Workshop report. Customization of the SPHERE Training modules to the Syrian context

Transcription

1 Workshop report Customization of the SPHERE Training modules to the Syrian context Gaziantep, July 24 th and 25 th 2015 Report drafted by: Ms. Tamara Hallaq, Humanitarian Affairs Officer at OCHA Turkey 1

2 1. Introduction a. Background to the workshop Through its direct engagement with a wide range of humanitarian International NGOs (INGOs) and Syrian NGOs (SNGOs) operating cross-border, OCHA Turkey is aware of the capacity development needs of Syrian humanitarian aid workers, of whom a majority (64%) have less than 5 years of humanitarian work experience 1. While relief activities had started in a spontaneous and voluntary manner, there is a clear shift towards the professionalization of Syrian civil society organizations and integration of international standards and coordination mechanisms. In this context, introduction to the SPHERE Handbook, a widely known and recognized set of common principles and universal minimum standards for humanitarian response, is an important step. The first MENA Sphere regional practitioners workshop (Amman, May 2015) identified a clear need for further capacity development of national NGOs and CBOs, training of trainers (ToT) courses, quality certification of training programmes, and consistent post-training follow-up and refresher sessions in order to help humanitarians apply their acquired knowledge. Based on this analysis and within its capacity building mandate, OCHA Turkey initiated consultations with the Partnerships Coordination Section (PCS) of OCHA Geneva and The SPHERE Project with the aim of supporting the roll-out of customized SPHERE trainings in Arabic, targeting Syrian staff of INGOs and SNGOs through a two-pronged approach: - Customization of the SPHERE standard to the Syrian context; and - Set-up of a pool of Syrian SPHERE trainers. b. Organizational arrangements and distribution of roles The following distribution of roles was agreed between the main organizers of the event: - OCHA Turkey proceeded with the organizational and logistical aspects; - OCHA Geneva provided technical guidance and facilitation leadership; - The SPHERE Project provided the standard training modules and recommendations around customization scope and tools; and - CARE, Point and SCI deployed their staff members to serve as co-facilitators. 1 Training Needs Survey Report, UNOCHA, April

3 c. Facilitation team The facilitation team was led by Mr. Khaled Khalifa, Chief of the Partnerships Coordination Section (PCS), OCHA Geneva, and the Sphere Focal Point for the MENA region. The IASC Gender Advisor deployed to the OCHA Turkey office, Ms. Elham Allan, ensured gender mainstreaming throughout the customization of the training modules. The Syrian co-facilitators, Ms. Aya Yagan (SCI), Mr. Rami Rajjoub (Point), Mr. Hamze Hamwie (independent consultant) and Mr. Mamdouh Tello (Care) were in charge of the contextualization of each of the 4 technical modules. Note about the selection of the co-facilitators Through consultations with organizations and consultants which previously hosted and facilitated Sphere ToTs in the MENA region, six potential Syrian co-facilitators residing in Turkey were identified. Out of them, the four above-mentioned co-facilitators confirmed availability. They are all Sphere Certified Trainers and have gained humanitarian experience in Syria prior to the crisis. d. Methodological approach The facilitation team based its customization work on the 2015 SPHERE training modules developed in Arabic and finalized by The SPHERE Project in June Customization included: a review of the generic training modules, the integration of field examples from Syria, and providing recommendations to the guidance notes. As the first attempt to customize these modules, the workshop and the following introductory SPHERE training were considered a pilot by The SPHERE Project. By mid-june 2015 contacts were established between OCHA Geneva, OCHA Turkey, and the four cofacilitators to discuss the preparation and the specific objectives of the workshop. During July, each of the four co-facilitators worked on the customization of one technical chapter while the lead on the other chapters (the Humanitarian Charter, the Protection Principles and the New Core Standards) was done by the main facilitator. The IASC Gender Advisor developed her own training materials and mainstreamed gender throughout the four SPHERE technical modules based on the indicators and guidance notes of the SPHERE Handbook. Throughout the process, the Inter Cluster Coordination Group based in Turkey for the cross-border response was kept updated by OCHA Turkey about the process and invited to provide feedback and recommendations. 3

4 2. Purpose, scope and key findings of the workshop The specific objective of the workshop was to adapt SPHERE training material/modules (and not the standards and/ or the indicators themselves) to the Syrian context. The provision of practical examples from the field and case studies aimed to demonstrate the applicability of SPHERE standards and indicators to the Syrian humanitarian response while highlighting potential challenges linked to the specifics of the crisis. It also shaped recommendations to the SPHERE Project for consideration for future revisions. Finally, a strategy and action plan for the dissemination of the SPHERE standards and the roll-out of SPHERE trainings were outlined. SPHERE WORKSHOP CUSTOMIZATION OF THE TRAINING MODULES TO THE SYRIAN CONTEXT July 24th 2015 July 25th :00-10:30 Session 1 - Introduction 09:00-10:30 Session 5 Objectives and expectations Minimum standards in shelter, settlement and non-food items Humanitarian Charter, Protection Principles and Core Standards Mr. Rami Rajjoub Mr. Khaled Khalifa Session Session 6 Minimum standards in water supply, sanitation and hygiene promotion Minimum standards in health action Ms. Aya Yagan Mr. Hamza Hamwi Session Session 7 Minimum standards in food security and nutrition Presentation of the customization to the reference group Mr. Mamdouh Tello Facilitation team and reference group Session Session 8 Gender Mainstreaming Discussion around the customizatione exercise and results Ms. Elham Ellan Facilitation team and reference group a. Contextualization of the training modules (part 1) Sessions 1 to 6 were exclusively attended by the facilitation team and OCHA Turkey. Each facilitator presented the modules she/he has been working on and feedback and comments were shared. Key points taken into consideration for the customization of the modules included the use and accessibility of the standards and their implementation within a protracted crisis in both camp and urban settings. Under the Protection Principles, the need to provide self-protection means to people in need through livelihood activities, was emphasized as a strategy to reduce psychological distress and violence (including domestic violence and suicide attempts). b. Validation of the customized modules by field practitioners (part 2) The second part of the workshop was inaugurated by Ms. Barbara Shenstone, Head of OCHA Turkey. Ms. Shenstone highlighted the importance of a shared understanding of the SPHERE standards among the humanitarian community as well as the necessity to periodically adapt and review them in order to capture the evolution of humanitarian crises and contexts. 4

5 Resource people attended sessions 7 and 8. They were selected on the basis of their humanitarian operational experience, their knowledge of SPHERE standards and the Syrian context, and their technical skills relevant to the SPHERE scope (Health, NFI & Shelter, WASH, FSL and Nutrition). The resource people represented 3 Syrian NGOs (Shafak, Syrian Women Association and UOSSM), 2 INGOs (SCI and COSV), the NGO Forum, and the CCCM Cluster. During session 7, the facilitation team further explained the background and the purpose of the workshop and presented the customization of the training modules with the resource persons. During session 8, discussions took place between the facilitation team and the resource people for the purposes of validating and enriching the customized training modules through the provision of comments and additional field examples and case studies. a. Key findings and recommendations During the workshop and especially through the analysis of various field examples within the Syrian context, a few key findings were reached: - The discussion around the applicability of SPHERE indicators in Syria needs to be distinguished from challenges related to poor programming (i.e. in poorly designed camps and informal settlements the implementation of SPHERE standards is very challenging, which does not mean that they could not have been applied provided a proper site planning exercise had taken place); - SPHERE standards do not really address humanitarian response in urban settings, in fact, most field examples in the training modules are taken from camp and informal settlement settings; - SPHERE does not equally address response to protracted emergencies such as Syria where the length of the crisis requires the integration of early-recovery activities into the response; - Protection in the context of protracted/complex emergencies is not covered sufficiently, and there is a need to further develop themes such as dignity of beneficiaries, accountability of humanitarian organizations, and protection of humanitarian staff; - Sphere Protection standards in protracted/complex emergencies need to rely more on community-based approaches (i.e. Community-Based Disaster Management model) and to invest in human resources and expertise available within the affected community; and - Cross-cutting issues (especially gender), while covered in the indicators and guidance notes, are largely absent from the training modules. Key recommendations include: - Addition of guidance notes to cover SPHERE standards in protracted/complex crisis (including protection components) and urban settings; - Systematic mainstreaming of cross-cutting issues (i.e. gender) throughout training modules; - Roll-out of SPHERE customized trainings throughout all hubs working on the Syria crisis (Whole of Syria), including for actors based in Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq; - Provide SPHERE trainings and mentoring services both in Arabic and English given capacity development needs among Syrian and international aid workers; and - Expand the SPHERE culture among SNGOs in Syria through a ToT approach. 5

6 3. Next steps Participants and organizers of the workshop agreed on the following next steps: - Set-up of a SPHERE reference group in Turkey (cross-border response for Syria) including all resource people who attended the workshop; - Establish linkages with SPHERE Turkey focal points (Turkey operations) to discuss potential collaboration and coordination; - Roll-out of the customized Sphere training modules through the implementation of 3 introductory trainings (by the end of 2015) targeting Syrian aid workers from SNGOs and INGOs 2 ; - Use of already existing facebook page ( as a tool to provide feedback and technical advice (mentoring) on the use of SPHERE standards in the Syrian context; and - Organize a SPHERE ToT by the end of 2015 in order to enlarge the pool of Syrian SPHERE trainers. 2 A three-day introductory training took place directly after the workshop (July 27th to 29 th 2015) and a separate training report is available 6