HLA at GNDR Global Summit 2026

Unusual Alliances to Defend Civic Space: Locally Led, Inclusive Partnerships

📅 Tuesday 24 March 2026 | 🕛 02:10PM–03:00PM GMT | 💻 Online

This session is part of the online Global Summit for Disaster Risk Reduction 2026 taking place from March 24 – March 27 organised by the Global Network of Civil Society Organisations in Disaster Risk Reduction (GNDR)

GNDR’s Global Summit 2026 is where locally led civil society organisations from around the world come together to claim space, set priorities, and shape the future of disaster risk reduction and climate action. Because the future of resilience is locally led. 

In this session, HLA’s Shahina Bahar, Senior Lead on Humanitarian Mobilisation & Partnerships will speak on a panel sharing insights and lessons learned from HLA’s locally led focused work and more. The panel will explore how inclusive, participatory community engagement strengthens trust, collaboration, and networks—even in restricted civic spaces. Participants will gain practical tools for stakeholder mapping, trust-building, and navigating power dynamics, while learning strategies to amplify local voices, foster shared ownership, and build multi-layered partnerships across civil society, government, and private sectors.

About Shahina

Shahina Bahar is the Senior Lead on Humanitarian Mobilisation & Partnerships at the Humanitarian Leadership Academy.

Shahina has been working in local actor strengthening in emergencies with IFRC, British Red Cross and Oxfam over the last 15 years. Her previous development experience includes youth participation and community building across diverse geographies. She studied Mechanical Engineering (BEng) and Participation, Power and Social Change (MA) and is an accredited Partnership Broker.