Defying the myth: Why the Sphere standards are just as applicable in urban settings

Today, over half of the world’s population lives in urban areas. By 2050, an additional 2.5 billion people will be living in cities; the number of urban slum dwellers, currently close to one billion, is expected to double. These global changes were reflected in the Sphere Handbook 2018 edition, which explicitly included references to urban settings for the first time. Yet, there is still a widespread belief that the Sphere standards are mostly relevant or applicable in rural or camp settings.

In this webinar, we will argue that the standards are expressions of universal human rights – and therefore, always applicable. We will discuss the practical cases of local humanitarian actors working with the standards in urban environments and present Sphere’s newly released guide, “Using the Sphere standards in urban settings“.

The event will be delivered in English.

Speakers

Dr Balwant Singh, Executive Director – Sphere (welcome message)

Aninia Nadig, Policy and Practice Manager – Sphere (facilitator)

Kamil Erdem Güler, Coordinator, Community Based Migration Programmes – Turkish Red Crescent

Prof. David Sanderson, Judith Neilson Chair in Architecture – UNSW, Australia

Zeynep M. Sanduvaç, Nirengi Association Board Member and Sphere trainer

Pamela Sitko, Senior Project Officer – Resilience NSW, Australia

Other speakers TBD.