Center for Conflict and Humanitarian Studies (CHS), in partnership with the University of Birmingham, convened an online webinar entitled “Inspiring humanitarian, development and peace nexus futures: Exploring the value-based philanthropy for displaced women: Engaging with Islamic philanthropy actors and principles," on Wednesday, 17 June 2026.
The Webinar brought together researchers, humanitarian practitioners, policymakers, and experts to discuss the innovative humanitarian financing approaches and the role of Islamic Philanthropy in improving protection and resilience outcomes for women affected by conflict and displacement. Moderated by Dr. Ghassan Elkahlout, Director of CHS, the event was held ahead of World Refugee Day, the event formed part of dissemination activities of the project Making Aid Work for Displaced Woman: Integrating Islamic Philanthropy and the International Humanitarian System to Improve Outcomes for Women.
In his opening remarks, Dr. Elkahlout introduced the objectives of the initiative and highlighted the relevance of the discussion to ongoing debates on humanitarian financing and support for displaced women. He also noted the launch of a series of research outputs, including working papers, stakeholder mapping reports, policy briefings, and outcome notes.
This was followed by a keynote presentation delivered by Dr. Sandra Pertek, Senior Research Fellow at the University of Birmingham. Drawing on recent research findings, she examined the relationship between Islamic philanthropy and the international humanitarian system, highlighting opportunities for greater collaboration between humanitarian and philanthropic actors to support displaced women. Her presentation explored the potential of gender-sensitive humanitarian financing, faith-based charitable resources, and ethical principles to contribute to more inclusive and sustainable responses to conflict and displacement. Dr. Pertek further highlighted both opportunities and challenges associated with integrating Islamic philanthropy into humanitarian responses, with particular attention to strengthening protection, inclusion, and resilience outcomes for displaced women.
The discussion that followed explored the future role of Islamic philanthropy within humanitarian and development system, highlighting the issues of governance, accountability, coordination, and evidence generation. Participants reflected on the practical and policy implications of integrating Islamic philanthropy into humanitarian action and emphasized the importance of developing enabling frameworks that support more effective and sustainable responses.
The webinar concluded with reflections on the potential of Islamic philanthropy to contribute to more sustainable, culturally grounded, and inclusive humanitarian action. Discussions underscored the importance of strengthening collaboration across sectors and developing practical approaches that improve protection and resilience outcomes for displaced women in conflict and displacement settings.