National Taskforce for Creative Recovery

AIDR is a member of the new National Taskforce for Creative Recovery, a cross-industry collaboration that brings together key influencers in disaster management, mental health, government and the arts to forge pathways for new thinking in response to the unprecedented challenges being faced by communities.

Founded on the knowledge that disaster resilience is a collective responsibility of all sectors, the taskforce will build greater understanding of the role of culture and the arts in strengthening recovery capability and advocate for its inclusion in the vital work of disaster preparedness, response and recovery.

The National Strategy for Disaster Resilience and numerous enquiries into disaster recovery in recent years have clearly recognised that social cohesion and strong support networks are key to building resilient communities - and that when investment is made into strengthening the social fabric of communities, they are better equipped to mitigate and recover from disasters when they occur.

Arts and culture have a unique ability to strengthen social cohesion within communities preparing for and recovering from natural disasters. Arts-based approaches and programs implemented with community arts and cultural development philosophy at their foundation provide myriad ways to bring people together to make meaning of their experience, strengthen connection to place and open opportunities for sharing and connection.

The challenges presented by the climate crisis and increasing impacts of extreme weather events are unprecedented and require new ways of thinking. Bringing a diverse range of voices to the table from different sectors and different backgrounds is key to achieving transformative change and finding new paradigms to face these challenges.

The National Taskforce for Creative Recovery is founded on a spirit of collaboration and an understanding that disaster resilience is a collective responsibility of all sectors. The key objectives of the taskforce are:

to strengthen understanding of, and appreciation for, the role of culture and the arts in disaster management systems
to make progress towards embedding culture and the arts in local, state/territory and federal disaster management arrangements, with further opportunities identified
to increase opportunities for artists to work as part of disaster recovery and access available funding
to encourage increased recognition of, and sustainability for, culture and the arts in communities and advocate for its ongoing inclusion in disaster management programs.

The National Taskforce for Creative Recovery is initiated by the Creative Recovery Network, a specialist service provider and advocate for culture and the arts within the emergency management sector. The taskforce is supported by the Australian Government through the industry collaborations stream of Australia Council’s Re-imagine: Sector Recovery Initiatives fund.