When the 32nd International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent convenes in December, will the voices of people at the grass roots be heard? A Movement-wide initiative called Voices to Action, launched in August, answers that question with an interactive, online platform aimed at ensuring that global discussions in December reflect local needs. The idea is to engage National Society staff and volunteers in a dialogue on the three themes of the International Conference: preventing and responding to violence; safety and access; and risk reduction and resilience. Make your voice heard at: www.voicestoaction.org
It’s the stuff of science fiction: machines that make decisions about who and when to kill. Referred to as “autonomous weapons”, they’re already in use to some degree. But as more sophisticated systems are being developed we wanted to an expert in the field about whether such systems comply with international humanitarian law and what it means for humanity to give machines the power over human life and death.
In this episode, we talk with humanitarian communicator Kathy Mueller who produced our first magazine podcast series, The Wildfire Diaries, about massive wildfires in Northern Canada in 2017. We talk about that series, her many international missions, and the big changes in humanitarian communications since she began with the Canadian Red Cross almost 20 years ago.
In this episode, we talk about the power of storytelling to inform and inspire. “Storytelling is a fundamental aspect of human communication,” says our guest Prodip, a volunteer and multi-media storyteller for the Bangladesh Red Crescent. “It inspires us to be a hero of our own community.” We also speak with one such community hero, Dalal al-Taji, a longtime volunteer and advocate for inclusion of people with disabilities in emergencies response. “In disasters. persons with disabilities sometimes get forgotten.”
The daily dedication of volunteers is a key reason the Venezuelan Red Cross has been able to help people on all sides of the political divide.
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