Special Talk25Regina De Dominicis, UNICEF Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia explained. This method has the potential to seamlessly register and update information, even when people have been displaced multiple times or when they are on the move. It could help en-sure timely assistance while at the same time saving people from having to physically visit a number of locations for paperwork. Regina De Dominicis, Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia at UNICEF, the UN agency for children, participated in the symposium in person. With a commitment to innovation grounded on the belief that every child deserves the best pos-sible chances for a safe and healthy future, the organization’s in-novation office supports its country offices and teams in the field in their execution and evaluation of concept realization prior to scaling the projects. One UNICEF - supported project is an initiative in Africa and the Middle East that provides solar power to schools, health centers, and water and sanitation facilities. The project also aims to cre-ate an innovative financing model and provides training to young people in order to ensure the project’s long-term sustainability. De Dominicis also introduced projects such as the use of drones in Guatemala for disaster relief activities, an evaluation system in While a paper-based process may take four to five weeks, the self-registration approach can complete the process much faster and more efficiently. “People can use their mobile phones to read QR codes and access the online form to register themselves,” she audience and speakers. One of the three speakers, Tala Budziszewski, a United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees innova-tion officer, joined the event online from Bangkok, Thailand. She explained that UNHCR strives to provide essen-tial support and protection to individu-als facing challenges after having been forced to flee their homes. Her unit aims to create an environment that allows innovations to take place at the initiative of such forcibly displaced people, ensuring that their challenges and priorities are adequately defined. “Over the past two years, we received over 5,000 applications for our innova-tion funds, the vast majority of which were from refugee-led organizations. Displaced people around the world are eager to test their own solutions, and there is no limit to their creativity,” she said. One pilot project was spearheaded by a refugee-led organization in Malawi. “This project focused on exploring the potential of a women’s group establishing an aquaponics project in a refugee camp in Malawi. The aim was to enhance food security and live-lihood opportunities while supporting women’s empowerment in Malawi,” she said. While aquaponics itself is not a novel technol-ogy, the context in which it is used and how it can contribute to people’s lives defines the innovative nature of the project.Yukimi Ogaki, Chief of Operation Support in the Emergency Preparedness and Response Service at the World Food Programme headquarters, joined the symposium online from Rome. “In recent years, we have observed a notable increase in the number of individuals facing acute food insecurity. In 2023, WFP provided assistance to 177 million people worldwide,” she said. Ogaki observed that there are still 309 million people facing acute food insecurity in 72 countries, with conflicts and climate change being the main contributing factors. In light of the growing needs and limited resources, she suggested that new ideas and innova-tive approaches could be key to enhancing the impact of human-itarian work. WFP has implemented 74 innovation interventions in 70 coun-tries. One such intervention is a self-registration system currently being implemented and used in 11 countries where swift distri-bution of humanitarian assistance is needed.
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