What we do How we do it Calendar
What we do
Striving for effective humanitarian aid
The humanitarian principles are an essential tool for achieving effective humanitarian policy and operations for crisis-affected people. VOICE works to ensure the policies, practices and funding of EU and Member State institutions relevant to humanitarian aid increasingly follow core humanitarian principles and good practice. Therefore, VOICE promotes the European Consensus on Humanitarian Aid and its implementation and advocates, for instance, for clear roles and mandates for the various actors involved in crisis and disaster response.
Showing European public solidarity with crisis-affected people
Humanitarian NGOs represent the solidarity of the European public with crisis-affected people around the world. VOICE works to increase the recognition of NGOs as key actors in the delivery of humanitarian aid and showcase their added value. Often, NGOs are the best equipped to respond to crises in affected countries due to their expertise and experience. They provide lifesaving goods and services such as food, shelter, water, sanitation, medical care as well as education in emergencies and protection to crisis-affected people in hard to reach areas. VOICE brings its NGO members together to share their knowledge and expertise and use it to shape relevant policy development.
“NGOs are essential to the humanitarian response as they deliver the majority of international humanitarian aid due to their field presence and flexibility, often with a high level of specialisation” – The European Consensus on Humanitarian Aid
To learn more about the added value of humanitarian NGOs click here
How we do it
VOICE’s membership brings together policy and field expertise. VOICE builds common NGO positions through information sharing and gathering members in thematic working groups. The resulting positions are used to influence policy of EU institutions and Member States, including on funding and operational practice. Successful examples include the work of the DRR-Resilience Working Group on the nexus and VOICE’s work across EU Member States to secure additional funding for EU humanitarian aid in the next EU long-term budget (MFF).
To improve the effectiveness of its advocacy, VOICE builds alliances with other humanitarian actors e.g. the UN and the Red Cross movement. VOICE also seeks to build bridges between humanitarian aid and development by providing expertise on Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and humanitarian-development-peace nexus.
- Position papers, studies and publications: VOICE builds common NGO positions through information sharing and collaboration in Working Groups. These are used to influence policy of EU institutions and Member States, including on funding and operational practice. Recent highlights include VOICE workshop Report: Adding to the evidence: the impact of sanctions and restrictive measures on humanitarian action (2021), VOICE Grand Bargain Task Force Position Paper - An NGO perspective on the drive for efficiency in the humanitarian sector (2020), VOICE Report - NGOs Perspectives on the EU's Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus (2019 – see right). Since 2004, VOICE members share their expertise and work in the biannual magazine VOICE out loud.
Click here for more VOICE publications
- Events and Roundtables: VOICE organises and participates in events such as conferences, roundtables, trainings and meetings throughout Europe. Some of these are aimed at informing VOICE members about humanitarian policies and procedures, and assisting them with donor requirements (in particular of the humanitarian aid department of the European Commission, DG ECHO). Many of these activities aim to influence the European Institutions on humanitarian issues.
- Dialogue and Partnership: VOICE plays a key role in facilitating the dialogue and partnership between NGOs and the European Commission on humanitarian aid, including through the FPA Watch Group and its predecessors: one of the oldest official groups for NGO dialogue with the EU.
Quality and accountability initiatives VOICE commits to!
During the past decades, the humanitarian sector has developed and improved a number of voluntary quality and accountability initiatives through standards, guidelines, and indicators to reinforce technical quality and accountability of humanitarian operations.
VOICE members are strongly committed to international quality and accountability initiatives when responding to humanitarian crises for a more sustainable impact on the lives of affected populations and towards its implementing partners and staff. They have been at the forefront of developing, supporting and integrating quality initiatives into their humanitarian work.
VOICE as a network aims to support members’ access to tools, information, and resources related to developing quality assurance systems relevant to their humanitarian work. VOICE members’ concern with the quality of humanitarian aid underpins the network’s objective of principled humanitarian action.
VOICE Members are traditionally committed to The SPHERE standards, 40 VOICE members hold a membership with the Core Humanitarian Standard Alliance, 12 VOICE members are certified against the Core Humanitarian Standard.
Click here for more information on the initiatives
VOICE leads two working groups, the Humanitarian Partnership Watch Group, including its Task Force, and the Resilience-Nexus-Working Group:
Humanitarian Partnership Watch Group
Click here for more information on the HP WG
Resilience-Nexus Working Group
The Resilience-Nexus Working Group was established in 2021, building on the successes and achievements of both the DRR-Resilience Working Group (2018-2020) and the DRR Working Group (2007-2017). The small revision made to the groups’ Terms of Reference gives it a greater focus on nexus, resilience and climate change.
The DRR Working Group established itself as the main reference point for EU Institutions with NGOs on DRR policy and practice, and the new group seeks to expand this influence to the increasingly prominent resilience and nexus and climate agendas.
The group's overarching goal is to provide the humanitarian NGO perspective for the European approach to resilience, climate change and the implementation of the humanitarian-development-peace nexus.
In 2019, the Working Group shaped the VOICE study NGOs Perspectives on the EU's Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus, especially by providing case studies.
Click here for more information on the Resilience-Nexus Working Group (members only)
Calendar
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The European Humanitarian Forum (EHF) 2025
BrusselsPublic event -
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AidEx 2024
Palexpo GenevaPublic event -
Launch of the 2024 Global Hunger Index
OnlineOrganised by membersPublic event -
Ambrela Development Forum 2024
Moyzes Hall – Faculty of Arts, Comenius University, Bratislava BratislavaPublic event -
Global Launch of "Unprotected: Analysis of Funding for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action in 2023"
Online - ZoomOrganised by membersPublic event -
World Humanitarian Day 2024
WorldwidePublic event -
VOICE General Assembly 2024
Maison des Associations Internationales BrusselsMembers only -
VOICE Event ‘The Mediterranean Sea: A Neglected Humanitarian Crisis?’
Mundo Madou BrusselsPublic event -
Ukraine‘s Social Recovery – a local approach
Bedienrestaurant Dussmann Jakob-Kaiser-Haus | Wilhelmstraße 68 |10117 BerlinPublic event -
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Le Sahel en mutation: Coopérations d'avenir - Fokus Sahel
Berlin, Bamako, N'Djamena, Niamey, and OuagadougouPublic event -
Breaking the silos for resilient communities: Water, Food Security, and Health in the climate crisis - Welthungerhilfe
Large Conference Room at Welthungerhilfe Office Friedrich-Ebert-Str. 1 BonnOrganised by membersPublic event -
Strengthening health emergency preparedness for disasters resulting from natural hazards - IMC Croatia
Auditorium 2, Graduate Institute Geneva GenevaOrganised by membersPublic event -
Lifeline at Risk: Supporting Markets through Cash in Sudan
OnlineOrganised by membersPublic event -
DG ECHO Partners' Segment
Albert Borschette Conference Center BrusselsMembers onlyPublic event -
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European Humanitarian Forum 2024
Flagey BrusselsPublic event -
Screening of the documentary "For Sama" (HI)
La Tricoterie Rue Théodore Verhaegen 158 BruxellesOrganised by membersPublic event -
Towards Zero Hunger: A Review of Youth Engagement in Food Systems Transformation towards achieving SDG 2 targets
OnlineOrganised by membersPublic event -
HI webinar - Always Included: Uninterrupted education for children with disabilities before, during, and after a crisis
OnlineOrganised by membersPublic event -
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COP28
DubaiPublic event -
Dignified livelihoods as a means to address gender-based violence in the Ukraine response
HIAS and VOICE Amplified OnlineOrganised by members -
Caritas humanitarian report launch & 30th anniversary
European Parliament and Chapel for Europe BrusselsOrganised by membersPublic event -
VOICE EVENT - Artificial Intelligence: disruption or opportunity for humanitarian aid?
Mundo Madou Av. des Arts 7/8 BruxellesPublic event -
2023 Global Hunger Index - Launch in Brussels
Room Spinelli 1E1, European Parliament BrusselsPublic event -
Between a Rock and a Hard Place - INTERSOS Humanitarian Congress
Sala della Protomoteca, Musei Capitolini Campidoglio RomeOrganised by membersPublic event -
Complexity in the Present and Future of International Cooperation - XII COOPI meeting
Palazzo delle Stelline Corso Magenta 61 MilanOrganised by membersPublic event