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On behalf of Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Humanitarian & Charity Est., it gives me the honour to invite you to participate in the 19th edition of the Dubai International Humanitarian Aid & Development Conference & Exhibition – to be held in Dubai from 13 – 15 March 2023.

As an active charity foundation in the UAE, we are proud to support DIHAD in all its activities where we can grow and share experiences with the regional and international humanitarian community.

With a world blighted by suffering and poverty, we wish to further facilitate the work of local and regional humanitarian actors to meet with the ultimate goal of reducing suffering around the world.

As we continue to build on the UAE’s goals of promoting peace, prosperity, and stability, the 19^th edition of the Dubai International Humanitarian Aid and Development Conference and Exhibition – DIHAD, is set to deliver profound topics that do as such. I believe that under this year’s theme, ‘Energy and Aid: Capitalizing on Available Resources,’ we will bring attention to the requirements of operating safe and successful aid missions, as we reflect on the need to promote the concept that everyone around the world has access to clean and reusable energy.

Under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, we are further driven and inspired to expand on the necessary humanitarian aid that’s required, such as medical, education, and food security. DIHAD 2023 will again witness the important collaboration of the leading humanitarian opinion leaders and the most influential organizations who share the common goal of providing the best in humanitarian assistance, aid, and support across the world.

There is no question that energy and humanitarian issues are indeed very topical and in need of discussion and action. Energy is required in all aspects of life and needs special attention when it comes to humanitarian missions, particularly in remote areas.  This year’s conference regarding capitalizing on available resources will help our community to focus and discuss ways in which we can pursue a more equitable and sustainable world. We shall discuss the role of new technologies under the heading “Caring for the Planet” with the objective of improving global health and well-being.

As parts of the world have become accustomed to modern and easy-accessible utilities, it is also understood that an estimated one billion people around the world still lack access to modern electricity, and around three billion people still rely on outdated and sometimes harmful mechanisms for energy.  According to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, about four million deaths of mainly women and children are caused by indoor air pollution and unsatisfactory energy systems.  Energy plays a major factor in our planet and its environment, so it becomes imperative for us to focus on innovative solutions which allow us to tackle these issues. As further highlighted in SDG-7 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, which 193 nations from around the world have unanimously adopted, we are all committed to ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all.

We are also determined through the DIHAD Sustainable Humanitarian Foundation to drive greater initiatives that include DIHAD Humanitarian College, which is now currently offering the first-ever Master’s Degree in Sustainable Humanitarian Action.

We express our kindest appreciation to our fellow partners, supporters, stakeholders, speakers, leading humanitarian bodies, exhibitors, and philanthropists alike for their continuous support. Your contribution adds countless value to this yearly assembly, where it is our sincere mission to advocate and highlight humanitarian and aid issues across the globe.

We look forward to seeing you at DIHAD 2023 and we wish all our attendees an insightful and meaningful experience.

As the year 2022 progresses, it is increasingly obvious that climate change, conflicts and natural or man-made disasters are all coming together to produce a massive and persistent energy crunch. A number of energy sources are being limited in output, while others may well be made inaccessible, whereas demand steadily grows. Potentially alternative energy producers are hesitant to fill the growing gaps in supply, this being linked to profits and politics and, in some cases, to climate-related concerns. While eventually there will be re-adjustments and a variety of mitigating measures put in place for those countries and populations able to conceive and afford them, the populations in need of humanitarian aid and development assistance will undoubtedly suffer. It is with this concern in mind that the DIHAD Foundation Board has decided to have as the theme of DIHAD 2023: “Energy and Aid; capitalising on available resources.”

In an attempt to review the impact of the above-mentioned “crunch” from several specific perspectives, detailing the relative energy dependency of different sectors and proposing strategies to ensure the necessary continued provision of aid irrespective of shortfalls, the Conference will address the following topics:

• “The impact of rapidly changing sources and costs of energy on humanitarian aid and development”;
• “Supply chains and food security”;
• “Harnessing resources 1/ in pursuit of global health and wellbeing; 2/ for inclusive, equitable quality education; 3/ to assist the growing numbers of people on the move”; and
• “Caring for the planet; the role of new technologies”.

During our three-day Conference and inspired by our most distinguished Opening and Keynote Speakers, we will focus on and outline the essential facts and figures around energy and aid: why energy is an essential pre-requisite to both our collective “saving lives and livelihoods” mission and our pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals. Moreover and in this context, we will review key challenges to our agreed norms and principles, as well as to our field-based operations, if and when the energy crisis bites deeper. The idea is to make the necessary analyses, to plan accordingly and to be better prepared.

We will undoubtedly have to adapt our strategies and methodologies, be it in disaster response, in emergency management, in consolidated appeals or in country programming. In this context we will of course bear in mind the climate change agenda, duly looking at the role of innovation and the optimal use of new technologies. At DIHAD 2023 we will once again gather friends and colleagues from national government authorities, international and non-governmental organisations, the Red Cross/Red Crescent Movement, foundations and charities, academic institutions, the media and the private sector. As in previous editions of the Conference, we will attempt to come up with a number of actionable agreed conclusions and recommendations. On behalf of the Advisory Board of the DIHAD Foundation, I am very pleased to invite you to attend the event’s 19th edition. We much look forward to welcoming you and to thank, on that occasion, all who actively contribute to the acknowledged success of the Conference, the pre-Conference Workshop and the Exhibition.

We will also seize the opportunity to provide participants with an update on the DIHAD Foundation’s recently initiated additional activities. Each edition of the unique annual DIHAD event, held under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, highlights different aspects of our collective humanitarian aid and development endeavours. Moreover, the selected theme and related presentations, as well as the interaction that takes place both at the event and in the margins thereof, continue to enhance the knowledge that humanitarian and development actors have about each other, thereby ensuring greater understanding and clarity in regard to respective roles, capacities and mandates and further reinforcing the notion of effective coordinated action.

DIHAD 2023 promises to be, yet again, a landmark event!