20 August 2009
In celebration of the first commemoration of World Humanitarian Day, the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) in Manila, in partnership with the Jose Rizal University (JRU), held a forum on United Nations humanitarian assistance. Stephen Anderson, Country Director and Representative of the World Food Programme, spoke on the United Nation’s role in humanitarian interventions. The event was attended by the Jose Rizal University's teachers and about one hundred high school students.
Stephen Anderson, WFP country director and representative in the Philippines, addresses audience on the World Humanitarian Day
In December 2008, the General Assembly of the United Nations established the date 19 August 2009 as the first World Humanitarian Day. The commemoration of the Day is a way of increasing public understanding of humanitarian assistance activities worldwide. The Day also aims to honour humanitarian workers who have lost their lives or were injured in the course of their work.