The 2025 iteration of the Urban Humanitarian Emergencies Course (UHEC) will be offered in July! The workshop will run from July 8th to July 11th, 2025. The course will be held in Cambridge, MA.
Overview
Humanitarian organizations, international agencies and governments serving populations affected by crises increasingly find themselves working in urban settings. Agencies face new challenges and some potential advantages in these complex urban environments and are only just learning how to approach them. These new challenges take many forms: complicated physical layouts, unprepared institutions and infrastructure, and mixed target populations of refugees and underserved locals. Furthermore, the difficulty in NGO coordination with uniquely urban communities as well as local authorities calls for urgent education and training in urban crises.
The Urban Humanitarian Emergencies Course is a four-day course organized by the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative via its Lavine Family Humanitarian Studies Initiative to train humanitarian professionals on current issues and best practices involved in this ever-expanding and unique area of research and practice. The course faculty is experienced in humanitarian training with on-the-ground experience with humanitarian crises in urban areas.
Walking Activity: The first day of the workshop includes a walking activity in the city of Boston, in which participants will walk to and examine various urban features and vulnerabilities of the city. Participants will be expected to walk several miles over the course of the day. Please let us know if this presents an issue.
Classes will be held in English. To successfully participate in the course, we recommend that participants have at least a B2 English language level (CEFR).
How to Apply:
The course will run from July 8th to July 11th, 2025. It will be held in Cambridge, MA. Please follow the link below to register for the course. We look forward to seeing you in July.
Please contact hhi_humanitarianacademy@harvard.edu for questions.
