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As we wrap up JustHumanitarianism we´d like to reflect on the journey we´ve had with the blog, and the opportunities it presents. Created as a platform to examine the many global dimensions of global humanitarian efforts, we explored gender equality, mental health, andsexuality education, which we felt deserved more attention in humanitarian discourse. We sought to highlight the often-overlooked socio-economic and political factors that contribute to disasters, questioning the simplistic view that natural disasters are merely “acts of God.” We also advocated for balanced, trauma-informed, and ethical reporting practices, and challenged inequalities within the humanitarian sector itself, to help bring awareness to how humanitarian aid can perpetuate harmful narratives or reinforce power imbalances. We hope that our articles encourage a more inclusive and comprehensive approach to humanitarian aid.
During the process, we faced challenges– including privacy concerns, financial restraints, and managing time zones- from which we extracted valuable lessons as part of the Communication for Development programme:
- While sharing personal experiences and critically engaging with the sector’s issues can contribute to more effective and equitable humanitarian efforts, it remains crucial to acknowledge the potential for misinterpretation and present information thoughtfully. There is a concern about being overly critical, particularly regarding how aid or financial contributions by donors might question whether humanitarian principles are being upheld.
- Another key takeaway is the value of leveraging internal networks to boost the blog’s visibility during its initial stages, especially given we were operating without investing in ad spend and relying solely on organic reach. Collaborating with others and cross-sharing could have helped us build momentum and potentially garner an increase in visibility. Ideally, having had more time and resources, we would have explored tools to optimize social media engagement, which would allow us to better understand our audience. Successful communication, especially around complex topics, takes effort, patience, and consistency.
- Managing the blog posed challenges due to team members being in different time zones. Coordinating efforts, maintaining engagement, and ensuring timely updates were difficult without synchronized schedules. However, having team members in different time zones also presents an opportunity to be truly global, attracting audiences from all over the world by being “always on.”
Collectively, we´ve learnt it´s important to identify a niche community and engage with them consistently over time to build trust and interest, in order to ultimately reinforce the importance of ethical, inclusive communication in the humanitarian field. Our experience with JustHumanitarianism will help guide us as we move forward, whether in future academic projects, professional work, or continued advocacy for a more just and compassionate world. We hope the conversation will continue.
Thank you and goodbye.
Eni, Chi, Natasha and Thomas