gear.UP
The next edition of gear.UP will be held in September 2025 and applications will open in May.
gear.UP is a large-scale inter-agency operational exercise and functional training event designed to further advance emergency response capabilities of the global Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and Logistics humanitarian communities.
ETC Participants are expected to work in teams to deploy the ETC technical solutions including satellite connectivity, common networking services, and security telecoms under challenging conditions and timeframes.
*Note: the information on this page is for the ETC part of the exercise. Those with a Logistics background should instead refer to your Logistics Cluster focal point.
Target Audience
The simulation requires skilled and experienced ICT technicians and emergency response managers from UN agencies, stand-by partners, and NGOs. Technicians will need to have had prior training or experience in the tools and technologies being used, especially within a field / and or emergency context. Information Managers and those with experience in services for communities projects can also apply but these roles should also have an ICT-related focus.
Number of participants: 20
Exercise Aim
Led by the Emergency Telecommunications and Logistics clusters, gear.UP is a training simulation for partner agencies and organisations to collaborate and overcome challenges together; emergency responders form a trusted network in a demanding scenario which reflects the intensity of global emergency environments.
Exercise Output
For ETC participants, the goal of this operational exercise is to give solid hands-on field experience to ICT emergency responders to practice the deployment of the ETC services and activities (coordination, information management, security communications, voice and data connectivity, drones coordination, services for communities and customer support) in a complex, high-pressure environment and under challenging conditions and timeframes to prepare them for deployment to future humanitarian emergencies.
The main aim of the joint deliverable with Logistics Cluster is to mainstream and familiarize participants with the implementation of the services of both Clusters to improve the efficiency and cooperation in the field/emergencies. Furthermore, the exercise simulation and training aims to strengthen the cooperation between the Clusters and to foster joint approaches in inter-Cluster coordination and access to funding mechanisms.
Learning objectives
| Provide the ETC response community with practical experience |
| Deploy ICT services in an emergency situation |
| Implement the ETC mandate through associated activities |
| Demonstrate mutual support |
| Collaborate in an emergency response |
| Respond in an emergency setting |
| Exercise sound judgement |
Topics Covered
This is a full-scale intensive simulation exercise, in which participants will ‘learn by doing’ – mentoring and guidance will be provided by coaches.
Format and Language
gear.UP is an emergency scenario-based exercise – this includes living conditions that will be in an emergency setting. All guidance and instruction will be in English.
