A conference report and a detailed program are available for download at the bottom of this page.
On 16 and 17 September, the ICRC, the University of Exeter and the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council, held a two-day historical symposium entitled "Connecting with the Past: The Fundamental Principles in Critical Historical Perspective." The conference gathered approximately 50 participants, among which, academics, historians and senior humanitarian practitionners from the International Red Cross Red Crescent Movement and various other humanitarian organisations.
The conference was divided into five panels covering the following historical periods:
1. The Birth of Modern Humanitarianism, 1860s to First World War
2. Consolidation and Expansion, from First World War to Second World War
3. New Challenges: Decolonisation and the Cold War
4. A "Golden Age"? The 1980s and the 1990s
5. 9/11 and its Aftermath: Operating in a Newly Constrained Environment
The symposium also included the high-level public segment "Stubborn realities, shared humanity: History in the service of humanitarian action" (full video recording).