The world will face different sorts of crises in the future, and their dimensions and dynamics will be dramatically different and potentially more devastating.  Humanitarian Futures Programme at the prestigious King’s College, London.

Greater and more diverse humanitarian threats will be the hallmarks of the future, as evidenced in wide ranging research undertaken by the Humanitarian Futures Programme. With this in mind those with humanitarian roles and responsibilities must plan now to deal with the future. “This is by no means all doom and gloom,” according to Dr. Randolph Kent, Director of the HFP. “Science and technology can show us in so many ways how to mitigate if not eliminate future threats, but to do so both sides need to understand what each is saying and asking. That dialogue is and will increasingly become one of the most important challenges facing the humanitarian risk communities.”

HFP is calling for far greater attention to the development of a new humanitarianism – one in which the importance of a growing number of actors, including the corporate sector, the Diaspora and the military – and new forms of collaboration – including on-line crowdsourcing and crowdfunding will play into prevention and preparedness as well as response.

“Humanitarian organisations can be proud of their efforts in Haiti, Chile and elsewhere, but unless we adopt new thinking and new behaviour, we will condemn the next generation to levels of suffering that need not be.  We need to anticipate future crises more systematically; we need to be more adaptive and engage in new forms of collaboration and adopt far more innovative practice.

“It is so important for key humanitarian actors to engage in the process of thinking from the future.  We can mitigate the worst effects of events such as Haiti, Chile and Qinghai if we prepare now.  Our various donors have shared our far-reaching perspective and helped us launch an exciting experiment which brings together leading climate change scientists and humanitarian practitioners, to share their knowledge and experience in the service of human kind.”

Dr. Kent says he sympathises with the difficulties of humanitarian aid organisations diverting their attention from the compelling immediate needs of vulnerable people to the process of planning for future generations.  But he insists it has to be done.

“I want to see a debate in all the great capital cities of the world, with the wider community of humanitarian actors participating, sharing knowledge and expertise and seeking innovative solutions which will offset the dreadful dangers the future will bring.  We need new strategies and ideas.  That’s how to reduce human suffering and save the lives of men, women and children not yet born.” 

Dr. Kent says the HFP’s activities and messages have been seeping into the psyche of organisations more and more, helping them recognise how to prepare for future hazards and threats and not to rely on doing things as they have always been done.

“We’re achieving that clear message thanks to those who have supported us and it’s getting into the policy frameworks, into the executive offices and into the operations of organisations around the world. So we have significant gains we can point to.”

He says there’s clear evidence the shift has begun and long-standing views of how disasters play out are being challenged. No longer are humanitarian activities limited to immediate response and post-conflict recovery.

“Just take a peek into the future, perhaps 10 or 15 years from now and we can anticipate a day when the humanitarian community will have to provide water and food for millions of people in drought-affected Africa, tend to several hundred thousand after a cyclone in Asia and deal with another "Haiti" - all at the same time.  We need the most creative minds in Denmark and around the world thinking through this realistic scenario now.”

As well as the emergence of a “new humanitarianism” Dr. Kent sees an expansion of humanitarian ‘actors’ to include the Diaspora, corporate companies, celebrities, even subversive network organisations who will add to the core players – governments and military sectors – to exploit greater and greater innovations from the worlds of science and technology.