Sphere Project Newsletter No. 17 (May 2004)
Get other newsletters

Versión en español  -  Version française

Table of contents

1. Consultation process
In light of the closure of the Sphere Project in its current form at the end of 2004, a consultation process was held between February and May with the aim of gathering information and opinions which will inform decisions about the project’s future. Aiming to reach as many different stakeholders as possible within a limited timeframe, a variety of methods was used to collect this information. These included:
- Interagency meetings, mainly at a national level
- Semi-structured interviews
- Internet-based discussions, in collaboration with Aid Workers Network

A draft report of the consultation process is currently posted on the Sphere website, where it will remain until 24th May for comments and suggestions. For more information on the process in general, and to access the draft report, please click here. A final decision on the future of the Sphere Project is expected to be taken by the Management Committee by September 2004.

We would like to take this opportunity to express our sincere thanks to the many people who have contributed to this important process.

2. Sphere Project Training of Trainers

The next Sphere Project Global Training of Trainers course will be hosted by Catholic Relief Services and held in Kenya between 31st August and 8th September 2004. The course will be in English and led by Emma Jowett, an independent training consultant who has co-facilitated the last three Sphere ToTs. Emma will be supported by Kari Egge (Catholic Relief Services) and Alan Glasgow (acting as independent). Both Kari and Alan are graduates of the last Sphere ToT, held in Geneva in January 2004.

For full details of the upcoming ToT, including how to apply, click here

3. Country-level use of Sphere

In Honduras, the Sphere working group launched the Spanish edition of the 2004 Sphere handbook. Over 50 people attended the event, including donors, NGOs and government officials. The group also held both a national and a regional consultation on the future of Sphere.

In El Salvador, the Sphere working group was invited by the government agency in charge of disaster response to present Sphere in the legislative commissions of the National Assembly. In April the group held a consultation meeting on the future of Sphere.

A Sphere Training of Trainers course organised by the Sphere India working group will take place in Bangalore this month. The course will be facilitated by Christophe Lanord and Juan Saenz, both independent consultants who have previously facilitated Sphere Project ToTs. The working group has also held consultation meetings on the future of Sphere.

4. Translations of the 2004 Sphere handbook

The French and Spanish editions of the 2004 Sphere handbook, Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster Response, are now available. The French edition can be purchased through Oxfam Publishing in the UK (publish@oxfam.org.uk). To purchase the Spanish edition, please contact Intermón in Spain (editorial@IntermonOxfam.org)
Both the French and Spanish versions of the handbook are downloadable from the Sphere website.

The translation of the 2004 handbook into Arabic is underway, and we hope to have this edition available in September. The production of the Arabic edition is being partially funded by the IFRC and several red cross/red crescent national societies. Further details on how to purchase the Arabic handbook will be given in the next newsletter.

In addition to the translations of the handbook funded and managed by the Sphere Project, several groups of organisations have initiated translations of the 2004 handbook into other languages on their own initiative. So far, these translations include: Farsi (co-ordinated by the International Consortium for Refugees in Iran); Vietnamese (co-ordinated by Oxfam GB and IFRC); Japanese (co-ordinated by the Foundation for the Welfare and Education of the Asian People.)

5. Forced Migration On-Line

In collaboration with the Sphere Project, the Forced Migration Online team, at the Refugee Studies Centre in the UK, has made accessible online most of the references and reading materials in the subject bibliographies of the revised 2004 edition of the Sphere handbook, Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster Response. These include chapters on Water/Sanitation, Food/Nutrition, Shelter and Health, as well as Minimum Standards Common to all Sectors.

To access these materials please visit the FMO website at http://www.forcedmigration.org/sphere/default.htm

6. Personnel changes

After almost two years with the Project, the Sphere Senior Assistant will leave at the end of June 2004. The project would like to acknowledge the energy and excellent work that Elly has committed to Sphere during this time, and wish her well as she continues her studies in the UK. A replacement Senior Assistant will be recruited towards the end of May.

The Sphere Project
P.O. Box 372
1211 Geneva 19
Switzerland

E-mail: info@sphereproject.org
Tel: (4122) 730 4501
Fax: (4122) 730 4905
www.sphereproject.org