In August 2022, Groupe URD carried out a real-time evaluation of the response to the Ukraine crisis to see the hidden face of aid: volunteers, the diaspora, churches and civic solidarity. As was the case in Lebanon after the explosion in the Port of Beirut or in the La Roya valley after Storm Alex, this type of evaluation means that you can see what is needed on the ground, how the response is unfolding as you meet the men and women who are delivering aid on a daily basis.
This terrible event has once again highlighted the issue of aid localisation and more generally that of aid architecture in conflict contexts. A report and a video explain the situation.
Several articles (in French) to understand the challenges of humanitarian aid in Ukraine:
- Soutenir l’Ukraine, un enjeu crucial avant l’hiver, by Guillaume Sergent, 12/12/2022, in La Nouvelle République
- En Ukraine, «les travailleurs humanitaires redécouvrent la guerre d’intensité » : interview of François Grünewald, by Luc Mathieu, 09/12/2022 in Libération
- Aide humanitaire : en Ukraine, un problème de fonds, by Luc Mathieu, 08/12/2022 in Libération
- Guerre d’Ukraine, désastre politico-militaire et humanitaire : à l’aune de l’histoire, Tribune from François Grünewald in Défis Humanitaires, April 2022
See also the program TV C ce soir on France 5, the 13/12/2022
Macron-Zelensky : des milliards plutôt que des armes ? (replay available until 12/01/23)
The annual meeting of the CGLU working group on crisis prevention and territorial management, which took place on 28/11/2022 in Geneva, heard from the Mayors of Mycholaev, Kharkiv and Novhorod-Siverskyi as well as representatives from the Ukrainian cities’ coordination body. François Grünewald presented Groupe URD’s work on cities faced with high-intensity wars (Ukraine) and faced with protracted and multi-phase crises (Lebanon).
François Grünewald also shared his analysis of the role of volunteer and civil society groups, municipal authorities and the diaspora in humanitarian aid during a multi-actor consultation meeting presided by the French Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs, Catherine Colonna, on 08/12/2022.
On the eve of the Conference (12/12/2022) he has been taking part in the 64 Minutes programme on TV5MONDE, a daily international news programme from 6.00 to 7.04 pm.
Activities organised with the support of French Development Agency, Fondation de France, Région Auvergne-Rhônes-Alpes and Monegasque Cooperation.