Sphere Standards

The Sphere Project, based at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in Geneva, Switzerland, has a vacancy for Project Manager.

Call for Papers: The Sphere Project (Deadline 28 February 2007)

This year is the tenth anniversary of Sphere. Since its launch in 1997, the Sphere Project has become an important influence on the practice of emergency relief in a wide variety of disaster settings. On this occasion, the Sphere Project wishes to receive articles from practitioners about their views on Sphere, 10 years after its inception:

I am currently compiling a booklet (funded by Oxfam and IFRC) on the use and procurement of plastic sheeting in humanitarian relief. (www.plastic-sheeting.org for more information)

I would be especially grateful for:

www.humanitariantimber.org

A project to produce and disseminate a field handbook that brings together best practice in the procurement, logistics and use of timber in humanitarian emergencies is underway.

Hello, I am a lecturer in the Department of Peace Studies, University of Bradford, UK. I am seeking some help from humanitarian practitioners/professionals in developing some new teaching resources. I would like to use case-study scenarios based on real experiences to teach about the types of ethical problems/dilemmas practitioners face in their work. A short questionnaire is attached or can be completed online at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=530142819939 I have included some notes in anticipation of questions, but please feel free to contact me with other queries. Any assistance will be very much appreciated, not only by me, but by our current and future students. All help will be fully acknowledged, and all examples anonymised.

The full title of the Sphere Standards is "Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster Response".

Aid workers have asked: "What am I supposed to do with the Sphere handbook?" Here's the short answer: "it is a tool" - use it in assessments, problem analysis, program planning, monitoring and evaluations. You can also start a learning process to improve your effectiveness as an aid worker with the Sphere handbook. This article describes three easy ways to get started.