This week trainings of the project “ACT for Humanitarian Capacity Development” take place at the global office of ICCO in Utrecht, the Netherlands. From 16th till 19th of August, 20 humanitarians from disaster prone countries receive training in how to deal with disasters and emergencies. In this way, communities will be better prepared to cope with disasters like the drought in Ethiopia, floods in Bangladesh and the earthquake in Nepal.
Better prepared for drought, floods and earthquakes
The project’s overall aim is to build humanitarian capacity and to increase leadership of local organizations in the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda, Cambodia, Myanmar, Nepal and Bangladesh. These are disaster prone countries. In the project, humanitarians from these countries are being educated in disaster risk reduction and emergency preparedness. After this week, they will at their turn give trainings in their home country to local people. With this approach, many people are reached and communities get better prepared to cope with disasters like the drought in Ethiopia, floods in Bangladesh and the earthquake in Nepal. Jeroen Jurriëns, Emergency Response Coordinator ICCO: “Lives can be saved if people in local communities know what to do before, during and after a disaster”.
Innovative approach: blended and online learning The project uses an innovative approach with blended and online learning. An online learning platform is the central entry point for all learning materials. Furthermore, the platform is used for sharing experiences and for peer learning processes. With eLearning Modules, developed by Wageningen University, the participants were able to prepare the training. Also, the 72 in-country trainings will be completely followed online. In this way the trainers from different countries can learn from each other.
Funding by EU Aid Volunteers Initiative The ACT for Humanitarian Capacity Development Project is funded by the EU Aid Volunteers Initiative from the European Commission. This initiative brings together volunteers and organizations from different countries. The project ACT for Humanitarian Capacity Development is implemented by a consortium consisting of 10 ACT Alliance members and 3 higher learning institutions in 2016 and 2017.