Event: Research Roundtable Event for Effectiveness in Humanitarian Advocacy Research Group

At the end of January, the UVA Humanitarian Collaborative hosted a ‘Research Roundtable’ that brought together scholars from across grounds and practitioners from the United Nations, Save the Children International in London, and the Peace Appeal Foundation. Participants discussed the outcomes of four research projects sponsored by the UVA Humanitarian Collaborative.

Each of the projects focused on questions that could support how global humanitarian organizations may more effectively engage in advocacy that can raise awareness of humanitarian crises and inspire action. During the roundtable, Professor Trawalter presented the outcomes of her study on the effectiveness of virtual reality based interventions, Professor Rubenstein gave and overview on her theoretical work on ‘emergency claim-making’ and the questions this raises in policy response, Professor Ghaly presented her work on the potential for thematic refugee literature to cultivate empathy and inspire social change; and Hannah Entwisle gave a presentation on her research and a multi-year art projects highlighting disaster displacement that is targeting policy makers at major international conferences.

The Research Roundtable resulted in an invitation from the United Nations to present research to wider practitioner audience in New York including communications officials from many United Nations agencies, the Red Cross, and other major humanitarian non-governmental organizations. Save the Children is also interested in collaborating with Professor Ghaly and her team to launch a global humanitarian literary initiative.

The UVA Humanitarian Collaborative is a research and engagement initiative aiming to bridge the academic/practitioner divide and increase inter-disciplinary collaboration in solving global humanitarian challenges. It is supported by the Center for Global Inquiry and Innovation and the Strategic Investment Fund.