Saudi-based charity organisation Alwaleed Philanthropies has donated over $29 million dollars to the Humanitarian Leadership Academy to launch ten humanitarian rapid-response centres across the world.

The centres will offer the next generation of front line humanitarian staff, the latest insight and technology, and empower those most affected by emergencies to be the first responders, said a press release.

The Academy plans to train frontline aid workers and volunteers across 50 countries to prepare people to respond to humanitarian disasters in their own country. It is a global collaboration between the private sector, governments, academia and NGOs. The headquarters is located in London by Save the Children, where a group of academics and specialists in humanitarian work meet to exchange research, ideas, and then re-asses the needs of each country in order to make informed decisions.   

Save the Children was one of the first humanitarian organizations who saw the need for an initiative like the Humanitarian Leadership Academy and provided the initial investment to establish the Academy, offering support both during the setup phase and beyond.

Alwaleed Philanthropies’ role will be to leverage its resources and its international network of partners to help scale the initiative. Centres have already opened in the Philippines and Kenya, with three further centres to be launched this year in Bangladesh, Middle East and a collaboration centre in the UK. The foundation plans to also launch centres in Latin America, South and West Africa.

The Academy announced today that it will be launching its new digital learning platform, Kaya, at the World Humanitarian Summit on May 23. The Kaya platform is a one-stop shop designed to help train those working on the front line of a humanitarian disaster. Kaya will train the next generation of humanitarian leaders and responders, especially those located in vulnerable crisis-affected countries and communities. Kaya is an evolving and flexible platform and will be sharing content from global, country, regional and local partnerships.

Princess Lamia Bint Majed Saud AlSaud, secretary general of Alwaleed Philanthropies, commented: “We need to do more to ensure that humanitarian needs are better served at the point of impact, especially in the critical life-saving 72 hour aftermath of any crisis. The Humanitarian Leadership Academy will be central to our efforts to meet this challenge. It will harness cutting edge technology to ensure a rapid-response and on-the-ground training to those on the front line of a crisis.”

For over 35 years, Alwaleed Philanthropies, run by Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud, has supported and initiated projects in over 120 countries. It collaborates with a range of philanthropic, governmental and educational organizations to combat poverty, empower women and youth, develop communities, provide disaster relief and create cultural understanding through education. –TradeArabia News Service