Regional Centre for Emergency Preparedness (eCentre)
© UNHCR/Lolita Lobenwein
The UNHCR Regional Centre for Emergency Preparedness (“eCentre”) was founded in Tokyo in 2000 through a grant from the Trust Fund for Human Security by the Japanese government.
The eCentre’s main focus is to strengthen the operational capacity of UNHCR partners and other actors in emergency preparedness and response, protection, safety and security, and to encourage interagency collaboration in the context of humanitarian emergencies.
About the eCentre
The eCentre plays a unique role within UNHCR as the only dedicated platform to building emergency preparedness capacities targeting government partners and NGOs throughout Asia and the Pacific.
The eCentre focuses on three main areas:
- To strengthen emergency preparedness and response capacities through learning initiatives in the Asia-Pacific region,
- To provide tailored and targeted technical support to UNHCR and their partners in the Asia- Pacific region, and,
- To establish further regional emergency preparedness and response mechanisms to ensure UNHCR’s participation and contribution to overall emergency coordination.
What we do
The eCentre conducts innovative capacity-building activities and provides tailored training and technical support to operations in the field.
Since 2000, the eCentre has trained about 6,000 practitioners. On average, it runs or supports 8 to 12 events each calendar year.
The eCentre’s core regional trainings include:
- Basics of International Humanitarian Response (BIHR)
- Security Risk Management (SRM)
- Essential Humanitarian Negotiation (EHN)
- Safety in the Field (SIF)
The eCentre’s initiatives and country-operation tailored trainings are developed around specific themes which include but are not limited to:
- Emergency preparedness and response
- Inter-agency contingency planning
- Protection in preparedness
This support is available throughout the year on request from UNHCR country operations to the eCentre through the Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific. For more information, please contact the eCentre.
Our partners and networks
The eCentre partners with governments, local and international NGOs and UN agencies.
The eCentre is co-funded by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and UNHCR.
Furthermore, the eCentre relies on external service providers with additional support from operational partners as well as internal divisions within UNHCR, including the Division of Emergency, Security and Supply (DESS), the Global Learning and Development Centre (GLDC), and the Division of Information Systems and Telecommunications (DIST).
Where we operate
The eCentre is part of UNHCR Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific and is based in Bangkok, Thailand. It supports UNHCR operations within the region.
Regional trainings in 2021
Virtual Essentials of Humanitarian Negotiation (EHN) | 25-28 May | Delivered online | Read the training snapshot
Virtual Security Risk Management workshop (co-organized with JICA) | 20-24 September | Delivered online
Virtual Basics of International Humanitarian Response (BIHR) | 15-24 November | Delivered online
*Dates of events might be adjusted, and some events might be replaced or cancelled – please contact the eCentre for the latest information.
Contact us
For general inquiries, please contact: [email protected]
For specific requests, please contact: Roda Ismael Aden (Head of eCentre) at [email protected]
Key resources