First Joint Humanitarian Diplomacy programme for Alumni Aid Workers and Diplomats

In November 2024, the Clingendael Academy launched its first Joint Humanitarian Diplomacy programme for both aid workers and diplomats. This course was exclusively designed for alumni of the humanitarian diplomacy training programme that the Academy has been organising for aid workers and diplomats separately since 2021. Developing humanitarian diplomacy has been a core objective of the training programme in order to support cooperation and increase effectiveness in challenging political times.

Building on their knowledge gained in the previous training, the joint programme provided a unique opportunity to bring together alumni from both the diplomatic and humanitarian sectors to engage with each other in new ways and to share their experience. During the programme, participants exchanged insights on topics such as “Ethical Challenges in Humanitarian Negotiations” through a session co-led by Humanitarian Outcomes, “Localised Approaches in Humanitarian Diplomacy” by Kathryn Hoeflich of USAID, and a seminar discussion on “Humanitarian Negotiations as an Entry Point to Peace Negotiations” with contributions from Suzanne Damman of the Permanent Representation of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the UN, WTO in Geneva, Susanne Gentz of the European Institute of Peace and Laurent Kasindi from Search for Common Ground.

“The contents are well designed, the training manual is developed skilfully, the speakers arranged were knowledgeable and professional.”

The programme combined thematic discussions with advanced skills training given by the Clingendael Academy trainers, allowing participants to jointly explore how humanitarian and diplomatic tools can complement each other in certain situations and when it is more effective to work independently. Examples of these skills trainings included “Advanced Humanitarian Negotiations” where participants engaged in a tailored simulation exercise between a Humanitarian and a Diplomat by Eva Oldenbuerger and “Advocacy and Effective Influencing” by Maxime Voorbraak.

“I found the session quite interesting and useful; I’ve already begun to use some elements in my work.”

Are you interested in participating in the second Joint Humanitarian Diplomacy Programme and an alumn of our programme? Keep an eye on our training offerings.