The importance of anticipatory humanitarian action has been firmly anchored in humanitarian practice at least since the World Humanitarian Summit in 2016. Among the most relevant concepts are “Forecast-based Financing” (FbF), “Forecast-based Action” (FbA) and “Early Warning, Early Action” (EWEA). The ultimate goal of anticipatory humanitarian action is to predict disasters and their effects in order to provide the necessary support for communities at risk and to enable early action even before disaster strikes. In recent years, individual actors have generated innovations in this field and thus achieved positive results. This program is intended to make anticipatory approaches accessible to a broader target group and to integrate these approaches into the humanitarian mainstream.
This program will introduce you to the concept of anticipation and offers a range of courses that provide you with practical tools and inspiring ideas that you can use in order to make a difference and contribute to a more anticipatory and less response-oriented humanitarian system.
The program will not only address the possibilities and limits of anticipatory humanitarian action, but will also introduce you to the instruments that are available to anticipate disasters and their consequences. A particular focus is on the role of geo-data in anticipatory humanitarian action and how this data can be collected, used and analyzed. The challenges of planning and applying these instruments in different contexts will also be considered.
The program is designed for staff of humanitarian organizations with several years of experience in humanitarian action or in development cooperation. We also admit a limited number of junior professionals who are currently employed by a humanitarian organization and have at least 6 month of field experience. In individual cases, experienced persons with other qualifications can be considered.
Courses are taught in English and German. Fluency in both languages is strongly recommended. We cannot guarantee that the five courses required to obtain the CAS will be available in one language only.
A “Certificate of Advanced Studies” is a further education degree at master's level. It has a scope of 10 credit points according to ECTS (10 ECTS). Five „Intensive Training Programs“ (ITPs) can be combined to a „Certificate of Advanced Studies“ (5 ECTS). The courses can be chosen individually based on the courses offered on the aha webpage in each core track. Upon completion of the five ITPs you need to hand in an essay paper which is worth an additional 5 ECTS.
The courses will be held online or in different locations in Germany. The locations are indicated for each course in the course section.
You need to apply for each individual course of your certificate via the registration button in the course section. Please note that some courses are free of charge and others charge a participation fee. Spots are allocated on a first come, first serve basis. If a course is fully booked, kindly register for another one. Course participants must cover the costs for own transportation, meals besides the course catering, and accommodation. A list of cost-effective accommodation options can be provided by the course organizers.
Courses are offered on a rolling basis. Over time, more courses will be added meaning that you can start your certificate whenever you want. Either register for all your courses today, or do it one by one and sign up for the certificate later. It's flexible, just like we are.
If you have any questions, please contact us via the help button in the right hand corner of this page.
Start choosing your courses today!