Photo expo: International organizations collaborate to mark World Humanitarian Day

The Seoul mission of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in association with other international organizations and the Korean International Cooperation Agency marked World Humanitarian Day by kicking off a photo exhibition and panel discussion on 19 August in Seoul. The other organizations were the International Organization for Migration, Médecins Sans Frontières, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the World Food Programme.

As the scars of conflicts and disasters continue to afflict much of the world, humanitarian work remains as important as ever. In this vein, the exhibition's objective was to showcase the collective efforts and expertise of international organizations in providing food, health care, shelter and protection in situations of conflict and disaster.

Held in Seoul City Hall, the event was attended by over 200 people. In addition to participating in the panel on various humanitarian issues, Charles Sabga, head of the ICRC mission in Seoul, delivered a presentation focusing on the ICRC's response to sexual and gender-based violence.

Attendees also got to experience what it's like to be in a violent situation and listen to the voices of people who were forcibly displaced due to conflicts – all through a virtual reality simulation presented by the ICRC. The first such collaborative event of this scale, both the talk and the seven-day photo exhibition, concluded with great success.