Key messages from Groupe URD’s 20th anniversary, 2013

13/06/2013

To celebrate 20 years of action, Groupe URD organised two days of stimulating and congenial debate in May 2013, during which around 80 participants gathered to discuss and socialise. The rules were simple: we would analyse the past to shed light on the future, focusing on the big picture, and thinking out of the box in order to produce new ideas. Whether members of NGOs (Médecins du Monde, Action contre la Faim, French Red Cross, Handicap International, Secours Islamique France, etc.), representatives of the French public authorities (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, French Development Agency), the European Commission or the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs, researchers from American universities, representatives of United Nations agencies, etc., we discussed the difficulties encountered in crisis contexts and tried to find possible ways to make improvements for the future. This document presents the key messages that emerged.