The Sphere Project was launched in 1997 by a group of humanitarian NGOs and the Red Cross and Red Crescent movement. Sphere is based on two core beliefs: first, that all possible steps should be taken to alleviate human suffering arising out of calamity and conflict, and second, that those affected by disaster have a right to life with dignity and therefore a right to assistance. Sphere is three things: a handbook, a broad process of collaboration and an expression of commitment to quality and accountability. The project has developed several tools, the key one being the handbook. Read Sphere in brief.
Three day Disaster Management training focusing on Sphere, Kuwait, 1-3 April 2008
A three day Disaster Management training took place in Kuwait from the 1st to the 3rd of April 2008. The training had 16 participants from Kuwait and Qatar representing a wide spectrum of NGOs based in the Middle East and working overseas. The training was particularly focused on the International Humanitarian Standards in delivering relief aid and included an introduction to the Sphere Minimum Standards. The lead trainer was Moustafa Osman.
A 42% increase in Sphere materials sales between 2005-06 and 2006-07
The overall sales figures provided by Oxfam Publishing and Al Shorouk Publishing for the period of May 2005 – April 2007 show that promotion of Sphere materials, particularly the Handbook in English, French, Spanish and Arabic, has been successful, with a 42% increase in the value of sales between 2005-6 and 2006-7.
Sales of all Sphere available materials (handbook, DVD, training pack) in 6 languages: English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic and Russian) in GBP were:
from May 2005 – April 2006
39,011 £
from May 2006 – April 2007
55,404 £
% Total increase in sales
42%
In general, there have been a total of 17,173 handbooks sold during this period, of which just over 11,000 were in English. According to these figures, just over 1,600 copies were sold in each of Spanish and French. However it should be noted that lowcost reprints of the Handbook in Spanish in Latin America account for a further several thousand. Arabic sales for the period were 2,150, and this is before the ToT in Arabic in June 2007.
Sphere launched a low cost edition of the handbook
The Sphere Project signed a Memorandum of Agreement with 'Books for Change' in India to print a low cost, English language edition of "The Sphere handbook, 2004 edition. The handbook will be produced in India and will be available for 210 Indian Rupees* in the following countries only: India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and the Maldives (Sales Territories).
Jane Cocking, Linda Poteat Sphere Board members and John Damerell, Sphere Project Manager during the launch of the low cost edition of the handbook.
New Sphere Promotional materials available for download
A new Sphere Poster and Bookmark are now available for download in 3 languages: English, French and Spanish. Those promotional materials were produced in the occasion of the Sphere 10th anniversary reflecting the main message of Sphere as a practical articulation of the rights-based approach. The underlying principle of Sphere is that all people have a right to life with dignity and to quality assistance regardless of political, ethnic or geographical specificity in the ‘life saving’ areas of Water, Sanitation/Hygiene Promotion, Shelter, Food security/Nutrition/food aid, and Health Services.
Commitment to humanitarian challenges: IAG experiences in Orissa, India
The Inter Agency Group (IAG), Orissa, India produced a series of case studies and mini field stories on Sphere initiatives in Orissa. This anthology of case studies is the outcome of the series of consultation with seven organizations UNDP, UNICEF, Action Aid, Catholic Relief Services, Concern Worldwide, Indian Red Cross, and World Vision highlighting the commitments to the Humanitarian challenges by various organizations in Orissa, India.
The Sphere Office would like to share with Sphere users a process that is being used by CARE as an efficient tool for auditing/reviewing project compliance to the Sphere Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster Response.
You can watch here our Sphere Video, an introduction to humanitarian challenges. This film outlines some of the key issues of humanitarianism that
confront and challenge those who are committed to alleviating the
suffering of populations affected by disaster. It is primarily intended
for the new aid worker and can help begin their orientation to disaster
response work. It may be useful to staff of international and national
NGOs, UN agencies, national disaster response teams and Red Cross and
Red Crescent National Societies, and in training and academic settings.
As the community of Sphere users is growing all over the world, with increased accumulated knowledge about its implementation in practice, the Sphere office is realising the need to further support the dissemination of this experience and knowledge about Sphere.
The Sphere Project is celebrating this year its 10th anniversary. In this occasion, a special report was published: "10 years of Sphere in Action, enhancing the quality and accountability of humanitarian action".
The Sphere Project signed a Memorandum of Agreement with 'Books for Change' in India to print a low cost, English language edition of "The Sphere handbook, 2004 edition. The handbook will be produced in India and will be available for 210 Indian Rupees* in the following countries only: India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and the Maldives (Sales Territories). 
The Inter Agency Group (IAG), Orissa, India produced a series of case studies and mini field stories on Sphere initiatives in Orissa. This anthology of case studies is the outcome of the series of consultation with seven organizations UNDP, UNICEF, Action Aid, Catholic Relief Services, Concern Worldwide, Indian Red Cross, and World Vision highlighting the commitments to the Humanitarian challenges by various organizations in Orissa, India. 
Sphere training report hosted by UNDP & UNOCHA-Zimbabwe, March 2008
Humanitarian Agenda 2015--Perceptions of the Pakistan Earthquake Response
HAP and Sphere joint seminar report, 30th October 2008, Islamabad, Pakistan