The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Mrs. Ogata, and Mr. Takasu, Director-General of the Multilateral Co-operation Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan jointly inaugurated the "eCentre" on 1 August 2000 in Tokyo.

Directly below you will find information about the following subjects:
What does the eCentre do?
What are eCentre training events like?
Who participates in eCentre training events?
How is participation funded?
Who is involved in the eCentre?
How is the eCentre funded?
Who benefits from the eCentre?
Where is the eCentre?
How can I find out more about the eCentre?

What does the eCentre do?

The Regional Centre for Emergency Training in International Humanitarian Response, or eCentre, began in 2000 with a mandate of strengthening the operational capacity of non-governmental organizations, government agencies and international organizations in the Asia-Pacific region to prepare for and respond to humanitarian emergencies, with a special emphasis on problems relating to forced migration and human displacement. The eCentre’s activities include organizing and delivering , training, providing knowledge resources, and developing and maintaining a network of organizations and individuals in the region who are involved in emergency preparedness and response. Subjects covered by the eCentre include general planning for emergency response, specific contingency planning, international standards of protection, safety in the field, security risk management, media management, stress and training of trainers. Learning is primarily conducted in workshops that gather diverse actors in a highly dynamic and interactive setting; additionally, the eCentre website provides a tool for sharing technical resources relating to preparedness and response and distance learning modules. Finally, the eCentre’s activities comprise not only the delivery of training itself, but measures to assess and prioritize emergency training needs in the region, to design and produce training programmes, to deliver training packages, and to monitor and evaluate training activities and their impact.

What are eCentre training events like?

The eCentre independently organizes 7-10 training events per year (workshops, seminars or similar events), and contributes to approximately the same number in a collaborative role. eCentre workshops typically gather a diverse group of NGO, government and UN partners in a dynamic and highly interactive setting characterized by participation, free thought and fun. Workshops employ a wide range of methodologies, emphasizing above all practical exercises and simulations that challenge participants to apply knowledge and skills that they have learned in realistic situations. A consistent theme of all courses is the importance of coordination and mutual understanding among diverse partners in achieving concerted response to complex emergencies. Recent eCentre training events have included:

Workshop on Hyogo Framework for Action Regional Capacity Building in Disaster Response and Preparedness, 4-8 December, Nakhon Pathom, Thailand
Learning from Others: Emergency and Disaster Management Workshop, 13-17 November, New Delhi, India
Security Risk Management Workshop for JICA, 23-25 October,  Tokyo, Japan
Basics of International Humanitarian Response Workshop, 13-21 October, Pran Buri, Thailand
Security Risk Management Workshop, 25-30 June, Pran Buri Thailand
Advanced Safety in the Field Workshop, 18-23 June, Pran Buri,Thailand
Training of Trainers Workshop, 29 May-2 June, Chong Qing, China

Who participates in eCentre training events?

eCentre participants normally include a dynamic mix of participants coming from government agencies and regional institutions, NGOs, and international organizations.

NGO partners include UNHCR Implementing partners, UNHCR Operational partners, other NGOs responding to humanitarian emergencies, and NGOs engaged in long-term relief, rehabilitation and development.  Because of the eCentre’s strong capacity-building focus, NGO partners normally constitute approximately 60% of the participation of training events.

Government agencies and regional institutions include representatives of: government agencies or organizations that interact directly with populations of concern to UNHCR, such as counterpart refugee agencies, ministry of interior and police/law enforcement agencies in refugee-populated areas; other government agencies and organizations that respond to emergencies, including disaster management authorities and members of the armed forces; and other government agencies and organizations concerned with emergency response issues, such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of partner governments and representatives of regional institutions such as SAARC and ASEAN.   

International Organizations include UNHCR staff, but equally staff of sister UN agencies and of other institutions.

As the eCentre’s mission is to improve emergency preparedness and response, it normally only accepts nominations from members of organizations involved in relevant activities. Additionally, Because its project scope is defined as the Asia-Pacific region, priority is given to participants coming from this region. All participants must be committed to humanitarian principles and ideals. If you are interested in participating in an eCentre event but are not sure whether you are eligible, please contact the eCentre at jpntocen@unhcr.org.

How is participation funded?

Participants in eCentre events are normally either funded by the eCentre or partially funded. In all cases, the eCentre covers costs of workshop tuition (i.e., cost of content development, venue rental, facilitation, provision of expert resource persons, exercise equipment and personnel, etc) and workshop materials (workshop book and CD, other handouts, guidebooks and other materials). To find out more about how participation in eCentre events is funded, see the eCentre’s funding policy.

Who is involved in the eCentre?

The eCentre consists of a small Secretariat, an Steering Committee, Collaborating Institutions and a network of resource persons and establishments in the Asia-Pacific region.

The Secretariat

To administer the programme and implement training activities, a small secretariat is maintained with the UNHCR Representation in Japan. A UNHCR Regional Training Coordinator heads the Secretariat. In addition to providing direct support to the training activities of the eCentre, the Regional Training Coordinator acts, upon request, as an advisor on matters relating to emergency preparedness measures with a view to strengthening collaboration among the network in the provision of international humanitarian response. The eCentre secretariat is further supported by a consultant in Tokyo and an administrative assistant Bangkok. Please click here to know more about the eCentre secretariat.

Oversight

The emergency training activities of the eCentre are guided by an Steering Committee. The Steering Committee consists of the Director of UNHCR’s Emergency and Security Services (ESS) in Geneva, The Director of UNHCR’s Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific (RBAP), and the UNHCR Regional Representative in Tokyo. The Steering Committee convenes periodically to guide programme orientation, endorse training plans, review and evaluate implementation progress and recommend modifications, with the Regional Training Coordinator acting as an ex-officio member to prepare agendas and provide other support. Please click here to know more about oversight

Collaborating Institutions

Five institutions currently collaborate in the development of the eCentre’s activities. These are the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency); The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA); InterWorks, a private consulting firm specializing in international training in disaster and emergency management, University of Wisconsin-Disaster Management Center (UW-DMC), and RedR Australia (Registered Engineers for Disaster Relief). Click here to learn more about our partners.

Resource persons and other establishments

Facilitators, trainers and resource persons are drawn from the collaborating institutions and other regional and global partners. As the eCentre has expanded its network, it has increasingly drawn upon organizations and institutions from throughout Asia and beyond. Additionally, the eCentre continues to generate more qualified trainers through the delivery of Training of Trainer (ToT) workshops and other professional development.

Who benefits from the eCentre?

Refugees and other populations of concern to UNHCR are the ultimate beneficiary of the eCentre’s activities, profiting from improved emergency response capacity to respond to their needs. The aim of the eCentre is for this population to benefit from the presence of emergency responders who are more knowledgeable of international protection standards, capable of applying standard skills and tools in practice, aware of the importance of concerted action and understanding of and sympathetic to their plight.

Individual staff members of NGO, government and international organizations (i.e., learning activity participants) are the second population of concern. These people benefit through the knowledge, skills and attitudes gained through workshops and other eCentre activities (website, distance learning, etc.) which make them more competent and confident in responding to humanitarian emergencies (ultimately impacting the first population of concern).

NGOs, government agencies, regional institutions and international organizations are a third population of concern, benefiting through the professional development of their staff, leading to greater institutional capacity to respond to emergencies (this also impacts the first population of concern).

UNHCR Country Operations in the Region are the final population of concern. This population benefits from the increased capacity of partners on the ground, resulting in a greater ability to fulfill their mandate of coordinating and leading responses, and strengthened relationships and increased dialogue with partners, leading to more effective concerted response (these also impact the first population of concern).

How is the eCentre funded?

The eCentre receives the majority of its funding from UNHCR’s Emergency and Security Services (ESS). Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) provides further support for a number of training events planned collaboratively each year. Partnership between the eCentre and RedR Australia, in the form of expert facilitators and resource persons, is made possible by the financial support provided to the latter by AusAID. Additional support, in the form of contribution in kind, has been provided to specific training events by a number of organizations and corporations; the eCentre has received such support from the Japan Amateur Radio League (through the Japan-based NGO BHN), Japan Airlines (through the Japan-based NGO Japan Platform), Toyota Motor Corporation and the Immigration Service of the Government of New Zealand.

Where is the eCentre?

The eCentre Secretariat is based in the UNHCR Representation in Japan, Tokyo. However, the eCentre is not primarily a physical location, but rather a network of resource persons and institutions that combine to support emergency preparedness and response capacity building throughout the region. The eCentre makes maximum uses of electronic means to allow communication within this network, avoiding the need for a full-time, centralized structure.

How can I find out more about the eCentre?

This website provides information on upcoming and past eCentre events, knowledge resources for humanitarian workers and links to selected partners in the field of emergency preparedness and response. For more information, please contact the eCentre at jpntocen@unhcr.org.

Notes:

Asia-Pacific Region
The eCentre uses as its definition of the Asia-Pacific Region that of UNHCR’s Regional Bureau of Asia and the Pacific (RBAP), which comprises the following countries having UNHCR representation: Australia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, and Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Timor-leste, Thailand, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan .   Countries that have no UNHCR representation but are within this general region (e.g., Singapore and Brunei-Darussalam) would also be considered within the region for the eCentre’s purposes.

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