Why the future of humanitarian aid is putting our trust in refugees | Ravi Gurumurthy | TEDxLondon

Ravi Gurumurthy, Chief Innovation Officer at the International Rescue Committee, wants to turn aid upside down. In this personal and inspiring talk, he imagines an international aid system that gives refugees five tools that put power directly in their hands. Only by placing our trust in refugees, can we nurture the virtue that will help them overcome the odds – their confidence.

Ravi Gurumurthy is the Chief Innovation Officer and head of the Airbel Centre at the International Rescue Committee. The IRC works in over 30 countries helping people affected by conflict and disaster to survive, recover and gain control of their future. The purpose of the Airbel Centre is to design, test and drive the adoption of life-changing, scalable solutions for people affected by crisis.

Prior to joining the IRC as Vice-President of Strategy and Innovation in 2013, Ravi spent 15 years in the U.K. Government, holding a number of senior roles in social, environmental and foreign policy. Most recently, he was Director of Strategy at the Department of Energy and Climate Change. From 2005-10, he was the Strategic Advisor and Speech Writer to David Miliband – playing a key role in shaping the Climate Change Act 2008, and in UK foreign policy. Ravi has also worked in local government and began his career at the think tank Demos.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx