Next Shelter Meeting

The next Shelter Meeting (12a) is 24th - 25th May 2012 in Geneva, Switzerland.

Register here to participate or present in person, or online from anywhere in the world via live interactive video conference.

Please propose presentations on SECTION 2 of the registration form. Presenters may be from all eligible participant groups, however presentations are encouraged from governments and national NGOs. Academic participants are advised to seek support for their proposals from other groups. The Shelter Meeting is a service and so topics may be chosen by the presenter on the shelter and settlement needs of populations affected by conflict and natural disasters, from preparedness through to the completion of reconstruction. The theme of this Meeting is the environment and proposals on this theme are encouraged.

Current theme: the environment.

Current hosts:  Norwegian Refugee Council with funding from Norad and the "Qatar Shelter Initiative", a CoDI project of Qatar Foundation.

Agenda

The full agenda will, as usual, be complied and circulated before the event via email and online at http://www.sheltercentre.org/meeting/shelter-meeting-12a.

Current topics include:

-    environmental sustainability and the humanitarian shelter sector by NRC

-    results from the InterAction ’60 Second Survey’

-    results from the Qatar Foundation shelter and settlements sector survey 

-    house, land, and property consultation 

-    transitional tent performance and specifications 

-    launch of Transitional Shelter Guidelines by IOM and Shelter Centre

Video conferencing

Participants may attend the Meeting interactively or present from around the world using video conferencing. This service is free and requires no download, using Cisco Systems WebEx. Details for online participation will be sent by email following registration. Participants from 20 countries participated online in the last Shelter Meeting. Participants from governments and national NGOs are particularly welcome.

Venue 

The venue is under 5 minutes walk from the airport arrivals hall. 

A flyer is being prepared offering detailed instructions of how to reach the venue on foot from arrivals.

By train:

It takes only 6 minutes from the airport to Geneva central train station, 'Gare Cornavin'.

From the airport to Geneva central train station, you can take any train. 

From Geneva central train station to the airport, trains are available every 10-12 minutes. Check the notice boards to see which trains stop at the airport. 

For timetable and further details please visit http://www.sbb.ch/en/home.html

By bus (click the map to expand):

From the airport to Geneva central train station, the following buses leave every 8-15 minutes from the departures level, one floor above the arrivals level: 

bus 10    to Geneva central train station, take the bus in the direction of Onex

bus 5      to Geneva central train station via many international organisations, take the bus in the direction of Thonex-Vaillard 

bus 28     to UNICEF via many international organisations, take the bus in the direction of Jardin Botanique

By car:

Parking is at the airport. The airport may be accessed off the A1 motorway.

Accomodation, lunches and dinners

Hotel accommodation is always at a premium in Geneva and so you may wish to book early. A list of hotels may be found at the Geneva Tourism Website - http://www.geneve-tourisme.ch/?rubrique=0000000269. Lunches and coffee are offered generously by our hosts, NRC.

There will be a social dinner on Thursday 24th of May at a local restaurant in Geneva. Food and drinks will be at the participants’ own expense. Please indicate whether you will you attend the dinner on the registration form, so that we may estimate numbers for our booking, along with informing them of any dietary requirements. 

Previous Meeting

As an indication of the participation and topics covered at Shelter Meetings, the previous event hosted by IOM involved participation in Geneva and online by representatives from 73 different agencies, including 3 donors, 4 IASC Clusters, 5 United Nations bodies, 1 International Organisation, 5 Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, 34 International NGOs, 23 independent consultants and 6 academic institutions. The leads of the 4 IASC Clusters offered updates. 

All of the presentations from the event may be found at: 

http://www.sheltercentre.org/meeting/shelter-meeting-11b

We look forward to welcoming you and other participants from around the world,

The Shelter Meeting Team

Please direct any questions or comments to the Team to meeting@sheltercentre.org.