2022 Humanitarian Symposium Munich

The topic of the Humanitarian Symposium 2022 was "Decolonising Humanitarian and Development Aid" and structured as a full-day online series of presentations by invited speakers.

The debate and discussion on decolonisation has gained a lot of attention over the past few years, especially in the sector of Humanitarian and Development Aid. Humanitarian Aid and Development Cooperation are established, yet not undisputed elements of global health action. While a persistent criticism in this area is the pervasion of aid by a postcolonial heritage, the issue of ‘decolonisation’ is of fundamental importance for all actors involved.

Likewise, at the Center for International Health ( CIHLMU ) it is our responsibility to be reflective about our work and interactions. Therefore, we have decided to dedicate the ‘Humanitarian Aid Symposium Munich’ (HSM) 2022 to engage with professionals and NGO’s from the field as well as experts from various academic disciplines and beneficiaries on the topic of ‘Decolonising Humanitarian and Development Aid’.

Engaging with the topic of ‘decoloniality’ starts with a self-reflection about one’s own privileges. Hence, with this symposium we do not aim to agree but rather are looking to disagree as a first move towards dismantling post-colonial practices and thinking. This symposium will bring together different individuals, voices and professionals, to jointly reflect on post- or neo-colonial practices in the field of humanitarian aid. The event will serve as an opportunity to critically discuss our own biases, how colonial histories shape our thinking and to start ‘decolonising our minds’ (see Abimbola et.al, 2021).

We would like to invite you to join us in this practice and experience different actors from the field of humanitarian aid, development cooperation, global health and social sciences in sharing their viewpoints as well as their experiences with the topic. Additionally, we very much like to offer you the opportunity to engage in critical discussions during the symposium and challenge certain ideas and practices with us together (see scholarship opportunity below).

For further research on the topic you can find some readings and resources below.

Medical education credit points (CME) will be applied for at the Bavarian Medical Chamber.

Please find more information in the HSM 2022 Flyer and our detailed Programme.