{"word_count": 221, "character_count": 1600}
Cross-posted from icrchistoryThe International Committee of the Red Cross is hosting a two-day conference, bringing together prominent humanitarians and academics to reflect critically on the history of humanitarian action.The 16-17 September conference, “Connecting with the Past – the Fundamental Principles of the International Red Cross Red Crescent Movement in Critical Historical Perspective”, will consist of seven panels with around 30 panelists in addition to invited experts.The first night of the symposium will be a livestreamed public conference entitled "Stubborn Realities, Shared Humanity: History in the Service of Humanitarian Action.” It will feature the ICRC’s president Peter Maurer, along with Jane Cocking (Humanitarian Director, Oxfam UK), Sir Michael Aaronson (formerly Save the Children), academics Irène Herrmann (Associate Professor of Swiss Transnational History, University of Geneva) and Andrew Thompson, (Professor of Modern History, University of Exeter),  moderated by the ICRC’s Vincent Bernard.At its International Conference in Vienna in 1965, the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement proclaimed the Seven Fundamental Principles - Humanity, Impartiality, Neutrality, Independence, Voluntary service, Unity and Universality – as the basis for its humanitarian approach.The two-day historical symposium, jointly organized by the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council, the University of Exeter and the ICRC, aims to reflect on the relevance, influence and challenges of the humanitarian principles, from the birth of modern humanitarianism in the 19th century to today.