Sphere Learning Worldwide 2010 Report

This report is the third edition of the Sphere Project office?s annual overview on Sphere learning worldwide. It captures the scope of Sphere learning and training activities developed throughout 2010, informs the Sphere Project office and Sphere trainers of potential gaps in training outreach and approaches, and shares methodologies and tips to facilitate learning activities around Sphere.
Sphere learning in numbers:
? 339 learning activities on Sphere, including 148 Sphere workshops, in different countries
covering all five continents: 37% in Latin America and the Caribbean, 25% in Asia, 15% in Europe, 9% in North Africa and the Middle East, and 7% in Africa without the Middle East.
? A total of 50 training sessions in Haiti from February 2010 to May 2011.and around 20 in Pakistan from August to November 2010 to respond to the unprecedented disasters that hit these countries.
? An estimate of 8472 people trained or briefed on Sphere worldwide. 1
Workshops remained the main teaching tools used to train on Sphere. These trainings increasingly included presentations on other related Quality and Accountability initiatives, contributing to greater clarity among humanitarian actors on how to use these initiatives in conjunction with each other. These stand-alone workshops were complemented by the integration of Sphere sessions into other relevant trainings, which sensitized a wider group of practitioners.
Courses or events in universities and training institutions that integrated Sphere followed suit. They formed the third-largest group of learning activities on Sphere, highlighting the key role these institutions play in Sphere dissemination.
To a lesser extent, alternative learning activities took place in the form of Sphere courses in e-learning modules, coaching and simulation exercises. There is a need extend Sphere learning beyond classroom training and to explore new learning methodologies which reach out to the widest possible audience.
Short presentations on the Sphere Handbook were also given on the occasion of conferences. In parallel to training activities, a couple of promotional activities, translations and research were carried out.
Training of trainers? courses on the Sphere Project continued to be an important teaching vehicle.
Refresher courses for practitioners were held and resulted in renewed commitments to advance the Sphere Minimum Standards.
All these learning activities were instrumental in raising awareness of humanitarian workers, who remain the main audience of Sphere learning events, but also of governments, clusters, students, the media, military officers and communities. It is crucial to increase learning efforts aimed at this public; not traditionally targeted by Sphere learning activities, their increasing role in humanitarian action now makes it paramount to sensitize them on Sphere.
Finally, it is essential to tailor-make learning activities to the specific needs of the audience targeted. This report presents tips on how to do so.