HUD - The Future of Humanitarian Design

Humanitarianism is in trouble.

The crises it addresses are now more complex, protracted, and politicised. But political forces are increasingly unsympathetic, failing to adequately support humanitarian actors. Within this context, humanitarianism is undergoing a dramatic shift as it accelerates the integration of technology and ʻdesignʼ practices into its work. This also faces difficulties. The integration of – for instance – machine learning techniques into humanitarian action is criticised for further distancing humanitarians from beneficiaries, reducing human beings to data-points, simply pixels on a satellite image. Equally, partnerships with commercial actors to improve – say – the architectural design of refugee shelters are criticised for subjecting humanitarianism to market logics. Nonetheless, humanitarian design is here to stay, especially as a tactic for mitigating the socio-political challenges the field faces.

The demand of the day is thus simple: to excavate a series of hidden – critical yet pragmatic, speculative yet functional – futures for humanitarian design. Getting there requires a transformation of how we think about the interconnected challenges facing humanitarianism, development, and peace-building globally. Planetary conditions are radically shifting, transforming the relationship between humans, technology, nature, and politics, requiring we think differently about humanitarianism and its design. More, the politicized history of humanitarian action and development demands a deep sensitivity to colonial legacies, global economic exploitation, and related power structures. HUD nurtures a collaborative ecosystem that faces these challenges from the ground, making small steps towards a different future for humanitarian design.

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3 main thematic focal points

• Prisons
• Camps
• Compounds

In 2 key humanitarian contexts

• Colombia
• DR Congo

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Visit the HUD website for full details.