After three years of intense consultations, world leaders will convene in Istanbul on 23 and 24 May for the first ever World Humanitarian Summit (WHS).

Six thousand people are expected to assemble in the Turkish city, from governments, aid agencies, affected communities, civil society and the private sector. A unique and unprecedented opportunity to make a collective call to address the many challenges the world is facing and to empower humanitarian and disaster relief assistance. The main goal of the Summit will be to stress the need to strengthen coordination between countries and to commit to shifting the world towards a more sustainable path. The summit will be organized around five core responsibilities: reducing and preventing conflict, upholding humanitarian law, making sure fewer people are “left behind”, reducing risk as well as improved financing.

The Sovereign Order of Malta has been fully engaged in the WHS right from the beginning of the process, launched by United Nations Secretary General Ban-Ki-moon, focusig on the special role of faith- based actors in areas of conflict. Since, the Order of Malta has been actively participating in the consultations. The summit represents an important opportunity to continue promoting effective cooperation between faith-based institutions in reaching out to the victims of armed conflict.

The delegation of the Order of Malta, which will be led by the Grand Chancellor Albrecht Boeselager, will take part in many events during the two-day summit, including a special event on Religious Engagement.

To highlight the importance of the World Humanitarian Summit, the Order of Malta’s Magistral Post has issued a special stamp, which depicts a Syrian young refugee, symbol of the Order’s commitment to delivering aid and assistance to the victims of conflicts.