Organization: RedR UK
Registration deadline: 01 Dec 2015
Starting date: 12 Jan 2016
Ending date: 14 Jan 2016
About the course
Aid agencies have struggled to effectively respond to recent urban emergencies. One of the main gaps of response is a lack of Shelter experts with urban response expertise. An urban emergency is much more complex than many rural or camp-focused emergencies. The kind of response required is greatly affected by the type of disaster and the different urban environments, whether huge cities; medium sized towns; peri-urban or slum areas. Aid agencies are much less significant players in urban responses, as their available resources are often dwarfed by those of existing service providers.
It is crucial for effective urban disaster response to build strong relations with national and municipal authorities as well as private sector service suppliers, and to work within existing legislation and long term plans for the cities.
Working with communities is as important as ever, but communities are less tightly defined and engagement becomes more complex: communities are unlikely to be geographically-identified but instead based around common interests or, for instance, income opportunities. Typical emergency Shelter responses are often inappropriate in urban areas: local authorities and existing infrastructure must be respected; camp setups are not always an appropriate solution or physically possible as space is limited and land ownership disputed.
This first Shelter in Urban Emergencies course will bring together experienced Shelter humanitarians as presenters and participants to explore and develop the necessary skills and knowledge to effectively work in the early stages of an urban emergency.
Course content
The course will take place over three days of face-to-face training. Sessions covered will include:
·Introduction to urban disasters
·Defining and targeting affected populations
·Multi-sector assessments
·Structural damage assessments
·Coordination (inter-Cluster and government) and settlements
·Implementation strategies, including private sector partners
·Market-based programming
·Housing, land and property issues
·Disaster Risk Reduction
·Minimum standards, best practice and case studies
Training methods will include a mixture of presentations by experts, group discussions and exercises. Participants are encouraged to share their own experiences of urban emergencies.
Who should attend?
The target audience for this pilot course are experienced Shelter humanitarians, with practical experience in the field. They will come from agencies working in Shelter, or will be independent consultants. We expect participants to have a minimum of three years emergency/rehabilitation experience for them to fully participate in the course.*This pilot course is sponsored by Lloyd‘s Charities Trust and no fee will be charged to the participants. Participants will have to cover and arrange their travel and visas to the UK and accommodation whilst on the course. RedR can provide you with names of hotels nearby but you will have to book these yourself.*
How to register:
If you are interested in attending the course, send an email headed “Shelter in Urban Emergencies” to nika.farnworth@redr.org.uk with a copy of your CV and a maximum 200-word expression of interest, by 1st December 2015. If your skill level is found to be suitable, we will then send you an application form.