Philanthropy diplomacy
Marwan Musallam
With the natural disasters, earthquakes, floods and wars the world is witnessing around us, the demand for charitable, relief and humanitarian work is increasing, and this requires many international efforts to reach those affected and in need.
Here the greatest need for what is called charitable diplomacy appears, which is a term that refers to diplomatic efforts used to achieve humanitarian and charitable goals. These efforts include using diplomacy and international relations to promote charitable work and contribute to solving humanitarian and social problems.
Charity diplomacy is commonly used by non-governmental organizations (NGOs), charities and humanitarian institutions to achieve their goals.
There are many ways in which charitable diplomacy can be used, including:
1- Urging donations: Charitable diplomacy can be used to attract funding and donations from countries and international organizations to support charitable projects. This includes providing arguments and evidence to prove the importance of charitable issues and projects.
2- Working on policy formulation: Charitable diplomacy can contribute to shaping international policies and laws that affect humanitarian issues. For example, charitable organizations may work to persuade governments to adopt policies that promote social justice and alleviate poverty.
3- Working to resolve conflicts: Charitable diplomacy can be used to mediate and resolve humanitarian conflicts, such as humanitarian crises and armed conflicts, and help achieve a ceasefire and provide humanitarian assistance.
4- Working with international institutions: Charitable organizations sometimes cooperate with international organizations such as the United Nations, the Red Cross, and the World Health Organization to achieve common humanitarian goals.
5- Awareness and Partnerships: Educating the public about charitable work issues and building partnerships with companies and individuals to collect donations and support charitable projects.
6- Providing humanitarian assistance: Providing humanitarian assistance to areas affected by conflicts, natural disasters, and epidemics.
7- Promoting peace and security: Charitable work may play a role in promoting peace and security by improving living conditions and economic development in affected areas.
Charitable diplomacy plays an important role in promoting international cooperation to resolve humanitarian and social issues, and improve the quality of life of individuals and communities in need. The diplomatic aspect is considered important in supporting and promoting charitable work at the global level, as it contributes to directing international attention and directing resources to priority humanitarian projects and initiatives.
This was clearly demonstrated in the 2023 earthquake in Türkiye and Syria. The tremendous efforts of Islamic and international charitable societies at all levels. You will find some of them interested in the relief field in the form of providing material and food aid, some of them interested in establishing camps and housing, some of them interested in the field of medical and psychological aid and post-trauma, and some of them interested in the field of research and excavation. About the injured and dead under the rubble, and some of them were interested in mobilizing people in areas far from the earthquake and urging them to donate money, materials and effort...
We have also seen a wonderful picture of the combination of official diplomatic work and popular diplomatic work in various countries of the world, combined with all forms of official sympathy from countries in all the previous forms, and popular sympathy as well, and among those pictures are youth and women’s initiatives, private and public bodies, charitable and relief societies, Human doctors, psychiatrists, nurses, even technology and those interested in it (such as thermal cameras, cameras with long wires that enter inside the rubble, infrared cameras, drone cameras, and other technologies).
It even reached transport and airline companies offering free flights to and from the areas affected by the earthquake.
We ask God to have mercy on the deceased, a speedy recovery for the wounded, and to compensate everyone whose house was destroyed. We ask God to reward everyone who contributed their effort, money, and time.
Humanitarian charitable diplomacy seeks to bring together those with white hands and compassionate hearts with the deprived, the needy, and the needy in a beautiful humanitarian phenomenon in which everyone wins. The feelings of righteousness and benevolence are generated among people of goodness and benevolence, which strengthens their serious commitment to alleviating the suffering of their poor brothers and those less fortunate in this world. This meeting also instills reassurance and hope for a decent life in the souls of the deprived.
Anyone who observes this diplomacy will find that it includes humanitarian work, both its relief aspect, which is the rapid response to the tragedies of time and natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods, wars, etc., and the development aspect, which is the major projects that aim to rebuild what was left behind by these crises, and the initiatives to reconstruct cities, villages, and civil societies.
One of the characteristics of this diplomacy is comprehensiveness and integration, as humanitarian and charitable institutions implement projects that complement each other according to the development requirements in each country, and one of its characteristics is this wonderful coordination between the parties concerned with humanitarian and development work.