Shelter Meeting 09b

Below is the full agenda for Shelter Meeting 09b with links to pages summarising each presentation, usually also including for download a copy of the Power Point used.

This meeting was hosted by UNHCR.

Day 1, Shelter Meeting 09b, Thursday 12th November 2009

Day 2, Shelter Meeting 09b, Friday 13th May 2009

Some of the key outcomes from SM09b are listed below.

Initiatives announced:

- NRC Urban Assistance Project
Kate Crawford and Martin Suvatne provided an introduction to the Urban Assistance Project of the NRC, which was also discussed in a breakout group.

- Proposal: Demand-led Research in Sustainable Regional Hubs
Shelter Centre presented a proposal for the setup of sustainable research hubs to capture regional shelter and reconstruction knowledge, better informing the humanitarian community.

- Proposal: Secondment of assistance
Shelter Centre presented a proposal for a system for seconding present and former interns as assistants at other organisations.

Projects under review:

- IASC Urban Task Force
Jose Riera of UNHCR provided an update on Meeting Humanitarian Challenges in Urban Areas, on behalf of UN-HABITAT.

- UN-HABITAT Shelter Projects 2009
Sandra D'Urzo of IFRC, Esteban Leon of UN-HABITAT and Joseph Ashmore led a discussion regarding the forthcoming Shelter Projects 2009 project and publication.

- Sphere Revision: NFIs
Shelter Centre led a discussion of the Non Food Items section of the Sphere Project handbook, in order to better inform forthcoming revisions.

- World Bank reconstruction handbook
Shelter Centre presented the revised draft of "Safer Homes, Stronger Communities: Rebuilding Afer Disaster", on behalf of The World Bank, and comments were recieved.

- 'Transitional Shelter and Reconstruction after Natural Disasters' handbook
Shelter Centre presented current and planned revisions to the UN/OCHA handbook and invited comments. There was also discussion about consistency with the World Bank and Practical Action approaches to the same topic.

- Shelter Centre Transitional Shelter Projects
Shelter Centre led a meeting to discuss the future of the DFID funded Transitional Shelter Standards and Prototypes project, which included updates from manufacturers developing prototypes.

- School Environments Assessment Tool (SEAT)
Seki Hirano and Annika Grafweg presented a draft of the assessment tool, developed in Rwanda, in order to receive comments.

- Dhajji construction development project
Tom Schacher of Swiss Solidarity presented a detailed update of the development of the earthquake resistan traditional construction method of Dhajji in the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan.

Publications and resources launched:

- Transitional Shelter Prototypes booklet
Shelter Centre distributed the November 2009 draft of the Prototypes booklet for the Transitional Shelter projects, which included designs by six manufacturers.

- Child Friendly Schools and Guidelines - Rwanda Ministry of Education
Seki Hirano and Annika Grafweg presented the Standards and Guidelines for school infrastructure, developed for the Rwanda Ministry of Education, and invited comments.

- NICEE Confined Masonry for one and two storey buildings in low-tech environments: A guidebook for technicians and artisans
Tom Schacher of Swiss Solidarity presented the technical guidance book developed by NICEE for comfined masonry, and made the booklet available for purchase.

- Quick Emergency Guides: Asbestos Handling and Building Waste Management
David Stone of the ProAct Network presented an introduction to two technical guidance documents for dealing with post-disaster waste materials.

- Practical Action - Disaster Risk Management and Reconstruction in Latin America: A Technical Manual
Theo Schilderman presented the new book by Barbara Montoro and Pedro Ferradas, published in November 2009.