Reda Sadki

“Doing more, doing better and reaching further” is the aim of the International​ ​Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies’ (IFRC) road map for​ ​this decade called Strategy 2020. Since 2009, IFRC has delivered self-guided​ ​online learning through its Learning platform, a learning management system​ ​(LMS), to a massive and rapidly-growing audience (IFRC Annual Report​ ​2012). One key challenge faced by IFRC is how to improve training and preparedness,​ ​especially for groups like Field Assessment Coordination Teams​ ​(FACT) and Emergency Response Units (ERU), which are specialized teams​ ​of trained technical specialists ready to be deployed at short notice in emergency​ ​operations. The World Disasters Report 2013, which focused on technology​ ​and the future of humanitarian action, states that “the responsible use​ ​of technology in humanitarian action offers concrete ways to make assistance​ ​more effective and accountable, and to reduce vulnerability and strengthen​ ​resilience. Distance learning and online education are good examples of technology​ ​supporting these goals” (World Disasters Report 2013, p. 10-11). Due​ ​to both the specificity of the work of emergency operations teams and their​ ​diversity of contexts, educational technology that supports the exchange of​ ​experiences among team members could increase effectiveness before, during​ ​and after such operations, to enhance the organization’s capacity for making​ ​use of both lessons learned and the mechanisms for their learning. Following​ ​this reasoning and considering that IFRC actions have increased in numbers​ ​(done more) and have connected members from all over the world (reached​ ​further), the objective now is to do it better.