Date: 3 Mar, 14:00–15:00 CET | Location: Online @ HNPW | Session link | Organizer(s): Shelter Centre & Better Shelter
Stockpiled family shelter is used from Ukraine to Sudan and increasingly remains occupied far beyond its intended design life. In contexts of protracted displacement, recurrent climate shocks and urban fragility, shelters intended as temporary humanitarian responses often become part of longer-term settlement realities. This raises critical questions for the sector: how can stockpiled systems better incorporate cultural, climatic, environmental and economic contexts? And how can they contribute meaningfully across the Humanitarian–Development–Peace (HDP) nexus?
As displacement becomes more protracted and intertwined with governance, markets and local systems, shelter responses must move beyond short-term delivery logic. How can pre-positioned shelters be designed for adaptation, incremental upgrading and self-recovery? How can they support local markets, strengthen housing, land and property considerations, and reduce protection risks from the outset? What does localisation look like when standardised systems are deployed — particularly in contexts where local solutions alone cannot meet the scale or urgency of need?
This session will look specifically at the localisation and adaptation of Better Shelter frames across diverse operational contexts. Rather than presenting a fixed model, the session will critically examine the solution itself: where does it work well, where does it need to evolve, and how can it better respond to local realities? Panelists from different regions will share practical experiences, modifications and challenges, enabling cross-learning between contexts.
We invite technical experts from different organisations to reflect on how stockpiled family shelter can function not only as life-saving infrastructure, but as a platform contributing to resilience, recovery and longer-term stability. Together, we will explore challenges, practical pathways, partnerships and next steps for aligning stockpiled shelter with evolving displacement realities across the HDP nexus.
Panelists
Patricia De Campos Gomes Monteiro, Assistant Settlement Planning Officer, UNHCR Brazil, PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering
Muhammad Hamid, Shelter & NFIs Specialist, Save the Children International, Sudan
Luca Ginoulhiac, Architect, Infrastructure, Shelter and Settlements Technical Advisor, Humanitarian Response, Catholic Relief Services
Ephrem Ilboudo, Program Manager “Homes and Communities”, Catholic Relief Services, Burkina Faso
Daniel Ledesma, Head of the Technical & Reference Unit, the International Aid of the Luxembourg Red Cross
Miguel Acebrón García de Eulate, Shelter Technical Advisor, Better Shelter
Moderator
Tom Corsellis, Executive Director, Shelter Centre
About HNPW
The Humanitarian Networks and Partnerships Week (HNPW), 2-12 March, is where the global humanitarian community meets to improve crisis response. Hosted by OCHA online and in Geneva, the weeks connect UN agencies, NGOs, governments, and innovators to share practical solutions and strengthen coordination from shelter and protection to health and logistics.
