Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs
Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Studies (CHRHS)

7th Annual Civilian-Military Humanitarian Coordination Research Symposium

Civ-mil event

Monday, May 22, 2023

10:45am – 3:45pm

7th Annual Civilian-Military Humanitarian Coordination Research Symposium
Adaptive Planning and Crisis Response: Opportunities and Challenges for Civilian-Military Humanitarian Coordination in Future Conflict

In partnership with the US Naval War College's Humanitarian Response Program, UNWFP, and UNOCHA, CHRHS has organized seven Civilian-Military Humanitarian Coordination Research Symposium and Workshops, each attended by nearly 100 military and humanitarian leaders, designed to enhance the collective humanitarian response capacity of civilian and military actors by supporting a community of practice, identifying key opportunities for professional education and training, and developing a comprehensive research agenda focused on global humanitarian civil-military coordination.

Our 2023 research symposium  features 16 oral presentations and over a dozen poster presentations of recently completed empiric studies, several of which have grown out of working group discussions at our prior workshops, which cover a range of contemporary challenges in global humanitarian action. This year’s presentations cover several timely topics, including civil military coordination during humanitarian evacuation, humanitarian access in complex emergencies, climate change and coastal resilience, and public health emergencies.

Livestream schedule: 

Featured Presentation:
10:45 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
“Afghan Evacuee Experiences of Operation Allies Refuge and Operation Allies Welcome”
Alexandria J. Nylen (CHRHS), Omar Bah (Refugee Dream Center), Sadeqi Noorulhaq (Refugee Dream Center) & Jonathan Bott (Watson Military Fellow) 

Research Presentation Panel Breakouts:
1:30 p.m.-3:45 p.m.
Civilian-Military Interactions During Public Health Emergencies
Alistair D. B. Cook and Lina Gong (S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies), Samuel Boland (Chatham House), Adam Kamradt-Scott (Harvard)

1:30 p.m.-3:45 p.m.
Contemporary Challenges in Civilian-Military Interactions
Jonathan Robinson (CHRHS), Henrique Garbino (Swedish Defense University),  Rob Grace (Brown University), Ebenezer Menlah (Ghana Armed Forces)

1:30 p.m.-3:45 p.m.
Civilian-Military Interactions in the Age of Environmental Hazards and Climate Change
Patricio Winkler (Universidad de Valparaíso), Michelle Ibanez and Leigh Sholler (CFE-DMHA), Kit Barrow (UNEP)