The global development sector is facing a significant decline in funding, with development budgets plummeting since early 2025, directly impacting on activists, practitioners and researchers in human rights, humanitarian aid and related fields. This requires a critical re-evaluation of global power dynamics and funding flows, as well as the creation of new partnerships between knowledge institutions, societal partners, and the private sector.
This event will bring together practitioners, researchers and students to discuss the following questions:
- What have been the main changes in the development sector in 2025 and how has the field responded?
- How can new partners and funding flows best be identified and what opportunities arise to re-align power imbalances in the aid system?
- What is the role of universities and other knowledge institutes in establishing or enhancing solidarity-based partnerships with the field?
- How can these partnerships take shape and be made equitable and inclusive of local knowledge and priorities?
