During the first eight months in 2016, I was contracted by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies Regional Office in Budapest as the Regional Community Engagement and Accountability Coordinator, in the midst of the European refugee crisis.

I monitored refugee camps in Greece and Macedonia, coordinated with European colleagues, visited Red Crescent community centers in Turkey, and did several presentations on community engagement, accountability and communication with communities in Greece, Hungary, Austria and Bulgaria. All to set a minimum standard on how the Red Cross best should engage and communicate with the refugee community, establish feedback mechanisms, and ensure that refugees are consulted as part of planning.

I also participated in the development of the first global Community Engagement and Accountability Toolkit for the Red Cross, as well as the Communicating with Communities guidelines for different organisations working in refugee camps in Greece.

I also participated in the Regional Disaster Response Team training in Bulgaria. Read more here and here.