Placing communities at the core: humanitarian design at the Netherlands Red Cross
To prevent and alleviate human suffering at home and abroad: that has been the ambition of the Netherlands Red Cross (NLRC) for 150 years, as a member of the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement, the largest humanitarian network in the world. We do this without regards to nationality, race, religious beliefs, class or political opinion. Our seven fundamental principles guide all our work: humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity and universality. Together we act before, during and after disasters to meet the needs and improve the lives of vulnerable people.
In a dynamic, rapidly evolving and highly interconnected world some of the work that we do is changing: we recognise that to remain relevant and to close the gap between growing humanitarian needs and increasingly scarce resources, we need to innovate in our approaches, products and services. The step towards incorporating human-centred design seems a natural one, but is at times a giant leap. Join us to discover the contribution of design in our work today, our long-term ambitions and the role you can play in shaping that future.
About the speaker
Saskia van Manen works at the intersection of academic research and real-world practice to realise human-centred, sustainable and research-based disaster risk reduction initiatives. She holds a PhD in Volcanology, an MA in Product Design and Innovation and an M.Sci. in Geophysics. She works as a Design and Innovation Strategist at the Netherlands Red Cross.
The lecture will be in IDE Arena.