Call for ideas: Displacement and dialogue

When people are displaced within their own country or are living elsewhere as refugees, information is as crucial as food, water, shelter, and medical care. Increasingly, Communication and Community Engagement (CCE) is being recognized as an integral part of humanitarian intervention. 

The conference

Join us for "Displacement and Dialogue", a virtual conference on communication, engagement, and accountability in displacement crises. From October 5-16, 2020 DW Akademie in a series of sessions will be bringing together experts and representatives of affected populations. This online conference is a follow up to our 2019 conference, "Beyond the Crisis - Communication, engagement, and accountability in forced migration settings".  

This year's conference is a digital one. Together with participants, we'll be traveling – virtually – around the world to visit places and people affected by displacement.  

Be part of DW Akademie's Displacement and Dialogue conference and submit a session idea!  

We invite you to  

• share your experience in communication and community engagement in displacement settings  
• present your organization, projects, and achievements  
• learn from the experiences of other participants  
• discuss opportunities for cooperation  
• draft recommendations for standards and best practices  

Submit your session idea via akademie.dw.com/callforideas.

The submission deadline has been extended to July 15, 2020.  

Last year's conference laid the foundation for an exchange. This year we'll be sharpening the focus and taking a closer look at the most pressing issues. Please consider this when submitting your idea. The topics this year will focus on:  

1. feedback mechanisms in forced migration settings
2. communication in health-related crises 
3. cooperation between humanitarian and media development organizations  
4. communication with host communities  

 Formats 

This online conference offers an opportunity for new formats and collaborative work sessions, with an aim to shape a dynamic and interactive program. You can create a lively multimedia session for presenting your project, host a virtual panel or a discussion on messenger apps, or use collaborative platforms for brainstorming. No matter whether you are going for a simple or more elaborate format, think outside the box and use the technologies you have at hand.   

Don’t worry if your equipment is old or your Internet connection is slow. We aim to keep the entry barriers as low as possible. Simple solutions like a prerecorded video followed by a Q&A session via chat or phone call are possible. If you have a topic idea but are not sure how to present it digitally, please don’t hesitate to contact us. We will help you find an appropriate format and a technical solution for sharing your expertise.  

To submit a session idea, please go to akademie.dw.com/callforideas. Submissions are due by July 15, 2020. 

Please note that we may not be able to accommodate all submissions. Should this be the case, we encourage you to register for the conference as a participant.  

We look forward to working with you to develop a dynamic digital conference with an impact!