Outstanding Manchester humanitarians recognised for their world-leading roles

Social responsibility UOM life 9th January 2017

Two former Manchester students have been presented with awards by the University in recognition of their world-leading leading roles in humanitarian aid and emergency response.

Gareth Owen and Karen O’Neill both won Outstanding Alumni awards, which are presented annually to alumni who have achieved distinction in their professions through exemplary service to local, national or international communities.

Civil Engineering graduate Gareth Owen has spent a quarter of a century working in humanitarian aid. From Somalia and Angola through to Uganda, Kosovo, Pakistan and Syria, he has witnessed some of the world’s most devastating crisis environments. He has led responses to numerous emergencies all over the world over the last two decades, including the Iraq conflict (2003), Asian tsunami (2004), and East Africa drought (2011).