Post-War Recovery & Reconstruction: Towards Build-Back-Better & Sustainable Development

About the Workshop

The built environment is a valuable and vulnerable asset, and its destruction is one of the most damaging aspects of wars and conflicts. Post-conflict reconstruction in emergency contexts and with poor planning tends to prioritize speed over quality and long-term resilience. The reconstruction of the built environment is essential for social, economic, and cultural recovery. It is also a major incentive for resettlement, an opportunity to build back better and to respond to present and future needs. As post war recovery and reconstruction is not something that every country has recent experience with, including Ukrainian professionals and practitioners, it is very important to build capacities by empowering the existing and future professionals and sharing with them the post war and post conflict experiences. 

Architecture Sans Frontières International and CIFAL York, with the support of ASF Spain, will develop and offer a workshop for architects, planners, engineers, designers, and decision-makers on the post-war recovery and reconstruction of Ukraine. The workshop tackles several topics in relation to post-war recovery and reconstruction. It focuses on emergency, transitional, and permanent housing; governance and reconstruction; refugee and displaced families return; tenure security; and the preservation of the cultural identity and healing through architecture.

Objectives

• Examine the impacts of war on built environments and communities, and the key aspects of post-war recovery and reconstruction. 
• Appreciate the governance context—law, norms, guidelines—and roles of stakeholders—including governments, NGOs, private sector, architects, planners, designers, and community members—in post-war recovery. 
• Discuss how best to apply sustainability and SDGs in post-war recovery and reconstruction. 
• Analyze lessons from post-war recovery, identifying factors behind success and failure. 
• Develop strategies for post-war and conflict recovery that incorporate risk reduction, resilience, equity, and sustainability. 
• Understand the importance of gender equality, disability, and social inclusion (GEDISI) and how to incorporate them into post-war recovery. 
• Evaluate economic recovery strategies, focusing on livelihoods, vulnerable groups, food security, employment, business continuity, enterprise development, and sustainable, inclusive planning. 
• Apply monitoring and evaluation principles to post-war recovery programs and develop plans to improve outcomes. 

Participants who successfully complete the one-day workshop will be presented with a certificate of completion from UNITAR, CIFAL York, and Architecture Sans Frontières.

Workshop Proposed Topics

• The Housing Continuum: Navigating the critical transition from emergency shelters to transitional housing and permanent resettlement.
• Rights & Governance: Establishing tenure security and robust policies to manage the legal complexities of reconstruction.
• Healing through Heritage: Using architecture to preserve cultural identity and foster community healing in the built environment.
• Safe Returns: Developing strategies for the dignified return and reintegration of refugees and displaced families.
• Sustainable Resilience: Applying SDGs and risk reduction to ensure long-term physical and economic stability.
• Inclusive Oversight: Utilizing GEDISI principles and monitoring and evaluation (M&E) to ensure no group is left behind.

Target Participants

This workshop is beneficial for professionals, practitioners, researchers, and students interested in post-war and post-conflict recovery and reconstruction in general, particularly those interested in or are involved with post-war recovery and reconstruction in Ukraine. This workshop enables participants to rapidly gain knowledge and skills required to make interventions in post-war recovery and reconstruction.

Researchers and students in architecture, planning, engineering, construction management, disaster, and emergency management with interest in post-disaster recovery and reconstruction in general and those who will be involved in post-war recovery and reconstruction in Ukraine.

Workshop Format and Registration

The majority of the workshop content will be in a hybrid format to allow interested individuals to participate remotely, particularly from the war-impacted countries and regions.

Participation in the workshop is free, space is limited, and we encourage interested individuals to register in advance using this registration form.

Maximum number of in-person participants: 30

Maximum number of online participants: Unlimited

Registration Deadline: June 21, 2026