We were in Istanbul, but talking to the world…

By Aninia Nadig (*)

Being one among the thousands of humanitarian workers, UN staff, government representatives and business people from all across the globe gathered for the WHS was an intense and stimulating experience – with the added bonus of one-on-one encounters with so many who came to see us at the Sphere booth. Among others, we chatted with:

The sheer number and diversity of those conversations was a clear sign of Sphere’s relevance for front-line responders, policy-makers, human rights advocates and government representatives. A few interesting avenues for new country focal points were also identified.

We also found out that initiated by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Gaziantep to build a network of Sphere trainers who work in the Syria response are clearly bearing fruit, as a number of visitors had been trained in the context of that initiative or knew about it. Trainings to volunteers in Europe, faced with important migration challenges, were also a topic of several discussions.

The one theme that unites all these conversations and that has been at the core of the Sphere Project from the outset is the concept of human dignity, brought to life in the Handbook every day for many of its users.

We all have a clear sense of what human dignity is, but it sometimes is difficult to translate it into words and deeds. The Sphere standards do just that: they translate human dignity into concrete actions and remain the key gateway to the world of standards. They provide a measurable path from shared principles to common practice.

Two German representatives of youth volunteer organisations were enthusiastic about being able to explain the importance of dignity to their young volunteers using the Sphere Handbook.

Our really helps drive home the idea of dignity!  

As humanitarian practice evolves over time, many new initiatives are looking for recognition by Sphere for their research or innovative programming approaches ranging from palliative care in humanitarian settings to innovative global triangulation software to urban gardening for refugees.

The  is the place where so much innovation is recognised, evolves into acknowledged good practice and is integrated into “mainstream” humanitarian work. This role will become even more important in the next Handbook revision.

Sphere’s presence in Istanbul also involved participation at two side events.

First, a side event co-organised by the Sphere Project, the CHS Alliance and the Groupe URD with the support of the Swiss and Danish governments focused on how to achieve humanitarian quality and accountability through the use of standards.

Another important moment was the side event on urban response, organised by the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) Reference Group for Meeting Humanitarian Challenges in Urban Areas.

While all panellists acknowledged the unique challenges posed by humanitarian response in urban settings, Sphere Project Director Christine Knudsen proposed a step towards a solution: that Sphere provide the global platform on which to discuss and come to consensus on urban approaches and urban-specific interpretations of global standards.

As in other situations, the announcement of the upcoming Sphere Handbook revision was received very positively and the audience acknowledged the potential boost the revision can give to the urban response discussion.

As Sphere is partnering more consistently with its , the booth was also an opportunity to feature their work. The interest was considerable. We were very happy to have Cathy Watson, Coordinator of the Livestock Emergency Guidelines and Standards (LEGS) Project with us to bring this new partnership to life in Istanbul.

Comments and questions from the many people stopping by the Sphere booth showed that working with global, coherent standards makes sense to many. Standards convey dignity and rights; they provide purpose and direction to communities affected by disaster or conflict, front-line responders, policy-makers, governments and donors.

The private sector, both at local and international level, is increasingly involved as well as humanitarian response moves into urban areas and cash transfer becomes a more accepted response modality.

With a strong focus on contextualising humanitarian response to local operations, recalling our common humanitarian principles and recommitting to quality and accountability, the Summit was a great opportunity to explore how much Sphere’s new initiatives, including the upcoming Handbook revision, have to contribute to the major themes of future humanitarian action.

(*) Aninia Nadig is responsible for Advocacy and Networking Management at the Sphere Project office.