Deakin welcomes Pacific humanitarian leadership scholarships

Australian Government support for five new scholarships to ensure humanitarian leaders in the Pacific are better equipped to respond to crises such as cyclones, droughts, earthquakes and tsunami has been welcomed by the Centre for Humanitarian Leadership, hosted by Deakin University and co-founded by Save the Children.

The funding was announced today by Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop to mark World Humanitarian Day.

The Centre’s Co-Director, Stephen McDonald, said these scholarships built on funding from the IKEA Foundation.   

“The Pacific faces many natural hazards such as cyclones, droughts and earthquakes and in any emergency response quality leadership is critical to ensure the swift and timely delivery of life-saving assistance to vulnerable people,” Mr McDonald said.

“We are delighted that the Australian Government has recognised the importance of investing Australian aid in furthering the capability of the Pacific’s next generation of humanitarian leaders.

“The Centre for Humanitarian Leadership will work with the Australian Government to select the candidates for intensive disaster leadership training.”

Fellow Co-Director Associate Professor Phil Connors said, the new scholarships would help  ensure the Centre could improve access to its cutting edge program for humanitarian leaders in the Pacific.  

“We look forward to working with the Australian Government to expanding the humanitarian scholarship program in the Pacific and in other regions of high humanitarian need,” Associate Professor Connors said.

Since 2012 the Humanitarian Leadership Programme has trained over 350 humanitarian leaders from over 50 global organisations and 55 nationalities.