Skip navigation

Northumbria leading global debate on volunteers in conflicts and emergencies

14th December 2017

A team of Northumbria University academics are presenting the findings from a joint initiative with the Swedish Red Cross at a global conference in Stockholm, Sweden, this week.

The event is the first of its kind internationally and has brought together academics, practitioners and policy-makers to explore and understand the experiences and needs of volunteers whose voices are too often missing from academic research, humanitarian and development policies, and decision-making processes.

How does being a volunteer in a conflict or emergency affect emotional wellbeing? What can the international community to do support volunteers in crises that they themselves are caught up in? This week’s Volunteers in Conflicts and Emergencies (ViCE) conference, hosted by the Swedish Red Cross in partnership with the Centre for International Development at Northumbria, is exploring these very issues.

The Swedish Red Cross and Northumbria have been collaborating on the ViCE Initiative to listen to and hear the voices of volunteers in six countries: Afghanistan; Honduras; Myanmar; Sudan; South Sudan; Ukraine. The conference will share the first findings of this research, exploring what volunteers’ experiences mean for contemporary humanitarian and development thinking and practice.

Professor Matt Baillie Smith, Director of Northumbria’s Centre for International Development, said: “Most research on volunteering focuses on affluent volunteers helping the needy. The ViCE Initiative reveals how people are often volunteers and victims at the same time, requiring new thinking about the ways volunteers are recruited, deployed and supported, and the ways being a volunteer can impact relationships with families and communities.

“Data from the project is raising important questions about the ways volunteering in conflicts and emergencies is gendered, the emotional impacts of volunteering and how volunteers try to implement humanitarian principles on the ground in challenging and isolating circumstances.”

Northumbria’s Centre for International Development is a dynamic group, bringing together academics, practitioners and students to promote research, consultancy, teaching, training and public engagement on issues of global poverty and inequality, the communities and individuals who experience this, and the policies, practices and approaches that seek to address it. The centre’s specialist areas of focus include Governance, environmental resources and sustainability, Volunteering, activism and civil society, and Participatory design and digital civics. For more information about Northumbria’s Centre for International Development, click here.

 

Department of Social Sciences

The department offers an exciting and extensive range of high-quality Undergraduate and Postgraduate courses in Criminology, Politics, and Sociology.

Department of Social Sciences

The department offers an exciting and extensive range of high-quality Undergraduate and Postgraduate courses in Criminology, Politics, and Sociology.

a sign in front of a crowd
+

Northumbria Open Days

Open Days are a great way for you to get a feel of the University, the city of Newcastle upon Tyne and the course(s) you are interested in.

Research at Northumbria
+

Research at Northumbria

Research is the life blood of a University and at Northumbria University we pride ourselves on research that makes a difference; research that has application and affects people's lives.

NU World
+

Explore NU World

Find out what life here is all about. From studying to socialising, term time to downtime, we’ve got it covered.


Latest News and Features

Joint Institute of Clean Hydrogen
Volunteering builds inroads and supports communities. In this photo, UN Volunteers interview community members to assess basic health services in the rural areas of Rwanda. Copyright UNV, 2023
HICSA partners at the site
Jupiter with a spot visible at the south pole
Image of mother and baby
Imogen Russell sitting on a sofa
Dr Rosie Morris, Director of Northumbria University’s Physiotherapy Innovation Laboratory.
3D construction printer at Northumbria University
More events

Upcoming events

Commercialising Social Sciences for Impact
Northumbria University Carol Service
The Future of Evaluation in Health and Social Care Symposium
-

Back to top