Sphere Project Newsletter No. 12 (December 2002)

1. Year-end Overview

During this year, the project completed some key activities and launched other critical work. The primary objectives of the project – improving the quality and accountability of disaster response – remain unchanged and are as relevant at the beginning of 2003 as they were in the year of its conception (1997).

For example, in a May 2002 meeting, the twenty NGOs from around the world took stock of their two-year effort in institutionalising Sphere. The meeting was based on findings and lessons learned over the past two years (request report from This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it : Institutionalising Sphere; A great start… next steps ). Based on this lessons learned document and three days of deliberations, the pilot agencies suggested that the Sphere staff re-focus the piloting work. The refocus – exploring in greater detail the application of Sphere in three countries - will concentrate on learning at the field level. For more information, please see point 3.

The Sphere Training of Trainers courses are yielding excellent and far-reaching results. These activities range from single and inter-agency workshops, to incorporation into academic classes, to countrywide dissemination efforts. We are pleased that the French and Spanish programs generated so much enthusiasm –particularly in Latin America.

The selection process for the Training of Trainers course scheduled for January 2003 is now complete.