Dissemination of Sphere standards in Iran reaches next level

Working with the International Consortium on Refugees in Iran (ICRI) and the Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS), the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) continues to promote the dissemination of Sphere standards in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Beginning with the translation and publication of the Sphere Handbook 2011 edition in October 2014, the dissemination work continued through four three-day training workshops on Sphere standards. The workshops reached 81 participants from 21 organisations, mainly UN agencies, international and national NGOs, the Red Crescent Society and the Ministry of Interior. Some 3,000 copies of the handbook have been already distributed.

To strengthen the ability of the main humanitarian partners in the country to continue building their staff capacity on humanitarian standards, NCR organised the first-ever Sphere training of trainers course in Tehran in May 2016. The course was funded by the European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection department (ECHO) and the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The six-day course involved 30 participants from 10 organisations and was conducted by Community World Service Asia, which has been providing support to humanitarian programmes assisting refugees in Iran since June 2015.

“The course proved essential in providing a joint platform for key stakeholders of the country’s humanitarian community to collaborate on understanding the Sphere standards and its application,” says Rizwan Iqbal, Programme Manager for Quality and Accountability at Community World Service Asia.