The GISF Podcast - Global Interagency Security Forum

In this latest episode, Matt Stockton (GISF’s Technical Security Risk Management Lead), joins Emily Wright (GISF’s Research Officer) for a frank conversation on the successes and learnings from his recent mission in the Middle East. 

Matt spent several weeks in Jordan and Lebanon during the Israel-Hezbollah conflict. During his time in the region, Matt was seconded to LHIF – the Lebanon Humanitarian INGO Forum. Working closely with the Forum, Matt helped to improve security coordination and training in the region, to protect aid workers during a moment of heightened risk and uncertainty. Matt was also supported by ACF – Action Against Hunger – which hosted him during his time in Lebanon. 

In this latest episode, Tara Arthur sits down with Lucy Ellis from The Ready to talk about leadership in security risk management.

In this latest episode, Tara Arthur sits down with Ebe Brons, founder and CEO of the Centre for Safety and Development (CSD).

Ebe recently wrote an interesting blog for GISF on enhancing humanitarian logos. This episode explores the proposal in more depth. Ebe shares his inspiration behind the idea and discusses some of the key debates and arguments surrounding it. He also touches on modern warfare and future training needs for NGOs.

You can access all the episodes from the series here: https://gisf.ngo/resource/gisf-podcas...

Co-authored by GISF and Humanitarian Outcomes, the State of Practice report provides a global review of humanitarian security risk management, highlighting key developments in recent years.

In this episode, we are joined by one of the lead authors, Abby Stoddard. Abby discusses the motivations behind the report, the process of its creation, and the key findings. She also delves into the evolving SRM landscape, including advancements in SRM coordination and the disparity between local and international actors.

About this Episode:

In this Episode, we are joined by Ziad Al Achkar, Ph.D. Candidate and Researcher at the Carter school for peace and conflict resolution to discuss his research that focuses on the use of digital technologies and remote sensing by humanitarian and peacebuilding organisations. Ziad shares his insights on the trending technologies we need to know about in the sector, key areas of humanitarian technologies that security staff should focus on that can help keep aid workers safe, as well as opportunities to better bridge the divide between IT security experts and physical security experts. We further explore technologies impact on safe access to enable acceptance and analyze the implications of mis-and-disinformation.

You can access a transcript for this episode on the GISF website, here: https://www.gisf.ngo/resource/evolving-ngo-security-risk-management-ep4-the-intersection-of-technology-and-human-security-gisf-podcast/

About this Series:

Welcome to the official launch of GISF’s new Evolving NGO Security Risk Management (SRM) podcast series. We invite you to follow along and not miss an episode of this dynamic series by subscribing to The GISF Podcast on your preferred listening platform, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts.  

This podcast series ’Evolving NGO Security Risk Management’, looks at the innovations, transformative developments, and dynamic trends facing the humanitarian and development sector. We have elected to explore the facets of ‘Evolving NGO SRM’, to unpack the changing environments, practices, discussions, and technical considerations impacting the safety and security of aid workers and operations. These conversations are enriched by expert guests spanning security professionals, humanitarians, and more.  

In an ever-changing humanitarian and development space, we ask what does the security and safety of aid workers look like? And what might it look like in the future? Join us as we unpack the evolutions of NGO security risk management. 

About this Episode:

'Humanitarians operating in conflict settings seek to cultivate relationships with armed actors to enable humanitarian access, mitigate humanitarian insecurity, and promote civilian protection'. In this episode, Rob Grace delves into some of the operational challenges of humanitarian notifications systems (HNS) and their effectiveness by providing a historical overview and discussing how we may see humanitarian organisations use these systems in the future. You will also hear about Rob’s interesting journey that led him to explore HNS.

‘For the purposes of this conversation, humanitarian notification systems are mechanisms by which humanitarian organisations share geographic coordinates, with parties to armed conflict [concerning the locations of humanitarian] activities. With the ideal result being that fewer humanitarian organisations are accidentally struck or impacted by military activity... in volatile environments, such as armed conflict settings.’ (HNS)—also sometimes called ‘humanitarian deconfliction’ or ‘humanitarian notification systems for deconfliction’ (Rob Grace, Brown University).

To further explore HNS you can also read Rob's blog on GISF's website here: https://www.gisf.ngo/resource/evolving-ngo-security-risk-management-ep3-humanitarian-notification-systems-unpacking-the-complexities-and-possibilities-gisf-podcast/

You can access a transcript for this episode on the GISF website, here: https://www.gisf.ngo/resource/evolving-ngo-security-risk-management-ep3-humanitarian-notification-systems-unpacking-the-complexities-and-possibilities-gisf-podcast/

About this Series:

Welcome to the official launch of GISF’s new Evolving NGO Security Risk Management (SRM) podcast series. We invite you to follow along and not miss an episode of this dynamic series by subscribing to The GISF Podcast on your preferred listening platform, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts.  

This podcast series ’Evolving NGO Security Risk Management’, looks at the innovations, transformative developments, and dynamic trends facing the humanitarian and development sector. We have elected to explore the facets of ‘Evolving NGO SRM’, to unpack the changing environments, practices, discussions, and technical considerations impacting the safety and security of aid workers and operations. These conversations are enriched by expert guests spanning security professionals, humanitarians, and more.  

In an ever-changing humanitarian and development space, we ask what does the security and safety of aid workers look like? And what might it look like in the future? Join us as we unpack the evolutions of NGO security risk management. 

About this Episode:

As GISF’s Executive Director Lisa Reilly bids farewell to GISF and moves onto the next chapter of her career, she reflects on her experiences in the humanitarian and security sector. From the critical need for inclusivity and a person-centered approach to security, to breaking down silos across departments and the changing expectation/requirements of what it means to be a security manager, this episode unpacks how the security and humanitarian sector has evolved throughout her career.  

In this episode, Lisa Reilly reflects on her journey that led her to become GISF’s Executive Director by providing personal insights into how the security and humanitarian sector has evolved throughout her career.

About the Series:

This podcast series ’Evolving NGO Security Risk Management’, looks at the innovations, transformative developments, and dynamic trends facing the humanitarian and development sector. We have elected to explore the facets of ‘Evolving NGO SRM’, to unpack the changing environments, practices, discussions, and technical considerations impacting the safety and security of aid workers and operations. These conversations are enriched by expert guests spanning security professionals, humanitarians, and more.

In an ever-changing humanitarian and development space, we ask what does the security and safety of aid workers look like? And what might it look like in the future? Join us as we unpack the evolutions of NGO security risk management.

You can access a transcript for this episode on the GISF website, here:https://www.gisf.ngo/resource/evolving-ngo-security-risk-management-ep2-reflections-from-gisfs-executive-director-10-years-with-gisf-gisf-podcast/

In this episode, Mila Shutova (Christian Aid) unpacks some of the challenges facing security managers operating in complex environments, including the importance of historical understanding, community engagement, neutrality of information, and the importance of self-care.

This podcast series ’Evolving NGO Security Risk Management’, looks at the innovations, transformative developments, and dynamic trends facing the humanitarian and development sector. We have elected to explore the facets of ‘Evolving NGO SRM’, to unpack the changing environments, practices, discussions, and technical considerations impacting the safety and security of aid workers and operations. These conversations are enriched by expert guests spanning security professionals, humanitarians, and more.

In an ever-changing humanitarian and development space, we ask what does the security and safety of aid workers look like? And what might it look like in the future? Join us as we unpack the evolutions of NGO security risk management.

You can access a transcript for this episode on the GISF website, here: https://www.gisf.ngo/resource/gisf-podcast-evolving-ngo-security-risk-management-e1-insights-from-a-security-manager-managing-operations-in-complex-environments/

Last year, GISF released a host of innovative resources facilitating the professionalisation of SRM, held conversations on making security practices more inclusive, and returned to face-to-face opportunities for shared learning. In this podcast, members of the GISF Secretariat reflect on some of their favourite moments from 2022 and the projects they are excited for in the coming year.

In this episode, Javeria Ayaz Malik unpacks the qualities and qualifications it takes to be a security manager of today, and examines how we can improve the security sector by amplifying good inclusive practices.

This podcast series explores the elements of inclusive security, what it is, and what it looks like in the humanitarian context. These conversations are enriched by expert guests spanning security professionals, humanitarians, and more.