# Open Conversations: Breaking Barriers in Humanitarian Aid (Anna Whitson-Diaz)

- Channel: [Funding the Commons](https://streameth.org/funding_the_commons)
- Date: 2025-10-07
- Duration: 02:01
- Topics: Anna Whitson-Diaz
- Watch: https://streameth.org/watch/yt-M72mnK0dgys
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M72mnK0dgys

## Description

A conversation with Anna Whitson-Diaz, Senior Partnerships Manager for Aid at the Stellar Development Foundation. Exploring how blockchain is transforming financial access and humanitarian aid, she highlights its role in enabling faster, more efficient, and transparent cross-border payments. 

The discussion covers the challenges of delivering aid at scale, the impact of open-source financial infrastructure, and the ways SDF’s partnership with UNHCR is providing direct cash assistance to displaced populations. 

Produced by Funding the Commons in Bangkok, November 2024.

Mentioned Projects:
Stellar Development Foundation: https://stellar.org/
UNHCR: https://www.unhcr.org/
Funding the Commons: https://www.fundingthecommons.io/

Thank You to Our Sponsors:
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Gitcoin: https://gitcoin.co/
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