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.

Major Partner

WELCOME TO THE SOLFERINO ACADEMY

The Solferino Academy is a think tank and ‘do’ tank – that with the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement understand the future of vulnerability and risk and to develop strategies to enable change.

It aims to challenge and inspire the way people work, think, act and connect. It supports the IFRC network in transforming to be more fit for future and capable of thriving through the complex and dynamic changes occurring throughout the world in order to more effectively meet the humanitarian and development challenges. It aims to…

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Supporting Partners

A Cartoonathon – Using humour to drive insights

How is Coronavirus transforming our ways of working and how can we nurture the positives?

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Connecting our global network during the COVID Response

How can there be a truly connected global Red Cross Red Crescent? Every day during the COVID 19 response we’ve heard people remark that this emergency has forced a very active conversation and rapid implementation on digital transformation. Several people reflected that in terms of digital transformation, we have achieved in 2 months what may have otherwise taken many years to build.

Innovations in Covid series – Good news on psychosocial care

First pandemic? Pandemics are stressful. The good news is actors within the RCRC Movement are bringing together their expertise and experimenting with new ways to deliver and provide psychosocial care.

Innovations in Covid series – Everything you’ve wanted to know about hackathons

A hackathon is a time-based event that brings people together to work in small teams to deliver prototypes/ideas. Teams are comprised of product/project/idea owners, software developers, designers, writers, and other technical staff. You don’t have to be a techie to contribute. However, there is a learning curve and time commitment to get start collaborating.

Thought pieces from around the network

Latest pieces

Connecting our global network during the COVID Response

How can there be a truly connected global Red Cross Red Crescent? Every day during the COVID 19 response we’ve heard people remark that this emergency has forced a very active conversation and rapid implementation on digital transformation. Several people reflected that in terms of digital transformation, we have achieved in 2 months what may have otherwise taken many years to build.

Chatbots in COVID response: Extending our reach with automated text messaging

We all want to be connected. During the response to a threat like COVID, the need for rapid information sharing and new forms of community networking requires that we adjust our tools and methods to best serve all of those at risk.

What we’ve learned at The Solferino Academy about running virtual meetings

The Solferino Academy began convening virtual workshops in Mid-March 2020, connecting people in national societies responding to COVID-19 so they could share insights, experiences and innovations. Two months later, we had run over 10 Virtual Workshops with more than 2,000 people attending (we had one with 700 people!). Our average attendance per virtual workshop was about 150 people. Here’s what we learned along the way.

The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is revising its COVID19 Appeals.

We still don’t have a clear picture of the scale of the COVID-19 pandemic in fragile states and low-income countries. The secondary impacts, however, are already severely felt. Despite the initial surge to action, most humanitarian agencies now recognise that this is a marathon not a sprint and they need to be planning for the long haul.

If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself

A quiet revolution is happening in how partner Red Cross and Red Crescent societies are collaborating. It is not happening everywhere, not everyone is on board and there continue to be bumps in the road. But it is involving ever more National Societies (NS) and millions of CHF.

Is this the first “National Manager for Climate Change” in a National Society?

Shirley Blackshaw is a leader at the Costa Rican Red Cross who is orchestrating efforts to counter climate change. The IFRC innovation and futures team had an exclusive interview with Shirley, who outlined her experiences as a leader and the activities she carries out as the National Manager for Climate Change for her National Society.

100 ideas from youth competition

From the 6th – 9th of September

As the IFRC celebrates its 100 years, we look back at 100 years of service and, at the same time look into the future where Strategy 2030 envisages a network that embraces young people as idea generators, innovators and mobilisers for humanitarian causes. The IFRC is organizing the 100 Ideas Challenge to celebrate the new ideas of the coming century and the role of young people in driving social change. We are asking young people to submit their ideas for innovative projects that could make a difference in their community and world.

Money matters: delivering cash to people in crisis

By David Peppiatt, Director of Humanitarian Cash, British Red Cross

Much has been said about cash aid (I use this as a far from perfect shorthand for delivering cash and voucher assistance). Is it really a game changer for the humanitarian system or just hype? Will humanitarian aid in 2030 be marked by a shift away from delivery of relief in-kind to digital transfers of money?

Climate change and small island states

By Ms. Fine TU’ITUPOU ARNOLD, Secretary General of Cook Islands Red Cross Society

As someone born, raised, educated and living in small island developing states (SIDS) in the Pacific, I am very familiar with the challenges we face. We are collections of tiny countries, far from anywhere – the islands that make up our countries are often, themselves, strung out over vast distances.

Rethinking the future of volunteering?

By Shaun Hazeldine, IFRC Volunteering is not only critical to the organisational model, affording a direct and intimate link with communities all over the world and enabling social, development and humanitarian action on a scale that would be impossible otherwise, but volunteering itself can, if managed well, deliver enormous benefits for individuals, of social inclusion, building self-confidence, skills and promoting social engagement enabling a more active, enlightened and compassionate citizenry.