SYMPOSIUM ON BEST PRACTICES IN HUMANITARIAN INFORMATION EXCHANGE

TO BE HELD ON 7 AND 8 FEBRUARY AT PALAIS DES NATIONS

GENEVA, 5 February (UN Information Service) -- The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs will host the Symposium on Best Practices in Humanitarian Information Exchange on 7 and 8 February at the Palais des Nations.

Over 200 humanitarian professionals working for international organizations, non-governmental organizations, governments, research groups and the private sector will attend.  Among other topics, the Symposium will take up on 7 February the question of what has been accomplished in the field of humanitarian information over the last five years and what challenges remain.  The question of what are the best practices and standards that facilitated the sharing of information will be discussed on 8 February, along with the issue of how information is used for humanitarian coordination and strategic and operational decision-making.

Carolyn McAskie, United Nations Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator, and Edward Girardet, journalist and Director of Media Action International, will be the two keynote speakers.

The Symposium will also include a discussion on lessons learned and the best practices relating to humanitarian information management and exchange gained from a wide variety of humanitarian emergencies, including Afghanistan, Volcano Nyiragongo in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kosovo, and Sierra Leone.

The outcome of the Symposium will be to document the lessons learned and the best practices related to the management and coordination of humanitarian information and to make recommendations for a future course of action.  The participants will develop a strategy for promoting these best practices, generating new models and tool kits, utilizing new technologies and applications, and forming collaborative partnerships to advance various information initiatives and approaches. 

Journalists accredited to the United Nations are welcome to attend the Symposium.

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