Dr Bianca Fadel
Research Fellow in Development Studies at Northumbria University, UK
About me
I am a results-oriented academic and practitioner navigating humanitarian and development spaces for the past ten years. I believe in building bridges across sectors, languages and geographies; and using my interpersonal skills to facilitate convivial learning.
Originally from São Paulo, Brazil, I am currently based in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Centre for International Development at Northumbria University. My PhD research analysed local volunteering during protracted crises and its implications for humanitarian and development discourses and practices, particularly in the case of Burundi, in East Africa. I strongly believe in collaborative research, and my experience of teamworking includes the Refugee Youth Volunteering Uganda (RYVU), funded by the UK Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC-GCRF); as well as policy-focused initiatives with volunteer-involving organisations, including the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and Voluntary Services Overseas (VSO).
As a practitioner, I have previously worked as advisor for humanitarian diplomacy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Brazil. I am currently also a volunteer with Macmillan Cancer Support in the UK and have previously implemented local youth engagement volunteering projects in Brazil.
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Education & Experience
WHAT I’VE LEARNED & WHERE I'VE WORKED
2017 – Present
Northumbria University
Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
Fully funded doctoral researcher at the Centre for International Development. Since Sept. 2019, Associate Lecturer with experience in delivering in-person and online teaching for International Development and International Relations Undergraduate and Master's modules
2013 – 2016
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Brasilia, Brazil
Humanitarian Cooperation Adviser within the General Coordination of Humanitarian Cooperation and Actions Against Hunger (CGFOME) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Brazil
2018 – Present
Volunteering in Conflicts and Emergencies Initiative (ViCE)
Member of the ViCE Initiative research team and part of the Volunteering in Dangerous Situations Working Group of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) Volunteering Alliance
2016 – Present
Centre for Human Rights and Humanitarian Studies (CHRHS)
Brown University
Global Fellow in the CHRHS at the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs
Jan – May 2013
Permanent Mission of Brazil to the United Nations in Geneva
Geneva, Switzerland
Trainee on humanitarian diplomacy and human rights themes
2011 – 2013
Université Catholique de Louvain (UCL)
Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
Master’s degree in Humanitarian Action
2007 – 2010
Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP)
São Paulo, Brazil
Bachelor’s degree in International Relations
Recent Publications
WHAT I HAVE TO SAY
​Interactive map on volunteers’ experiences in response to COVID-19
Collaboration with the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement to analyse stories from volunteers currently responding to COVID-19 around the globe (with M. Baillie Smith, S. Fennerty, S. Hazeldine & others) [More information available here]​​
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Journal Article on Volunteering, Remuneration and Livelihoods
Volunteering hierarchies in the global South: remuneration and livelihoods (2020), Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations (with M. Baillie Smith, A. O’Loghlen & S. Hazeldine) [Open access article available here]
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Encyclopedia Article on Volunteering and Sustainability
Volunteering: Connecting the Global Agenda on Sustainability to the Community Level (2020), Encyclopedia of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: Partnerships for the Goals, Edited by Walter Leal Filho, Anabela Marisa Azul, Luciana Brandli, Amanda Lange Salvia and Tony Wall, Springer International Publishing: Cham [Article available here]
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Conference Paper on Resilience and Volunteering
Volunteerism and Community Resilience: Locally Owned Solutions Delivering Impact (2020), IAVE 2020 Conference Paper (with A. Chadwick) [Paper and recording of webinar presentation available here]
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Theme Papers on Volunteering in Conflicts and Emergencies
Volunteering in Conflicts and Emergencies, Series of Theme Papers (2018), Swedish Red Cross: Stockholm (with M. Baillie Smith, N. Thomas, J. Cadesky, M. Griffiths, B. Valle Paz & S. Agerhem) [Papers available here]
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Book Chapter on Brazilian Humanitarian Diplomacy (in Portuguese)
Food Security and Nutrition and Humanitarian Action from the perspective of the Brazilian Foreign Policy from 2013 to 2015 (2017), in XIII Curso para Diplomatas Sul-Americanos: Brasília e Rio de Janeiro, 11 a 20 de maio de 2015, Organised by Sérgio Eduardo Moreira Lima, FUNAG: Brasilia, pp. 57-78 (with M. Rondó Filho, M. C. Rial & M. A. Lopes Filho) [Full book available here]
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A video snapshot of my PhD research in 3 minutes?
Happy to share a video recording of my participation on the 3MT® Three Minute Thesis Competition at Northumbria University in 2020, for which I was awarded second place. Feel free to get in touch about it.
Working
Languages
Portuguese (native language)
English
French
Spanish
Interests
OUT OF OFFICE
Bossa Nova & MPB listener
Sunshine seeker
DIY person
Chocolate addicted
Travel lover