In a world where hundreds of millions of people have been affected or displaced in the past few years by disasters such as the recent earthquakes in Nepal, or the conflict in Syria, a consortium of international emergency response groups have now launched a far-reaching, free online training tool designed to help those on the front lines of emergency response better understand and work within the humanitarian coordination system. With an increasing number of organizations seeking to provide assistance to affected populations, there are many actors on the ground and a growing pressure to coordinate relief efforts. First released in 2014 in English, the Building a Better Response e-learning is now available in Arabic and French, reaching a whole new audience of first responders in need of training.
The online course is unique in its flexibility and was specifically designed for use by staff of local agencies in the field. E-learning units can be taken in any order, can be accessed through hand-held devices, and the entire course is optimized to stream for low bandwidth usage. The training, offered by the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative at Harvard University in partnership with International Medical Corps and Concern Worldwide and funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance, employs simulation-based learning to guide users through an interactive experience that builds their knowledge about humanitarian coordination.
To date, over 9,000 users have registered for the training in English. Strong demand for additional languages led to the translation of the e-learning into Arabic and French. It is anticipated that the online learning will now reach thousands more emergency responders both at the headquarters level and working in the field.
The online tool, which can be accessed at BuildingABetterResponse.org, consists of five units: Foundations of Humanitarian Action, the International Humanitarian Architecture, the Cluster Approach, Planning and Funding the Humanitarian Response; and International Law and Humanitarian Standards. The course was developed after consultation with more than 400 national and international NGO staff and industry experts. Learners who successfully complete the online course will be granted a certificate from the Humanitarian Academy at Harvard.