HCRI Research Seminar: John Borton, Citizen humanitarians in Europe
| Dates: | 26 April 2017 |
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| Times: | 14:00 - 15:30 |
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| What is it: | Seminar |
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| Organiser: | School of Arts, Languages and Cultures |
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| Who is it for: | University staff, Current University students, General public |
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John Borton, Citizen humanitarians in Europe – what does this tell us about the international humanitarian sector.
John is a Senior Research Associate at the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) who has worked within the international humanitarian sector for 30 years in a variety of operational, evaluation, research and capacity development roles. During his eleven years as an ODI Research Fellow (1991-2002) he led the establishment of what is now HPN, the landmark Study 3 of the Joint Evaluation of Emergency Assistance to Rwanda and the establishment of ALNAP, of which he was coordinator for its first five years. Since moving to a freelance role John has supported the governance and staff of a large NGO programme in Darfur status for 8 years as well as preparing annual surveys of developments in humanitarian accountability. For the last year he has been part of the HPG’s Global History of Humanitarian Action team and has a particular interest in making the history of humanitarian action more accessible to humanitarian workers.
Louise Tomkow, The instrumentalisation and distortion of humanitarianism: a grounded theory study of volunteers’ perspectives in Moria detention centre, Lesvos.
Louise Tomkow is a Geriatric and GIM doctor with an interest in health inequalities. She has spent time volunteering as a clinician in Malawi and India. After completion of ST4, she obtained a MA with distinction in Humanitarianism and Conflict Response at the University of Manchester. She is currently studying for a PhD at the Humanitarianism and Conflict Response Institute. The ESRC funded project seeks to examine how forced migration impacts on health in later life, and therefore integrates her interests of ageing, global health and inequality. She continues to practice medicine on a less than full time basis. Additionally, she runs postgraduate seminars at the University of Manchester, and works as a volunteer Medico-Legal Report writer for Freedom from Torture.
Louise will be discussing her MA dissertation:
2015 saw levels of forced displacement globally at their highest in history. With over a million people arriving on the shores of Europe, the hegemonic state response was one of criminalisation and detention, a phenomenon referred to as the border spectacle. Both the physical movement of people and this state response generated a humanitarian need, resulting in the humanitarianisation of often-juxtapositional spaces. With high numbers of detained asylum-seekers and humanitarian volunteers, the Greek holiday island of Lesvos represents a microcosm of these phenomenon, embodying the nexus of two contrasting discourses. This dissertation examines the roles and perspectives of humanitarian volunteers working in Moria detention centre in Lesvos
Please note: These seminars are small, informal events aimed at HCRI staff and PhD students. If you are not affiliated with HCRI but have an interest in the topic, you are welcome to attend but please email Eleanor Davey (eleanor.davey@manchester.ac.uk) beforehand to express your interest in attending.
Travel and Contact Information
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A2.7
Ellen Wilkinson Building
Manchester
