited about sessions focusing on innovative approaches and tools that enhance preparedness and early action. Additionally, I’m excited to meet and exchange ideas with a broad range of experts and practitioners, learning from their experiences and sharing our own. Being able to engage in these discussions in person, in Berlin, adds an extra layer of excitement to this invaluable platform!

The Danish Refugee Council (DRC) highly welcomes this year’s leading theme of enabling anticipatory action in complex contexts. DRC’s core mandate is to serve people affected by conflict and displacement and, while the first advancements have been made with anticipatory action in complex settings, much remains to be done. We are looking forward to developing a joint global vision on how to advance this agenda.

“Beyond that, 2024 has already been a big year for anticipatory action globally, with large-scale action anticipating El Niño’s impacts and ongoing La Niña readiness, so it’s a good moment to touch base with the community on successes achieved and the work ahead.

At Aktion gegen den Hunger | Action Against Hunger, we are looking forward to constructive and honest conversations about how we can collectively strengthen anticipatory action and act early to prevent human suffering and protect people’s livelihoods. Expanding anticipatory action remains key to strengthening access to food and nutrition security in a context where well over 700 million people continue to face hunger worldwide. We appreciate the opportunity to share some of our innovative work around modelling early-risk indicators to anticipate acute malnutrition, and exploring new strategies for mitigating food insecurity driven by compounding and cascading hazards.

We are excited to become a part of the anticipatory action community at the Hub! At Malteser International, we have worked in depth to find our own approach, one that reflects the need to mainstream anticipatory action as a way of working, but at the same time keeps it flexible to the contexts we work in and support the partners we work with. That is why we are excited about this year’s Global Dialogue Platform: we are looking forward to networking, learning from best practices and, most importantly, listening to the experts on how locally led approaches can become a reality.

As a peacebuilder, I am very excited about this year’s Global Dialogue Platform, especially the panels and workshops discussing anticipatory action in climate-affected situations. These are areas where misinformation and limited access to trustworthy data further complicate situations already burdened by violence, displacement and a scarcity of essential food and water supplies. I am eager to explore how we can maximize relief interventions by addressing the root causes of vulnerability and leveraging both scientific and local knowledge, embracing a holistic, peace-responsive approach.

The EU Space Programme provides the backbone for observing critical environmental indicators before crises emerge. The EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) works on the uptake of EU space data, seeking to raise data-awareness to all humanitarian actors and feed into anticipatory decisions. For this to happen, we need to listen to the humanitarian community, and understand the needs and reservations, so that we can make space data and applications more accessible and valuable. We look forward to hearing from you!

For Oxfam, the Global Dialogue Platform will be a great opportunity to build and strengthen our connections with other partners. This year’s theme aligns well with our priorities: we see great potential for (feminist and locally led) anticipatory action, including in complex contexts where communities are facing the impacts of multiple hazards, both climate-induced and human-made. I’m looking forward to exchanging with others about anticipatory action in protracted crises and in fragile and conflict settings, about connecting it to approaches such as social protection, and about ensuring it is strongly embedded in local and national disaster management systems. Hope to meet you in Berlin!

I am looking forward to our side session, ‘Trusting information in fragile and conflict-affected situations: how insecurity and grievance can shape anticipatory action efforts’. Together with representatives from the International Committee of the Red Cross, the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre, the Sudan Urban Development Think Tank and Resurgence, we will use real-life case studies to explore the challenges of building trust in conflict-affected communities who are dealing with crises such as displacement and climate disaster. I am excited about a dialogue that promises to highlight untold struggles and successes, offering key lessons for more effective humanitarian interventions.