The Annual CCCM Global Retreat was held on November 4^th & 5^th in Geneva, Switzerland. This year we were fortunate enough to receive a record level of attendance. We had a great turn out of field staff coming from diverse countries such as Haiti, Thailand, South Sudan, Yemen, Myanmar, Namibia, Mozambique, Botswana, Jordan, Lebanon, the Philippines, Nepal, Indonesia, Mali, Kenya, Pakistan, DRC, Nigeria, Zambia, and Tanzania. In addition, representative from the governments of Pakistan and Nigeria were active participants over the course of the two days. Several donors along with our partners: IFRC, Intersos, Reach Initiative, Shelter Centre, Premiere Urgence, RedR UK, LWF, NRC, and JIPs were also present.

During the first day of the retreat, the sessions addressed CCCM Cluster activities in 2013. Mr. Shinobu Yamaguchi, First Secretary Permanent Mission to Japan presented on Disaster Risk Reduction and its implication for the Cluster. Kilian Kleinschmidt from UNHCR (Zaatari Camp, Jordan) discussed the challenges and the positive developments of camp management in relation to city planning. Conrad Navidad from IOM Philippines shared his experiences working with the Philippine Government to improve their response strategy. Vera Goldschmidt from IOM Geneva provided a briefly presentation on the Mass Evacuation Guidelines the Global CCCM Team in collaboration with the Steering Committee is working to finalize by the end of the year. After these informational sessions the participants were able to reflect on these topics in working groups.

Day two of the Retreat placed an emphasis on CCCM Futures. The day opened with a session on CCCM Future and Strategy 2014-2016 and beyond. The second session titled Working with IDPs outside of Camps: A possible CCCM Approach, addressed ways in which CCCM could become more involved in this initiative and the plausible risks, challenges, and opportunities associated with this move were discussed in plenary. Afterwards a session on Accountability to Affected Populations and what it means to the CCCM Cluster was presented by the two Cluster Coordinators from the co-lead agencies (Nuno Nunes, IOM and Kimberly Roberson, UNHCR). In the following session ways to improve our field response through capacity building were presented and the obstacles to capacity building were highlighted. Afterwards, a session was held on the importance of strengthening CCCM’s partnerships, especially in terms of cross-cutting issues such as SGBV. To round up the afternoon a Question and Answer session was held, key questions were asked to specific field staff, partners, and donors. The day ended with a brief discussion on the plausible name change for the Cluster and followed by a closure note that touched on the key focal points of the retreat. Overall, the retreat was a great opportunity to see and hear from a wide range of actors that are involved in CCCM related activities and initiatives on the ground and at the global level. We look forward to seeing what 2014 brings for our partners, donors, and the CCCM Cluster as a whole!