The Ambrela Development Forum (ADF), organized annually by the Slovak Platform for Development Organizations – Ambrela, provides a unique space to navigate global challenges and reimagine international partnerships through in-depth discussions and interactive workshops. As the only event of its kind in Central and Eastern Europe, the ADF International Conference brings together more than 200 participants from around 20 countries each year. The next edition, ADF 2026, will take place on 1–2 October 2026 in Bratislava, Slovakia.

To ensure that ADF remains at the forefront of global development discussions, the conference is supported by its International Advisory Board (IAB) – an honorary body of distinguished experts and thought leaders who provide strategic guidance, foresight, partnerships, and international visibility. The IAB helps shape the conference agenda, speaker lineup, and donor engagement, ensuring that ADF 2026 stands alongside leading international flagship events. We are delighted to welcome Dr Hugo Slim as a member of the #ADF2026 International Advisory Board.

Dr Hugo Slim is Director of the Las Casas Institute for Social Justice at Blackfriars Hall at the University of Oxford and a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Ethics, Law and Armed Conflict at the Oxford’s Blavatnik School of Government. Throughout his humanitarian career, he has combined academia, operations, policy and diplomacy. He has been Head of Policy and Humanitarian Diplomacy at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Chief Scholar at the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue and Reader in International Humanitarianism at Oxford Brookes University. Hugo has also worked for Save the Children and the United Nations in Morocco, Sudan, Ethiopia, the Occupied Palestinian Territories and Bangladesh. He has been a board member of Oxfam GB and the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (CAFOD). 

Dr Slim joined us as a distinguished speaker at ADF 2025 in Bratislava, where his insights on rethinking the very purpose of humanitarian action inspired participants and enriched discussions on today’s most pressing global challenges. We are honoured that he will continue this engagement as an active member of the International Advisory Board, contributing his expertise to the preparation of ADF 2026 and helping to shape a conference that fosters meaningful dialogue, innovative thinking, and impactful partnerships. We warmly welcome Dr Hugo Slim to the ADF community and look forward to working together on an inspiring and successful ADF 2026.