On the podium from left to right: Stephan Potting, Tom van Herwijnen, Dr. Gisela Kurth, Rainer Elsmann, Dr. Klaus Schmitz and the moderator Conny Czymoch.

How can sending organizations guarantee the safety of their deployed employees abroad?

More than 100 representatives of development cooperation organizations met last Thursday in Siegburg. The Security Forum was hosted for the fourth time by international insurance expert Dr. Walter. In addition to experts’ presentations on prevention, quality management and duty of care during foreign assignments, the Forum also featured a lively panel discussion on the topic.

During the morning session, Dr. Walter’s Head of Claims Department, Angelika V. Kolmer, presented unusual insurance claims as experienced by aid workers and volunteers abroad: From cases of severe malaria in Uganda and complications during birth in Botswana to an alligator attack in Bolivia. In another session, Tom van Herwinen of the Christian disability and development organization "Christoffel Blindenmission" (CBM) talked about what volunteers with disabilities have to keep in mind when working as aid workers abroad. In his presentation, he showed how CBM also enables people with medical impairments to become aid workers and what their biggest challenges are.

The Forum was completed by a panel discussion in the afternoon. The panel featured experts from the areas of psychology, quality management, tropical medicine and international health insurance. The Forum was accompanied by an exhibition showcasing a number of companies from the security industry such as Global Warning System, Kompetenzzentrum für internationale Sicherheit, AKE Group, Assisteur MD Medicus and insurance broker Siegemund.