Effective settlement planning is essential for ensuring the protection, safety and dignity of displaced populations. It enables equitable access to services, adequate living conditions, and reduces environmental impact. Moreover, it contributes to sustainable and climate resilient human settlements and can pave the way to durable solutions.

Recognizing the critical importance of settlement planning in humanitarian contexts, the InteragencyHumanitarian Settlement Planning Community of Practice brings together CANADEM, DRC, IOM, MSB, NRC, NORCAP, SDC, THW and UNHCR to ensure collective capacity to deliver quality settlement planning that serves and protects vulnerable populations.

Other collaboration opportunities on settlement planning include theGeneva Technical Hub (GTH) which has been providing technical support and developing tools to improve the quality of settlement planning in operations globally. GHT 2.0 will bring together GPA, GWC, ICRC, IFRC, IOM, UNICEF, UN-Habitat and UNHCR — multiplying its potential to act as an incubator for innovative, scalable, and sustainable approaches to crisis response, ensuring the humanitarian sector is better equipped to address technical challenges.

Such partnership initiatives contribute to:

o Capacity development:Strengthened capacities of the global network of practitioners engaged in settlement planning in humanitarian contexts

o Cross learning and exchange of best practices:Facilitating knowledge sharing and identifying and promoting best practices

o Consistent approaches:Consolidating and disseminating guidance materials and tools to support practitioners in the field and promoting a consistent approach for settlement planning.

o Advocacyfor increased awareness and systematic application of humanitarian standards.

The event will allow to present the initiatives on settlement planning from the Geneva Technical Hub (GTH) and Settlement planning Community of Practice (CoP) and discuss the opportunities for collaboration to ensure technical excellence and increased impact of humanitarian settlement planning.