Abstract

In this roundtable Dr Catherine Bragg will share insights into the emerging humanitarian landscape drawing on her leadership experience in the humanitarian sector at the United Nations and Canadian International Development Agency. Participants are encouraged to engage in a dialogue on the humanitarian principles of humanity, impartiality, neutrality and independence in the 21st Century, the dynamics and trajectory of the entities involved in humanitarian work both inside and outside the formal humanitarian system, and the implications for and the role of crisis-affected people and communities.

About the Speaker

Dr. Bragg is a former Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator in the United Nations (2008-2013). As the ASG, she was the deputy head of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Prior to her secondment to the UN, she has spent 24 years in the federal public service of Canada. During this time, she served in multiple departments, including the Canadian International Development Agency, where she was the responsible for the International Humanitarian Assistance, Peace and Security Program from 2004 to 2008. As Canada’s senior official, she was a member of the Advisory Group of the UN Central Emergency Response Fund and the Board of Directors of the Pearson Peacekeeping Centre. She represented Canada on the Executive Committee and Executive Board of the UN High Commission for Refugees and the World Food Program. In 2016-2020, she was appointed member of the Governing Council of University of Toronto.

Dr. Bragg continues to contribute to humanitarian affairs and academic advancement through her participation in major national and multi-national humanitarian initiatives, governance and advisory bodies. For the past 10 years, she was Adjunct Professor in the Centre for Humanitarian Action, University College Dublin, and is a frequently invited speaker in universities in Europe and Asia. In total, she has visited over 100 countries and been involved in response to close to 30 humanitarian crises and situations.

Dr. Bragg received her degrees from University of Toronto (B.Sc. Psychology), University of Cambridge (M.Phil. Criminology) and the State University of New York at Albany (Ph.D. Criminal Justice).