B-FAST participated in the OSOCC course in Tunisia

Date: 
Mon, 04/22/2013
From 22th until 26th April 2013 a OSOCC course was organised in Hammamet, Tunesia. B-FAST members were among the participants.

The OSOCC set-up (On-Site Operations Coordination Centre) is deployed on the ground after a disaster to help the local authorities in the affected country to coordinate international aid. The first country to arrive in the affected area must, in principle, set up and manage an OSOCC. Responsibility for the OSOCC is handed over to the United Nations once it arrives.  It goes without saying that working within an OSOCC is not easy.  To ensure that as many people as possible have the opportunity to prepare throughout the world, the OCHA (Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) organises regular training courses.

Within the INSARAG (International Search and Rescue Advisory Group) community, B-FAST is part of the Africa-Europe-Middle East regional group. A large number of countries from this group attended, such as France, Mali, Côte d'Ivoire, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Guinea-Bissau and Togo.

B-FAST was asked to provide the support and expertise necessary to organise the training course.

The busy programme was spread out over 5 days and covered a broad selection of topics, ranging from presentations on theory (organisation of the United Nations, the INSARAG structure, cooperation with other nations, the local authorities, operation of an OSOCC) to practical exercises and drills that also require "soft" skills such as teamwork. A constant factor was time pressure: this was necessary so that the participants were conscious that managing an OSOCC is an onerous task.

Experienced teachers (including René Wagemans) assessed the groups after each session, imparting constructive criticism and valuable advice.

B-FAST communication specialists (Lieven De Cuyper & Jeroen Clerckx) were also asked to provide the necessary support. They were tasked, amongst other things, with giving classes on the use of GPS, BGAN, Iridium satellite phones, AmosConnect, etc.

The classes were organised in the form of workshops combining theory and practice. In this way, all of the groups were given the opportunity of taking a workshop. In addition to the use of GPS, BGAN, Iridium, etc., workshops were also organised on the theme of MapAction and Virtual OSOCC (online platform for the exchange of information).

In early September 2013, OCHA will run an OSOCC training course in Belgium, in collaboration with B-FAST.