24 February 2023 marks the one-year anniversary of the full-scale war in Ukraine. The conflict has had devastating effects on Ukraine, Europe, and the world. Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and close to 17 million people have been displaced.
The humanitarian industry has received unprecedented levels of funding for humanitarian action in Ukraine but at the same time, debates questioning the speed of the response, the international humanitarian systems engagement with local humanitarian actors, and the humanitarian principles are gaining ground.
Trumanitarian explores the state of play of humanitarian action in Ukraine one year after the invasion and ask the question: Is the humanitarian sector doing well enough, and if not, how must the sector then transform in order to do so?
Statute of St. Andrew being protected by sandbags. Photo: Kyiv State Administration, Oleksii Samsono
@lpnissen’s discussions on @trumanitarian
live up to what’s on the tin: “smart, honest interviews about all things humanitarian.”
live up to what’s on the tin: “smart, honest interviews about all things humanitarian.”
Enjoying so much the insightful conversations taking place as part of the @trumanitarian podcast, hosted by @lpnissen from @ACAPSproject. This is how thinking outside the box “sounds” like for the humanitarian sector. Really inspiring! Highly recommended!
Episode 1 – Principled?
Yuliia and Lars Peter explore what the humanitarian principles mean in Ukraine today. They agree that the principles of humanity and impartiality are the foundations of humanitarian action but have different position on neutrality. Yuliia argues that the principle is outdated and does not work in Ukraine. Lars Peter worry that letting go of the neutrality will erode the core of humanitarian action.
Episode 2 – Like Magic!
The first Russian invasion in 2014 led to a nation-wide grassroots mobilization of Ukrainians to support military effort and provide humanitarian aid. The 2022 invasion propelled these efforts to new heights and mobilized overwelming levels of international support for humanitarian action. Episode two explores the way in which the organic, agile and evolving Ukrainian civil society response mix (or not) with the international humanitarian industry.
Episode 3 – Pivot
How does a vibrant civil society, which in normal time advocate and challenge the government, pivot to adapt its role when war breaks out? To find out Yuliia and Lars Peter speak to Yuliya Sporych, CEO of the national Ukrainian NGO Divchata and with Oleksandr Riabtsev, Head of Demining in the Ministry of Reintegration of the Temporary Occupied Territories.
Episode 4 – Purpose and Power
The first three episodes have shown that humanitarian action in Ukraine has been marred by a range of all too familiar problems. In the last episode Yuliia and Lars Peter invite a number of guests to discuss how to break the pattern and move towards a model that is fit for the future.
There is a very strong, dominant narrative around humanitarian action in Ukraine. I want to deconstruct that narrative and re-negotiate it in an open and honest dialogue with a Ukrainian perspective.
Yuliia combines a deep understanding of the humanitarian industry with the perspective of a young Ukrainian growing up in a country at war. I am feel both very grateful and lucky that she agreed to be my co-host.
Lars Peter Nissen has worked with humanitarian action since he was a volunteer in El Salvador in 1989. Since then he has worked with humanitarian action in a wide range of countries from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe
He is the found and host of Trumanitarian and has a day job as the Director of ACAPS.
I became involved in the project because I think there are way too many discussions about Ukraine without Ukraine. I want to tell the story of Ukraine from our own perspective.
As a humanitarian I can see us repeat the same mistakes in Ukraine that we have made in other countries and I want us to do better!
Yuliia Chykolba was born in Dnipro, Ukraine and first became involved with humanitarian action when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2014. Since then, she has worked with Humanitarian Mine Action in Ukraine, Afgahnistan, Syria and Iraq.
Yuliia is a Chevening Scholar and an alumna of the Department of War Studies, King’s College London. She currently works for the HALO Trust in Kyiv.
Executive producer: Dennis Kjeldsen
Research and social media: Caroline Thorsen
Sound engineering: Agustin Liberatore
