UNHCR emergency training goes regional with new programme in South America
UNHCR holds its first regional Workshop on Emergency Management, preparing 25 participants for the area’s first rapid reaction team.
QUITO, Ecuador, October 9 (UNHCR) - The UN refugee agency has held its first regional Workshop on Emergency Management (WEM), assembling 25 participants from across Latin America to prepare participants to be part of the area's first rapid reaction team.
The week-long training course in Ecuador, part of a UNHCR drive to decentralize staff and resources and bring them closer to displaced people, was jointly organized by the UNHCR Emergency Preparedness and Response Team and the agency's Americas Bureau.
Instead of being a WEM, the UNHCR global emergency training courses held several times a year in Europe, the course was nicknamed WEMITO - Spanish for "small WEM" - because the training was over six days instead of the usual 10.
"The team is now ready to be deployed at 72 hours notice to provide coordinated support during man-made emergencies or natural disasters on the subcontinent," explained Serge Malé, the Panama-based deputy director of UNHCR's Americas Bureau. "It is a first for UNHCR and we hope it will soon be replicated in other regions."
The WEMITO was similar in content and spirit to UNHCR global emergency workshops. Drawing on participants' previous knowledge and experience, it covered operational themes like international protection and negotiation skills, logistics and administrative requirements, external relations and staff security. The regional angle helped to focus on local issues and scenarios.
The course included practical training in equipment such as radio and GPS, four-by-four driving and first aid. With limited time, the workshop focused on team-building and information-sharing rather than acquiring new skills, with a strong emphasis on being well-prepared.
"The week provides an overview that helps to introduce the wide range of skills that are needed within a team during an emergency," said John Telford, the course's trainer and organizer.
Telford, who has prepared hundreds of UNHCR staff for emergency deployment, stresses that preparedness and good teamwork are key to success. "Everybody must clearly understand their role within the team, as well as communications and reporting lines."
Diego Morales, a participant from UNHCR's office in Colombia, said the course helped him to understand the elements that come into play during an emergency and how he can contribute, not only with his professional expertise in administration but as a team member. "I definitely feel more prepared now, with a better understanding of the different phases of the emergencies - before, during and after."
Josep Herreros, a participant from the Ecuador office, said the workshop also provided an opportunity to exchange ideas. "It is not often that colleagues from all over Latin America have a chance to get together and discuss themes of common interest."
The week also provided an opportunity for information-sharing and dialogue with outside bodies, with a strong emphasis on coordination with other UN agencies and governments. The World Food Programme discussed the logistics of food delivery, while the Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA, explained the coordination mechanisms in place in the region.
The emergency team will function on a roster basis to provide protection support and leadership in man-made or natural emergencies from Argentina to Panama.
By Marie-Hélène Verney in Quito, Ecuador
Related news and stories
'Network Guardians' help to bridge gender digital gap in Ecuadorian neighbourhood
'Network Guardians' help to bridge gender digital gap in Ecuadorian neighbourhood
Goal Click allows displaced people to document the healing power of football
Goal Click Refugees
UNHCR and IOM welcome Ecuador's move to regularize Venezuelan refugees and migrants
Gay activist strives to make her host country more inclusive for all refugees
Your search for « workshop » matched 3801 results. Only the first 1,000 results are displayed. Displaying page 5 of 112 pages.
-
ARC resource pack: Facilitator's toolkit
2009 ... ...paring to facilitate a training workshop 19 Introduction 19 Identify training needs of the participants 19 Designing the training workshop 20 Specify learning objectives...... -
Adjetey Anang
... He has also attended several workshops and training programmes in Ghana, South Africa, Nigeria, The Netherlands, the UK and the US. Adjetey and UNHCR Adjetey has added his face, voice and brand to ...... -
Central Asian states explore issue of statelessness at EU-UNHCR workshop
26 Apr 2007 ... workshop on the prevention of statelessness in Central Asia, where the dissolution of the Soviet Union and civil conflict have left thousands of people without a determined nationality. The workshop, ...... -
Colombian refugees gather threads of their lives in weaving workshops
15 Feb 2006 ... themselves and normalise their lives," says Caribay Vanegas, one of the workshop's facilitators. ... With 'Life Stories' refugee women in the workshop are offered a rare opportunity to reclaim their ...... -
Nervous? Refugee sings at music workshop with cellist Yo-Yo Ma
14 Jun 2019 ... The workshop with Ma was dedicated to diversity and social inclusion. Eighty participants including ... The participants gathered for the workshop in a cultural centre in Vienna. As they played, U.N. ...... -
UNHCR Newsletter New Delhi, April 2007
1 Apr 2007 ... Resettlement Anti—Fraud Workshop Carol Batchelor, Chief of Mission, welcoming participants on behalf of UNHCR, New Delhi Participants at the Workshop, representing 11 UNHCR offices plus two ...... -
Germany: Sailmaking workshop hires Syrian refugees
4 Apr 2017 ... 0... -
UNHCR-WFP Mitigating Risks of Abuse of Power in Cash Assistance: Workshop in Nairobi, Kenya, 10-11 December 2018
10 Dec 2018 ... MITIGATING RISKS OF ABUSE OF POWER IN CASH ASSISTANCE 10-11 December 2018 Workshop Nairobi, Kenya ... The workshop, held in Nairobi on 10-11 December 2018, followed visits to the first two pilot ...... -
UN Secretary-General drops by on music workshop featuring refugees and cellist Yo-Yo Ma
28 May 2019 ... UN Secretary-General António Guterres dropped by on Monday to listen to a music workshop in Vienna ... from Somalia as Guterres arrived with the workshop in full swing. “I am very excited to see ......