Alexis Gaiptman (EMBA 2021) was named Executive Director – Canada with Humanity & Inclusion (previously known as Handicap International).

This charity has a mission of working in situations of poverty and exclusion, conflict and disaster.

It stands alongside vulnerable populations, including people with disabilities, to help meet their basic needs, improve their living conditions and promote respect for their dignity and fundamental rights.

Through campaign events and lobbying, Alexis’ mandate is to support the implementation of the actions of the international network by alerting the public and Canadian representatives to the emergencies, international development needs and humanitarian crimes our teams witness in the field, to the rights and services that our beneficiaries deserve, and to the organisation’s advocacy campaigns. She also provides critical fundraising advice to ensure the Humanity & Inclusion network can help the world’s most vulnerable when they need it most.

To support the work of the international network, the Canadian section receives funding from the Government of Canada and  Quebec’s Ministère des Relations internationales & de la Francophonie (MRIF) through the Quebec International Development Program (PQDI), and many Canadian individuals across the country, among others. Its mandate also includes overseeing all its field projects and making the Canadian public more aware of the causes and effects of disabilities.

Handicap International was founded in Thailand in 1982 by two French doctors as a response to landmine injuries suffered by Cambodian people living in refugee camps. The first orthopaedic centers were set up in refugee camps in Thailand, Cambodia, Burma and Laos. Simple, locally available equipment was used, enabling Handicap International to provide immediate, effective and practical aid and to train competent local teams to carry on the work. Since then, HI has set up development programmes in more than 60 countries and intervenes in numerous emergency situations. The network of eight national associations (Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States) works constantly to mobilise resources, jointly manage projects and to increase the impact of the organisation’s principles and actions. HI is one of six founding organisations of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL), the co-winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997 and the winner of the Conrad N. Hilton Award in 2011. HI takes action and campaigns in places where “living in dignity” is no easy task.