Humanitarian histories (HAP Summer Seminar)

Dr. Alice Robinson, Flora Chatt, and Dr. Courtney Stickland join us to discuss the Humanitarian Archive at the University of Manchester.

Please note:

This event will be held on Zoom. Instructions for joining the event will be sent to participants via email the day before the event. Please ensure that you enter the correct email and check your spam if you do not receive the email containing the joining link.

About the event:

Join us for the first History and Archives in Practice 2026 Summer Seminar, 'Humanitarian histories: The importance of archives in a changing humanitarian landscape'. In this session, we will focus on the University of Manchester's Humanitarian Archive. The Humanitarian Archive was launched in 2021 as a collaboration between the University of Manchester Library and the Humanitarian and Conflict Response Institute. Responding to gaps and absences in existing humanitarian archives, it focuses primarily on the papers of individuals and smaller organisations.

Our speakers, Dr. Alice Robinson, Flora Chatt, and Dr. Courtney Stickland, will introduce the Humanitarian Archive and its growing collections, and will discuss the development of a newly launched Humanitarian Digital Archives Toolkit. The session will reflect on the growing urgency of preserving archives and records in the humanitarian sector, particularly in the context of widespread funding cuts.

Dr. Alice Robinson, Flora Chatt, and Dr. Courtney Stickland will be joined by chair Dr Claire Kennan, Head of Research Impact, Culture and Engagement at The National Archives, to reflect on the role of co-creation and co-curation in the collection and preservation of humanitarian archives.

Please email research@nationalarchives.gov.uk if you have any accessibility requirements.

Image: Welfare Food van, Ealing, 1950. Catalogue reference: MAF 102/15.

This is the first event in the 2026 'History and Archives in Practice' summer series, co-hosted by The National Archives, the Institute of Historical Research, and the Royal Historical Society.

The other seminar in the series is:

Preserving the Local Newspaper Archive Project, Wednesday 24 June (13:00 - 13:30)