United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Feb 2019
InterWorks facilitated a Workshop on Emergency Management (WEM) for UNHCR in Thiès, Senegal from 10 February – 20 February 2019. This was the fifth time the event has been hosted at the Senegalese Army training grounds at the Centre d’Entraînement Tactique no. 7 (CET7) in Thiès.
The UNHCR Regional Representation in Dakar also provided significant administrative support, expert trainers, simulation actors, and various logistical arrangements. A high level of collaboration and teamwork was demonstrated by all involved in the planning, organization, presentation and delivery of the workshop sessions and field simulation exercise.
Overall coordination, planning and administration for the event was shared by the UNHCR Global Learning and Development Centre (GLDC) and the UNHCR Division of Emergency, Security and Supply (DESS) Emergency Services (ES). Additional logistic and content support were provided by the Regional Office in Dakar, and other UNHCR content experts from different Divisions of UNHCR relating to their areas of expertise. Preparation of workshop materials was done by InterWorks, LLC in close consultation with GLDC and DESS. The workshop was facilitated by InterWorks, with the large majority of sessions presented by UNHCR resource persons. The field simulation was co-led by staff from GLDC, DESS and InterWorks, with support from the larger UNHCR team.
The intensive and demanding course prepared 40 participants for emergency deployment focusing on three areas of emergency management: managing yourself, managing relationships, and managing your operational role through all phases of the deployment. The course was interactive and work-oriented, and employed a variety of methodologies, including simulation exercises, presentations and case study, as well as group and plenary discussions. The agenda included sessions on team-building, operations planning, financial and administrative systems, operational partnerships, communication and negotiation skills, security, coordination and information-sharing, telecommunications, and humanitarian protection. New this session included the use of a currently developing case study scenario based on a settlement design rather than a camp, so that expert services from UNHCR Geneva (Shelter and Settlements Section) could contribute to the development of the overall response strategy.
It was a great experience, I liked the energy most, the enthusiasm of the trainers that set the base for the atmosphere of the training. As a participant I felt very inspired by the knowledge and the professionalism of the trainers, the training is very well structured, well thought over, each element building on the next.
– Workshop participant