In this Humanitarian Governance webinar, Sarian Jarosz and Elisa Sandri will examine the differences in the organization of aid along the Polish-Belarusian and the Polish-Ukranian borders.
- Date
- Tuesday 2 Dec 2025, 14:30 - 16:00
- Type
- Webinar
- Spoken Language
- English
- Room
- Teams
- Ticket information
You will receive the Teams link in the registration confirmation email.
In 2021, a humanitarian crisis developed at the Polish-Belarusian border as increasing numbers of people from Syria, Eritrea, Iraq and other countries attempted to enter Poland in search of protection.
In early 2022, a second crisis emerged at the Polish-Ukrainian border, where millions fleeing the war in Ukraine sought safety in Poland and beyond.
This Humanitarian Governance webinar, based on a research report published in May 2025, will examine how local organizations and aid workers (including volunteer groups, grassroots and activist organizations, and individual citizens) organized aid differently at each border.
The speakers will discuss humanitarian access, the criminalization of solidarity and tensions between local and international actors. The session will also explore key questions about the ability of international organizations to uphold humanitarian principles when access or mandate is restricted.
This research was a collaboration between the Humanitarian Leadership Academy (HLA) and Migration Consortium (Poland). The HLA (part of Save the Children UK) strives to accelerate the movement for locally-led humanitarian action through investing in humanitarian leaders, convening local voices and driving collective action through advocacy, thought leadership and research. Migration Consortium is a consortium of organizations working on behalf of migrants and refugees in Poland.
Speakers
Sarian Jarosz is a research coordinator at Migration Consortium and Coordinator of Humanitarian Observatory Central and Eastern Europe. He Formerly worked for HLA, Amnesty International and Polish Humanitarian Action, among others. His interest is mostly in intersectional humanitarianism, criminalization of solidarity and Central and Eastern Europe.
Elisa Sandri is a researcher working in the humanitarian sector, focusing on the role of civil society supporting people on the move in Europe. She was previously the Research and Evaluation Specialist at the HLA. Her other research - published on the Journal of Migration and Ethnic Studies - focused on grassroots organizations and volunteers in Calais.
Reflection by Rodrigo Mena, Assistant Professor of Disasters and Humanitarian Governance at ISS & Deputy Director of The Hague Humanitarian Studies Centre.
- More information
This webinar is an initiative of the Humanitarian Studies Centre (HSC) at ISS, which hosts the project ‘Humanitarian Governance: Accountability, Advocacy, Alternatives’ (HUM-GOV). The HUM-GOV Project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 884139.
- Related links
- Humanitarian governance: accountability, advocacy, alternatives
Humanitarian Studies Centre