Following a successful pilot in 2021, FutureFellows will be back this year! We will launch the call for applications on Wednesday 30 March via our mailing list and...
Solferino FutureFellows announcement 2022
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Welcome to the Solferino Academy
What We Do
Future Fellows 2022
Thought Pieces
Strategy 2030
Now that the IFRC Youth Innovation Academy submissions are closed, it is time to have a look at what you can learn from the passion and dedication of thousands of volunteers around the globe. Together we are Limitless.
Recent Events
Planet:Red Summit showcased the power of many
On October 12-14, 2021, we came together as the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and organised a global, virtual summit Planet:Red. The focus of this summit was on two of the greatest threats in contemporary times, the climate crisis and pandemics, and also on stepping up the Movement’s local action to drive global impact on the humanitarian dimensions of both.
Code:Red – a digital alternate reality game to tackle the climate crisis
In support of the Planet:Red Summit, Code:Red was a week-long, digital alternate reality game that took place across the internet and across the globe. During the game, around 780 players came together on an online forum, sharing over 1,100 messages in order to crack codes, solve puzzles and reveal the mystery at the heart of this innovative game.
Solferino FutureFellows Programme 2022
An innovative professional development program for emerging leaders of the network of the IFRC FutureFellowsVolunteerLeadership voices
Are we doing enough to prepare for the Future?
The global picture is quite grim – pandemic, protracted conflicts, impacts of climate crisis, growing inequalities and polarisation, increases in gender-based violence and drastic worsening of mental health. In addition, the crisis in Ukraine has brought another layer of uncertainty, complexity and heart-breaking human suffering with global implications.
2022 could be a year of great opportunities, what needs to happen?
Being fit for the future. As we are entering the new year, we are excited to present some of their thinking on the areas that we need to focus on in 2022 if we are going to be able to handle the high levels of uncertainty.
How can we Better Mobilise Communities?
Inspiring and mobilising volunteerism – is one of the transformations in the IFRC Strategy 2030, which we have together committed to achieve in the coming years. But what does this actually entail, and where do we begin?
To be the best partner for the communities we support, we must anticipate, adapt and innovate. Shifting Sands is a growing network of fringe thinkers, futurists, innovators and leaders from around the globe.
Solferino Academy Selection
A selection of the best events from the Red Cross Red Crescent Network focusing on innovation, foresight and transformation. A curated collection from the Solferino Academy superstars and delivered straight to you. You’ll never have to miss a cool event again.
45 minutes | How can we decarbonise social and humanitarian actions?
The climate crisis is already having devastating effects on the health & humanitarian sector. On the frontline, the Red Cross Red Crescent network is anticipating future...
Episode 2 of the Humanitech Perspective
In episode 2 of the Humanitech Perspective we asked 🌏 Usman Iftikhar what problems he is looking to solve into the future? His answer Climate Migration, it was a powerful answer as it hits home to the realities that many people are facing around the globe already.
A virtual journey through the eyes of refugees
What if you had to flee your home? What if the future of your whole family depended on your decisions? What kind of choices would you make?
Join us on a virtual journey through the eyes of refugees on Wednesday November 24th 12:30-14:00 CET.
The Solferino Academy is an initiative of the IFRC and its member national societies that aims to help the Red Cross and Red Crescent network anticipate, understand and adapt to trends and emerging issues
Our Major Partner is the Croce Rossa Italiana (Italian Red Cross)
Thought pieces
Why do we need a glocalized development? Way to decentralize aid
It has been six years since the humanitarian agenda has reached a milestone after the UN Secretary General’s call for turning locally-led humanitarian action at the World Humanitarian Summit in 2016. This was a call to change the function of global humanitarian system as the international humanitarian actors are falling back to meet up with the increasing needs derived from protracted natural hazards and long-lasting armed conflicts. As the costs of services increase and the high level of risks restrict international actors’ actions, aid has come to a bottleneck.
Digitalisation in Humanitarian Action: the path forward
As crucial key enablers in delivering effective and timely humanitarian aid to the people in need, digital technologies allow aid organisations to improve collaboration and communication while enabling the delivery of aid more efficiently; rendering a tailored emergency response based on the needs of the beneficiaries. In this scope, digitalisation is one of the Movement’s prioritized topics because it is rapidly shaping how our humanitarian operations and assistance activities are carried out; therefore, impacting how the humanitarian sector is serving the aforementioned affected populations. To stay up-to-date and relevant in different contexts, the humanitarian sector is testing and adopting digital technologies on a multitude of different levels in order to improve the speed, efficiency, and effectiveness of humanitarian operations.
Baking Social Impact Business into Sustainable Humanitarian Financing Model
How can we better co-design and prototype emerging technology with communities at the center? Over the past year, Nepal Red Cross, Cameroon Red Cross, Nesta UK, and IFRC Solferino Academy explored how emerging technology, specifically Artificial Intelligence (AI), could support the effective delivery of humanitarian work by involving communities in the design in two very different contexts. This project was done during a global pandemic and ongoing emergencies with the everyday complexities of humanitarian response.
Insights and Inspirations
Where to start with your team’s data journey?
We’ve hosted data playbook workshops with avocados, limes, oranges, and a bag of peanuts: You can learn about data quality standards, decision-making with data, and basic data analysis,… and have snacks!
Your Data Playbook is ready. Download it now!
Together with 100s of Red Cross Red Crescent staff, volunteers, and partners, we’ve compiled over 120 short exercises, games, scenarios and handouts to help you and your teams discuss, learn, and share all aspects of the data lifecycle.
A call for humanitarian consistency
Maryann Horne, Senior Humanitarian advisor for Crises and Emergencies for Asia Pacific looks at of the global impacts of the Ukraine crisis. She argues that principled humanitarian action and the respect of International Humanitarian Law is more needed than ever.
The reverberations of the Ukraine/Russia crisis are plain to feel. Even if the violence were to de-escalate rapidly, the impacts are creating breaking points in an already precarious post pandemic global reality.
Case Studies
Disaster Preparedness through Virtual Reality
The Trinidad and Tobago Red Cross Society
The intensity of the natural phenomena in the Caribbean has increased in recent years. For example, since 2017, three category five hurricanes (Irma, María, and Dorian) have caused considerable damage to all the islands in the region. These experiences and various recent studies reaffirm the importance and need to work with communities in raising awareness and developing capacities to prepare for and respond to disasters.
Innovating to identify the most effective social change mechanisms to engage Roma communities
Romanian Red Cross
In Romania, a large proportion of the Roma population faces structural vulnerabilities characterized by the complex and continuous ethnic and intergenerational dimension of poverty. The Roma often live in marginalised, economically and socially vulnerable communities, and this has led to social isolation, causing additional difficulties, especially for Roma children in school. According to the Romanian census conducted in 2011, 621,573 Romanians (about 3% of the population) belong to the Roma ethnic group although the 2010 Council of Europe data mentions a Romanian Roma population ranging between 1,200,000 and 2,500,000 people.
Support for women’s health and autonomy
Red Cross of Benin
Red Cross of Benin has increasingly explored new and innovative approaches to try and tackle highly complex social and development issues facing people in the country. One particular challenge that they have turned to new approaches for is the significant lack of health information available for women and girls in Benin and the struggles they face in achieving some measure of financial independence. Red Cross of Benin already supports a large number of women’s and mothers’ groups with first aid and other activities, but they wanted to try a new approach to address some of the systemic challenges facing the women. With the support of the Empress Shôken Fund, which is notably helping National Societies experiment with innovative approaches, they have begun to explore how to develop social and micro-entrepreneurship approaches with women’s groups.
Are you interested? We’d love to hear from you!