Paper details

Paper authors	valerie leon
In panel on	Communities matter: Examining the role of informal support networks in humanitarian response
Paper presenter(s) will be presenting	In-Person / Online

Abstract

Spontaneous initiatives of solidarity and mutual aid seem natural. In the event of a disaster, aren't the people affected the first to clear away the rubble and help the injured? Let us remember the citizens and collectives organising the rescue of migrants on the coast of Lesbos or the assistance in Calais and Paris. During the pandemic, local initiatives were innumerable, replacing or filling in the gaps left by states.
The terms also abounded - mutual aid, self-help... - to designate forms of solidarity, which are attracting growing interest, but they are not really appropriated or integrated into the sector's practices.
Local responses have also taken on a political mission in favour of socio-political change or the defence of rights. Could there be a shift towards supporting informal and localised forms of activism?
Not only do these initiatives question the established humanitarian architecture, but they are inspiring for the future of international solidarity.
Following on from recent work and the Autumn University on Humanitarian Aid (Groupe URD), I propose to :
* Highlight innovative approaches to responses by affected communities (Haiti, Lebanon) and diasporas.
* To reflect on the implications for conventional aid actors and the aid sector.

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