Join us for this year’s Aid Matters event as we explore the power of partnerships. Whether within the Global Responsibility network or through our collaboration with partner organizations around the world, partnerships are at the heart of our work—and key to our ability to remain relevant and effective in a rapidly changing sector.

Strong partnerships require trust, mutual learning, continuous reflection, and a willingness to adapt to changing realities. As our sector faces growing challenges, investing in and strengthening our partnerships becomes more important than ever.

Together with experts and colleagues from across the sector, we will explore what the future of our sector demands of us—and how stronger, more equitable partnerships can help us get there. Through keynote inputs, discussions, and interactive workshops, participants will exchange experiences, reflect on their own organizations, and identify practical approaches for navigating change.

Besides and above all, Aid Matters is a space to connect, learn from one another, and strengthen the solidarity that enables us to navigate challenging times.

Target group: Staff of Austrian NGOs active in the fields of development, humanitarian assistance, peacebuilding and Global Citizenship Education. Colleagues from partner organizations who are in Vienna at the time of the event are very welcome to join.

Agenda

08:00 – 09:30 | Geschäftsführer*innen-Frühstück für Mitgliedsorganisationen (DE) Das Frühstück bietet den Geschäftsführer*innen unserer Mitgliedsorganisationen die Gelegenheit zu einem direkten Austausch mit Botschafter Nikolaus Lutterotti, dem designierten neuen Leiter der für Entwicklungszusammenarbeit und Humanitäre Hilfe zuständigen Sektion VII im Außenministerium. Botschafter Lutterotti übernimmt diese Funktion in diesen Wochen von Botschafter Huber. Er verfügt über langjährige und umfassende außenpolitische Erfahrung – unter anderem als politischer Koordinator während Österreichs Mitgliedschaft im UN-Sicherheitsrat 2009/10, als außenpolitischer Berater sowie zuletzt als österreichischer Botschafter in Israel. Im kleinen Kreis werden wir mit ihm über die aktuelle Situation unseres Sektors, die Zusammenarbeit mit dem Außenministerium sowie die Herausforderungen und Chancen der kommenden Jahre sprechen. Moderiert von Lukas Wank, AG Globale Verantwortung Dieser Teil ist exklusiv für Geschäftsführer*innen oder offizielle Vertreter*innen der Mitgliedsorganisationen der AG Globale Verantwortung.

09:45 – 12:15 | Morning session The power of partnerships (EN) At a time of growing global challenges, shrinking resources, and increasing uncertainty, our sector is being called upon to rethink not only its way of working, but also the assumptions on which it is built. Drawing on lessons from efforts to shift power and strengthen locally led development, the speakers will explore what a more equitable, collaborative, and resilient approach to international development could look like. They will discuss their perspectives on why transforming partnerships, decision-making, and resource flows is not simply an option, but a necessity to unlock the full potential of partnerships in addressing today’s global challenges. Combining a broader perspective on the future of the sector with practical insights from their own organizational journeys, the speakers will share lessons learned and highlight concrete actions organizations can take to remain relevant, adaptive, and effective in a rapidly changing environment. Join us for an inspiring conversation with Moses Isobaa, Uganda National NGO Forum Dylan Mathews, Peace Direct Eilidh Kennedy, Inter-Agency Research and Analysis Network (IARAN) Opening address by Stefan Fritz, Chairperson of Global Responsibility Facilitated by Karin Kuranda

12:15 – 13:30 | Lunch break With vegetarian and vegan options

13:30 – 16:45 | Parallel afternoon workshops Workshop 1 Reimagining the development sector: Future roles for Austrian NGOs (EN) This workshop, facilitated by Dylan Mathews, offers a deeper dive into the themes explored during the morning session. Participants will be invited to reflect on the principles of equitable partnerships and explore what organizations can do to address power imbalances, strengthen mutual accountability, and foster more locally led approaches when working with partner organizations. Building on this, Dylan will present possible future roles for Austrian NGOs and encourage participants to consider how their organizations can adapt, remain relevant, and contribute to a more equitable and effective sector. Through discussion and exchange, participants will examine both the opportunities and challenges that arise as the sector evolves and identify practical steps towards more transformative partnerships and organizational practices. Workshop 2 Shifting the power through and in communication (EN/DE) In their communication guidelines and domestic education programmes, Austrian NGOs demonstrate how to dismantle and discard unjust postcolonial power dynamics, stereotypes, and a White Saviourist mindset. However, they operate within existing culturally and economically determined language and image regimes. Staff working in education, PR, social media, campaigning, marketing, and fundraising are tasked with creating a decolonized and emotionally engaging communication approach and an inclusive language that is intelligible to a wider public audience, while avoiding the pitfalls of using academic and expert jargon. In his input, Moses Isooba will introduce participants to the question of why shifting NGO language and imagery is still crucial for global justice. As language sets the tone and shapes relationships, he will emphasize the importance of making space for local voices from partner countries (who Moses considers as co-investors, not beneficiaries) to share their knowledge and stories in all areas of NGO communication. Moses will also introduce the participants to a decolonial language AI tool developed by RINGO, which is yet to be launched. Jörg Arnold will then work with the participants on specific challenges that arise when grappling with privilege and power, embracing an inclusive and self-aware communication, and avoiding unintelligibility. In this workshop, the Chatham House Rule applies.

16:45 – 17:00 | Wrap-up Concluding remark by Lukas Wank

from 17:00 | Get-together Stay for a drink and let’s continue the conversation

Speakers

Moses Isooba is the Executive Director of the Uganda National NGO Forum (UNNGOF). He currently serves as the Vice Chair of the Forus International Governance Council and is a member of the Board of the Africa Philanthropy Network. As a thought leader in the area of localization, he has accompanied a number of INGOs who desire to start their journey on locally led development. He is very passionate about how local national NGO actors can be the pivot for the localization agenda and is  a member of the Re-Imagining INGOs (RINGO) Social Lab – a group of practitioners reimagining INGOs through disruption, innovation and systematic thinking.

Eilidh Kennedy is a strategic foresight consultant with a decade of experience supporting humanitarian organizations through research, analysis, and strategy design. She has led multi-country futures projects, developed foresight toolkits tailored to the aid sector, and authored widely used publications such as The Future of Aid, From Voices to Choices, and Strategic Planning in the humanitarian sector: a manual to Foresight and Futures-thinking. Eilidh has managed analytical teams within INGOs, taught on foresight and humanitarian systems, and facilitated change across diverse organizational settings. As Founder and Director of IARAN, she brings a systemic, collaborative approach to navigating complexity and shaping long-term strategies for global humanitarian actors.

Dylan Mathews is CEO of Peace Direct, a UK-based organization that supports local communities to prevent violent conflict and build sustainable peace around the world. Dylan persistently advocates for shifting power and resources to locally led civil society organizations working in countries affected by conflict. Several of the reports issued by Peace Direct during his leadership have resonated globally, facilitated a critical discussion around reshaping the aid landscape and called on international NGOs to tackle the issue of structural racism head-on.

Jörg Arnold is the founder of Fairpicture, an impact start-up specializing in ethical visual communication, based in Bern with a team in Cairo. He has spent many years in fundraising and communications within the field of international cooperation and has a particular interest in the decolonization of communication and ethical storytelling. Through Fairpicture, he is committed to empowering local perspectives and creatives, and to developing visual stories in collaboration with the people whose lived realities they depict. Fair processes, collaboration on an equal footing and the protection of the personal rights of the people portrayed are central to this work.

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Registration

Please register by 10 September. Participation is free of charge.

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Please note:

• You can unregister up to 24 hours before the event by sending an email to veranstaltungen@globaleverantwortung.at.
• The venue is wheelchair accessible.
• Photographs or videos may be taken during the event for future use, for example on our website, social media, and in publications. If you do not wish to be photographed or filmed, please inform the photographer/videographer or the event manager at the start of the event.

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Contact

veranstaltungen@globaleverantwortung.at

This event is organized by Ilona Reindl and Paula Kunzemann (Global Responsibility).

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Partially, this event is part of