2nd March 2026
Join HLA at HNPW 2026, over four sessions to discuss youth leadership through the lens of crisis response in Ukraine, Peru and Türkiye; what can be done to drive change towards a locally led research agenda; and local leadership in humanitarian AI development. This year we are pleased to collaborate with Start Network, H2H Network, ELRHA, Open Space Works Ukraine, KAOS, and the Training Providers Forum.
Click the registration buttons to register for your sessions of interest. We look forward to connecting with partners and learners attending during the in-person week.
Bridging digital divides: centring local leadership in humanitarian AI development
📅 Tuesday 3 March |🕛11:00-12:15 UTC | 💻 Zoom Webinar
Speakers: Musaab Abdalhadi – Save the Children in Sudan, Ali Al Mokdad – independent, Lucy Hall – HLA, Gülsüm Özkaya – IHH, Ka Man Parkinson – HLA
AI is rapidly shaping humanitarian work, but local actors are still largely excluded from how these technologies are designed and governed, risking deeper inequalities.
This session explores how AI can become a driver of localisation itself by embedding inclusion, ethics, and collaboration into humanitarian systems. Drawing on new research and frameworks, panelists will discuss practical ways to build locally led AI ecosystems and reimagine humanitarian action as co-created, context-driven, and collectively intelligent.
The State of Learning and Development in the Nonprofit Sector
📅 5 March | 🕛 13:00 UTC | 💻 Zoom Webinar
The Training Providers Forum – Groupe URD, Humanitarian Leadership Academy, Humentum, IECAH, INTRAC, NetHope, and RedR UK – invite you to join us for this online session taking place as part of Humanitarian Networks and Partnerships Week (HNPW).
Over the past year the global humanitarian and development sectors have been rocked by funding cuts on an unprecedented scale, whilst simultaneously being called to respond to escalating levels of need. This session specifically examines the impact that dramatic sector changes are having on provision of training, and Learning and Development for humanitarian and development actors.
This session is aimed at those working in L&D, HR, people and culture or in a leadership role in the humanitarian and development sectors.
Unsettling the status quo: The case for locally led humanitarian research
📅 Tuesday 10 March | 🕛10:00 – 11:30 UTC | 📍 CICG – Salle Vevey and online
Speakers: Tamara Low – HLA, Maryana Zaviyska – Open Space Works Ukraine, Umut Güner – KAOS, Kai Hopkins – ELRHA
Despite strong rhetoric around localisation, humanitarian research is still largely controlled by well-resourced Western institutions, with local actors often sidelined into limited roles. This undermines the value of locally led research, which is typically more relevant, culturally grounded, and responsive to affected communities—especially critical amid shrinking sector funding.
This session will explore the power shifts, funding changes, and norm-setting required to advance a genuinely locally led research agenda, drawing on insights from local research organisations, funders, and humanitarian leaders working to drive this change.
A Call to Action for Youth Leadership and the Future of Humanitarian Action
📅 Thursday 12 March | 🕛13:00 – 14:30 | 📍CICG – Salle 13 and online
Speakers: Jennifer Dias – HLA, Maryana Zaviyska – Open Space Works Ukraine, Olha Shevchuk-Kliuzheva – Alliance UA CSO, Mercedes Garcia – Save the Children International, Youth Intern from the HLA’s Youth Internship Programme in Türkiye
Young people are already playing critical roles in humanitarian response across the world, yet their leadership remains poorly defined, under-recognised, and weakly embedded in humanitarian systems. Often active as volunteers and innovators, youth face limited pathways to formal leadership and professional growth.
This panel will explore how the sector can shift from ad-hoc youth engagement to genuine youth leadership, drawing on global research and lived experiences to identify practical, safe, and empowering pathways for youth to lead in humanitarian action.