Istanbul, Turkey - FundLife International was delighted to be in attendance at the first ever World Humanitarian Summit, which took place in Istanbul on 23-24 May 2016.
Marko Kasic, FundLife International’s founder joined global leaders from development, business, and government to engage and put forward a framework to ensure the international community can achieve some of the world’s most pressing humanitarian issues.
Amongst the many commitments and collective actions presented during the summit, FundLife was delighted to become a signatory to the newly formed ‘Global Youth Compact’. This seeks to put youth at the centre of the humanitarian network that will provide innovative ways to tackle issues such as acute poverty, extreme inequality, and environmental derogation that is fostering climate change.
Another key development at the summit was the launch of the Education Cannot Wait Fund, which promised $100M to support education of children living in post-disaster communities. At present, less than 2% of all funding for emergencies goes to education, despite children, parents, and development authorities agreeing that investment in education is the only way to meet the needs of the Sustainable Development Goals.
The summit concluded with a show of solidarity and closing remarks by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon:
"I call upon individual citizens to make humanity our common cause. Challenge your leaders to make decisions that uphold and safeguard people's humanity."
While there was much to celebrate and applaud, the true value of the summit will only be judged if actions start to match the masterful oratory that came out of the two days. If it does not, the summit and the SDGs face the same fate as the MDGs – just lofty commitments and lousy achievements. ~
For more information on the World Humanitarian Summit, please visit www.worldhumaniteriansummit.org
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