GISF launches a new digital timeline to capture the people, partnerships, and milestones that have shaped the NGO security landscape we know today.
Two Decades of Progress, Built Together
In the early 2000s, in response to incidents such as the 2003 bombing of the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad, many humanitarian organisations began to recognise the importance of security risk management. They created new roles dedicated to this vital area of work. However, the security risk management professionals that were hired often worked in isolation within their organisations and from their peers.
To address this, a group of security managers came together in 2006 to share information and support each other. This informal alliance evolved into the European Interagency Security Forum (EISF). A growing number of development and human rights focused organisations also became members as more and more organisations began to understand how crucial the management of security risk is to effective and sustainable programme delivery.
In 2019, in response to growing interest around the world, the European Interagency Security Forum (EISF) became the Global Interagency Security Forum (GISF) that we know today.
Digital Timeline
As GISF marks its 20th anniversary, our digital timeline captures this collective journey and celebrates the people, partnerships, and milestones that have shaped the sector. It highlights how shared learning, cooperation, and action have strengthened security risk management across the humanitarian and development community, with GISF serving as a trusted convening and enabling platform.
Add Your Key Moments!
The timeline is intended as a living record of the sector’s development, and members play a central role in shaping its future.
We’re inviting members and partners to share a milestone, incident, lesson or turning point that helped shape NGO security risk management over the past 20 years. This could include a significant event, publication, initiative, collaboration or other moment that influenced how the sector manages security today.
Submit your milestones using this form.
Physical Timeline
At this year’s Global Security and Policy Conference, with the theme Collective Strength Against Emerging Threats, we launched a physical exhibition of the timeline. This sparked many discussions on some of the sector wide milestones that have shaped the current NGO security landscape.
