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2022 AIDR events wrap up

In 2022, AIDR had another busy year delivering online and in-person professional development events.

AIDR’s 2022 event calendar included webinars, masterclasses, forums and the Australian Disaster Resilience Conference. The recordings of AIDR online of events are now permanently available on the AIDR Knowledge Hub, alongside relevant resources. You can learn more about AIDR’s professional development offerings here.

The 2022 event catalogue includes:

Webinars:

This year AIDR ran four webinars addressing a diverse range of topics:

In May, AIDR held the Putting the ‘community' in community recovery committee webinar  in partnership with Australian Red Cross as part of the Recovery Matters webinar series. This webinar highlighted different practices and current research into the formation and operation of community recovery committees. It featured guest speakers Malcolm Hackett OAM, Dr Kitty Vigo, Dominic Sandilands, and Dr Kate Brady. A recording of this webinar is available on the Recovery Matters webinar series page.

In June, AIDR presented the Let’s think about heat – International Heat Action Day webinar in partnership with Australian Red Cross. This year, Red Cross internationally launched Heat Action Day, a campaign to promote action to reduce the impacts of extreme heat. The Heat Action Day webinar featured a range of speakers and covered the impacts of extreme heat, how we warn people about heat, how we can reduce the impacts of heat and understanding the mental health impacts of heat. A recording of this webinar is available on the Understanding Heatwave page.

In October, AIDR hosted the Early Warning for Early Action webinar on the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction. Attendees were invited to learn about the development of the Australian Warning System and the Australian Fire Danger Rating System, and how they will influence community preparedness, safety and action now and into the future. The expert panel explored the evolution of public information and warnings in Australia, case studies, lessons and challenges for the practice, and how practitioners can best connect with at-risk communities to drive action. A live recording of the webinar is available on AIDR’s International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction page.

In November, AIDR presented Experiences of children and young people: lessons learned from 2022 floods. In this webinar, the expert panel highlighted the experiences of children and young people impacted by flooding, discussed lessons learned from the Northern Rivers region, and presented tools and resources to help children and young people prepare, both practically and psychologically. A recording of the webinar is available on the Recovery Matters webinar series page.

Developing Australian’s Second National Action Plan for Disaster Risk Reduction:

In 2022, AIDR supported the National Emergency Management Agency (formerly NRRA) in the development of a Section National Action Plan for Disaster Risk Reduction. During this process, AIDR and NEMA held events that brought together a range of sectors and voices to embark on a design process to identify nationally significant transformational actions that will reduce disaster risk. Learn more about the Second National Action Plan here.

Second National Action Plan development events included:

  • Online discovery discussions
  • Developing Australia’s Section National Action Plan Webinar: In this special webinar event, Nico Padovan and Viv Johnson from the National Recovery and Resilience Agency spoke about the next steps towards reducing risk and improving disaster resilience in Australia, and how people could get involved. You can view the webinar here.
  • Catalysing Change workshop: This workshop brought together representatives from across Australia to contribute to the design of the Second National Action Plan. It provided an opportunity to reflect, discuss and further build upon the themes and actions identified in the discovery sessions held in March. One outcome was further clarity on clear emerging of themes to prioritise and explore further in deep dive sessions. You can learn more about the workshop here.
  • Deep dives: This series focused on how to align and unify efforts to reduce disaster risk for the long term. The deep dives focused on developing a roadmap of transformational actions. The deep dives looked at actions needed from now to 2025, then 2030. You can learn more about the deep dives here.
  • Risk to Resilience Summit: The From Risk to Resilience Summit was held in Sydney on 29 & 30 June. The Summit was the final engagement event in the National Action Plan development process and brought together leaders from across the country to listen, learn and define the important, nationally significant actions required to accelerate climate and disaster risk reduction and build a resilient future for Australia. The summit provoked and challenged risk perception and decision-making: in boardrooms, business (small and large), in government and in life. Throughout the two days, ideas and themes that surfaced throughout the Second National Action Plan consultation process were shared and debated. You can learn more about the Summit here.

Disaster Resilient Australia New Zealand School Education Network (DRANZSEN) Forum:

AIDR held DRANZSEN Forums in Tasmania and Queensland, bringing together a diverse range of participants. Attendees to the Forums heard presentations from experts in the field of youth centred Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience (DRR+R). In addition to the presentations, attendees participated in a facilitated workshop, designed to allow attendees to brainstorm their own DRR+R program design with the support of AIDR staff and the Forum speakers.

The forums offered an unparalleled opportunity to interact with representatives from education and emergency services, NGOs, universities, local government, and community groups. Participants explored effective models of disaster resilience education and supporting research with a focus on enabling young people to be ‘agents of change’.

Learn more about past Forum Proceedings here.

Learn more about the Disaster Resilient Australia New Zealand School Education Network here.

Australian Disaster Resilience Conference:

The Australian Disaster Resilience Conference 2022 (ADRC22) was held on 24 and 25 August 2022 at the Adelaide Convention Centre. The 2022 conference theme was Resilience in a riskier world – adapting and transforming for the future. The theme reflected the current status of the disaster risk and resilience landscape, where the great risk amplifier of climate change is influencing the occurrence of hazards and the creation of new disaster risks, including compounding hazards. The conference asked presenters and delegates to come together and explore the ways in which we can build disaster resilience in an increasingly risky work, with a focus on adapting and transforming for the future.

The conference brought together a diverse and passionate crowed from a range of sectors to share knowledge and build connections for a more disaster resilient Australia. ADRC22 was the largest in-person conference to date, with a total of 371 people attending the conference across the course of the two days.

You can learn more about the conference proceedings and presenters here.

National Recovery Forum:

The National Recovery Forum was held in August 2022 as part of the Australian Disaster Resilience Conference Professional Development Day. The National Recovery Forum brought people involved in disaster recovery together to develop connections and share knowledge, ideas, inspiration and good practice for communities to recover well from disasters and build a resilient future. The forum featured a range of presentations and group activities, delivering a holistic experience for participants.

Lessons Management Forum:

In March 2022, the Lessons Management Forum returned as an in-person event in Brisbane. The Lessons Management Forum will brought together lessons management practitioners, those interested in this area, and those new to the area to share good practice, learnings and innovations. Presentations covered lessons that have been identified as well as how to manage lessons.

The Forum was hosted as a hybrid event, allowing attendance in person, or virtually. There were a broad range of presentations and workshops from various organisations, jurisdictions and sectors.

Volunteer Leadership Program:

In 2022, AIDR ran ten in-person Volunteer Leadership Program events. The Volunteer Leadership Program (VLP) equips emergency sector volunteers with the skills and confidence to grow as leaders. The VLP experience is immersive and collaborative, bringing together volunteers from different organisations and agencies to build knowledge and share experiences with each other. The program explores practical leadership frameworks through interactive learning, and participants gain both self-awareness and an enhanced ability to understand and contribute to their organisations. Learn more about the program here.

Masterclasses and Clinics:

AIDR also ran a number of masterclasses in 2022, including:

  • Meteorology for Disaster Managers Masterclasses
  • Facilitating Successful Debriefs Skills Clinics
  • Decision Making Under Pressure: New Skills for the New Normal masterclasses
  • Building Multi-Functional Team Effectiveness masterclasses
  • Australian Disaster Resilience Index Workshops

These will be on offer again in 2022. To learn more about the different masterclasses, visit our Professional Development Collection.

Through a contract with Queensland Fire and Emergency Services, AIDR also ran 30 specialised masterclasses, including:

  • Disaster Planning in Dynamic Environments
  • Leadership in Disaster, Crisis and Adversity
  • Coordinating Teams Operating in Disaster

The AJEM Article ‘Enhancing capability for the increasing complexity of disaster events’ provides more information on the Queensland masterclasses.

Possibility Lab Recovery Community of Practice:

In 2022, AIDR again partnered with the Social Recovery Reference Group (SRRG) to host 10 Possibility Lab sessions. The sessions are held each month, and include a presentation and group discussion. Topics discussed this yead included coordination, cooperation and collaboration; community-led recovery; resources and grants; personal frameworks for recovery; local government planning for COVID; cumulative community led recovery; recovery assessments; and person-centred approaches in emergency management for people who have disabilities. You can learn more about Possibility Lab and how to participate here.