Puji Pujiono, Practitioner
Puji Pujiono
Proclaiming the Jakarta Declaration

Puji Pujiono reflects on the Jakarta Declaration on the Sovereignty of Humanitarian CSOs and what locally led humanitarian action means amid declining international aid. Drawing on Indonesia’s experience, he argues that responsibility must be matched by authority and resources, with affected communities and local actors defining priorities. The article considers domestic and regional financing, practical South-South cooperation, and principled relationships with government that preserve civil society autonomy. It also calls for honest assessment of local coordination and a changed role for international partners, grounded in shared authority, resources, and risks and respect for locally defined priorities.

Proclaiming the Jakarta Declaration
Michel Maietta, Practitioner
Michel MAIETTA
The Humanitarian Reset: a simulacrum of change?

The Humanitarian Reset promises to shift power. But changing how aid is administered is not the same as changing who has the authority to decide. Michel Maietta examines the difference between funding received, implemented and governed by local organisations; the limits of participation; and the locally led alternatives already in place. Drawing on NEAR, Start Network and IARAN’s Future of Aid 2040 research, he proposes three tests for meaningful reform: authority, resources, and accountability and risk. The question is whether local actors can now make decisions that previously required international permission—and whether affected communities can challenge those decisions.

The Humanitarian Reset: a simulacrum of change?
Alisha Salsabila Indrawan
Alisha Salsabila Indrawan
Decolonising Knowledge on Gender and Disability

Disasters are not “natural” events but the result of structural inequalities—yet humanitarian practice still relies on labels like “vulnerable groups” that can obscure these root causes. This blog argues that the term “vulnerable” functions as colonial debris, reinforcing deficit narratives about people with disabilities and LGBTQ+ communities while overlooking the systems that produce risk. Drawing on evidence from Indonesia and Indigenous knowledge from Bugis and Javanese societies, it shows that inclusion is not a new or Western concept, but a historically grounded reality. The piece calls for a shift in disaster governance—from categorising people as passive recipients to recognising them as agents with knowledge and authority—through decolonising language, valuing local knowledge, and enabling genuine participation in decision-making.

Decolonising Knowledge on Gender and Disability
Mihir Bhatt, Guest Blog, Eilidh Kennedy, Practitioner
Eilidh Kennedy
Future of Aid 2040 Report Launch in India: ...

One month after the Future of Aid 2040 report launch in New Delhi, hosted by IARAN, START Network, CHL, and the Humanitarian Hub, discussions continue across Berlin and Bogotá. The report envisions a reimagined aid system by 2040 centered on inclusivity, local leadership, and collective action. Key voices—including Sneha Mishra, Anuj Tiwari, Rajesh Kapoor, Vasundhara Pandey, and Manu Gupta—called for equitable resource distribution, decentralized decision-making, and stronger community ownership. AIDMI emphasized integrating local knowledge and the evolving role of AI to enhance future aid delivery and resilience.


Future of Aid 2040 Report Launch in India: Navigating Uncertainty and Inequality
Puji Pujiono, Practitioner
Puji Pujiono
Local CSOs’ terrifying triumph: the birth of a ...

“The baby is in our hands — and I am terrified.

The fight to gain power was one challenge. The responsibility that follows is far greater. Leadership has shifted to local CSOs, but no resources came with it. No plan for capacity strengthening. No donor message saying, ‘This is the system you must support.’ If we create babies malnourished from the start, we risk watching them die before they grow — and the true victims will be the communities we serve.”

— Puji Pujiono, Senior Adviser, Pujiono Centre

Local CSOs’ terrifying triumph: the birth of a locally-led humanitarian future in Indonesia
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L’humanitaire maritime : un incubateur de nouvelles approches

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L’humanitaire maritime : un incubateur de nouvelles approches

Depuis une décennie, les besoins humanitaires ne cessent d’évoluer, s’intensifiant et se complexifiant. En 2015, selon l’UNHCR, 65.3 millions de personnes étaient déplacées. Parmi celles-ci, 21.3 millions sont des réfugiés au titre de la convention de 1951 et la très grande majorité d’entre eux le sont dans un pays voisin. Seule une minorité de 6% sont accueillis en Europe. Malgré cette faible proportion, la crise migratoire à laquelle est confrontée l’Europe depuis 2014 a contribué à mettre en avant les fragilités du système humanitaire traditionnel.

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Using the Future to Humanity’s Advantage

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Using the Future to Humanity’s Advantage

$1 spent in preparedness saves $7 in humanitarian response (1). Humanitarians working in disaster preparedness, early warning, and resilience building have all heard this before. Though it may satisfy public and private donors for reasons of accountability and a no-regrets approach to programming, we need to push past this statistic. What is the true value of pre-empting the future when working in humanitarian response?

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How important is the motivation of actors in maintaining humanitarian space?

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How important is the motivation of actors in maintaining humanitarian space?

The growth in the humanitarian sector to include private companies as partners and implementers challenges the notion that organizations working in the humanitarian sector must be driven by the humanitarian imperative alone. The inclusion of commercial firms whose fundamental purpose is to make a profit necessitates an examination of the consequences when the humanitarian imperative is but one of many motivations.

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“The Power of Love” and why Capacity Building initiatives may fail: lessons from Kenya

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“The Power of Love” and why Capacity Building initiatives may fail: lessons from Kenya

In an effort to gain a deeper understanding of the practical realities that either foster or inhibit participation and the assumptions that underscore “capacity development” approaches, this paper examines a capacity development approach that was co-designed by the Regional Humanitarian Analyst at Save the Children East Africa Regional Office and the Project Director for the IRC-UoN Partnership for Education in Emergencies.

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