Students, alumni and colleagues are warmly invited to join us at Somerville College on May 2nd 2024 for a special evening in support of Gaza.
The evening will provide practical advice in humanitarian fundraising as well as front-line insights on Gaza from several leading experts at Save the Children and the University of Oxford.
Speaking on the panel are:
- Natasha Kaplinsky OBE, broadcaster and Save the Children Ambassador (Chair)
- Gareth Owen OBE, Save the Children’s Humanitarian Director
- Alexander Betts, Professor of Forced Migration and International Affairs, University of Oxford
Alongside practical advice, the evening will offer attendees the chance to learn more about Save the Children’s recent work in Gaza, including a pre-recorded message from current members of the Save the Children team based in Gaza. To date, Save the Children has provided lifesaving care to more than 104,000 children, psychosocial care for more than 11,000 children and family reunification efforts.
The panel discussion will be followed by a Q&A, and there will be an opportunity for further discussion after the event. Please sign-up to attend via the attached form. Biographies of our panellists are given below.
Together for Gaza - Register
Panellist Biographies
Gareth Owen OBE, Humanitarian Director, Save the Children
Gareth has spent the last 30 years working in the aid sector. He joined Save the Children in 2002 as an Emergency Adviser and became Humanitarian Director in 2007. Gareth has led responses to many major emergencies over the past two decades, most notably the Iraq conflict, the Asian tsunami, Cyclone Nargis, Haiti, Pakistan, East Africa, Niger and Philippines. He has played a pivotal role in the development of Save the Children’s humanitarian capacity and in the establishment of collaborative hosted entities including Elrha, the START Network and the Humanitarian Leadership Academy.
Rachael Cummings OBE, Head of Emergency Health, Save the Children
Rachael has led emergency health responses around the world. She does not think about it twice when it comes to walking that extra mile if she can help others by doing it! The world is her limit! In 2016 she was awarded Officer of the British Empire for her extraordinary humanitarian leadership. Her authenticity and honesty inspires us to challenge roles, expectations, behaviours and lead by example.
Nastaha Kaplinsky, Broadcaster and Save the Children Ambassador
Natasha is one of the UK’s best-known broadcasters. She has presented the news for Sky News, BBC News and Channel 5 and now appears on ITV and ITV London Tonight. Since 2010, Natasha has been a hardworking and dedicated Ambassador for Save the Children. She has worked both publicly and behind the scenes to help campaign and fundraise for the many different areas of our work. Natasha’s support has included visiting our projects all over the world, including India, South Africa, Mozambique and Sierra Leone. In 2011, Natasha played a pivotal role in launching Save the Children’s biggest campaign yet, No Child Born to Die.
Alexander Betts, Professor of Forced Migration and International Affairs
Alexander Betts is Professor of Forced Migration and International Affairs at the University of Oxford’s Refugee Studies Centre and the William Golding Senior Fellow in Politics at Brasenose College. His research focuses on the political economy of refugee protection and refugees’ access to socio-economic rights and opportunities. He is the author of 12 books and around 100 scholarly publications. His most recent book, The Wealth of Refugees: How Displaced People Can Build Economies, was awarded the International Studies Association’s ‘Ethnicity, Nationalism, and Migration’ section Distinguished Book Award for 2022. Alex leads the IKEA Foundation-funded Refugee Economies Programme, which undertakes participatory research on the economic lives of refugees in Uganda, Kenya, and Ethiopia. He has been recognised as a Fellow of the Academy of Social Science, was awarded the ESRC’s Outstanding International Impact Prize and has been named by Foreign Policy magazine as one of the world’s top-100 global thinkers, by the World Economic Forum as a Young Global Leader, by Friends of Europe as a European Young Leader under-40, and by Thinkers50 on their radar list of emerging business influencers.
