AIDR 2021 professional development events catalogue
AIDR continued to provide online professional development events throughout 2021, including webinars, handbook showcases, masterclasses and the Australian Disaster Resilience Conference. The recordings of many of these events are now permanently available on the AIDR Knowledge Hub, alongside relevant resources.
The 2021 event catalogue includes:
Knowledge Networking series
The AIDR Knowledge Networking Series hosts thought-provoking national conversations at the forefront of disaster risk reduction and resilience theory and practice. Through a series of conversations, AIDR invites leading thinkers to share insights on specialised topics, broadening our collective understanding and thinking.
- In conversation with Mark Crosweller AFSM discusses the ethics of disaster risk reduction and resilience, covering issues of neo-liberalism and communitarianism, equity, the capacity of individuals to have agency to take action to reduce their risk, and the role of government.
Recovery Matters webinar series
Recovery Matters webinars get to the heart of key issues in disaster recovery. How do you go about supporting communities in recovery? What can you expect on the journey ahead? What about the support needs of particular groups? Through a series of informative webinars, AIDR invites expert speakers to share what they know and help us move forward with disaster recovery. This year's Recovery Matters webinars included:
- Family violence in recovery
Family violence is a ‘hidden disaster’ that can continue to impact communities long after the fire front has passed or floodwaters have receded. So what does research tell us about peoples’ experience of violence after disasters and how do gender dynamics come into play? - LGBTIQA+ experiences in disaster and recovery
A small but growing body of research suggests some LGBTIQA+ people are reluctant to access help in a disaster because of historic and ongoing discrimination and abuse experienced toward them and their communities. How do we work towards inclusive practice and services that meet the needs of LGBTIQA+ communities during and after disasters? - Navigating the financial impact of disasters
Disasters come at a great cost to people and communities. Dealing with loss of income, insurance, grants, unexpected costs, bills and debt can be a highly stressful element of recovery. Find out more about the role financial counsellors play in helping to navigate the financial burden of disasters and key findings that have emerged. - Indigenous perspectives of disaster recovery
Indigenous people are disproportionately impacted by disasters in Australia. However, little research or practice guidance exists about the impacts of disasters for Indigenous Australians and how the recovery system can better support recovery for First Nations communities. This webinar provides research, policy and practice insights.
The Recovery Matters series also includes in-depth webinars that the explore findings and recommendations in the 10 Years Beyond Bushfires Report:
- Recovery - it's a long story. Launch of the 10 Years Beyond Bushfires Report
The Beyond Bushfires: Community, Resilience, and Recovery study was conducted to examine the impacts of the 2009 Victorian bushfires on the mental health and wellbeing of community members, with a focus on how individual outcomes were influenced by social connections and community-level recovery. This research was extended to be able to explore the recovery process and disaster impacts over 10 years. This webinar launches the key learnings of this study over the 10 years since the bushfires and recommendations for how best to support recovery from more recent and future disasters. - Post-traumatic growth
Post-traumatic growth is an important dimension of many people’s disaster recovery experiences. Drawing on lived experience and research into post-traumatic growth following the Victorian 2009 Black Saturday bushfires, the speakers discuss strategies for supporting post-traumatic growth in disaster recovery contexts. - Mental health recovery after disaster
This webinar discusses psychosocial recovery following disasters. It aims to examine how we might facilitate mental health recovery across a continuum of interventions that range in intensity. It discusses how a trauma informed approach is useful in thinking about recovery. - Social networks and disaster resilience
Social connectedness and social support are rightly viewed as essential for mental health and wellbeing. However, a much more complex picture quickly emerges in the wake of a disaster. This webinar presents insights and research findings from social network analysis in communities affected by the Black Saturday bushfires and discuss implications for practice. It also explores the relationship between people and nature, and how social networks relate to adaptive and transformative action to environmental change. - Supporting recovery for children, families and schools
The issues that arise for children, families and schools play out differently in the immediate aftermath of a disaster, in the following couple of years, and over the long term. This discussion-based webinar extends the findings and recommendations from the 10 Years Beyond Bushfires report to explore personal experience, evidence and clinical perspectives on what happens for children and families after a disaster and how to best support and manage recovery.
The final Recovery Matters webinar for 2021 was the Recovery Capitals resources launch. This webinar launched a new set of evidence-based resources for people and organisations engaged in disaster recovery. The resources were produced through the Recovery Capitals (ReCap) project, a collaboration between researchers, organisations and governments across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand.
Handbook Showcase webinars
This year, AIDR launched two new handbooks.
- The Systemic Disaster Risk Handbook Showcase invited leading Australian experts Jillian Edwards (Beyond Business as Usual) Professor Alan March (University of Melbourne) Ramana James (IAG) and Beck Dawson (Resilient Sydney) to share the latest thinking and action on systemic disaster risk and unpack the core concepts in the handbook.
- The Disaster Resilience Education for Young People Handbook Showcase discussed the high-level principles and strategies in the handbook for organisations to design, implement and evaluate learning programs and initiatives for young people, with guest speakers Neil Dufty (Molino Stewart) Andrea Baldwin (Queensland Centre for Perinatal and Infant Mental Health) and Lesley King (Tasmania Fire Service).
Disaster Resilient Australia-New Zealand School Education Network (DRANZSEN) events
DRANZSEN brings together educators, emergency services, community organisations, researchers and others working with young people to develop knowledge, skills and solutions for a disaster resilient future. Through authentic learning partnerships, DRANZSEN invites young people to participate as active citizens in safe and resilient communities.
- The sixth annual DRANZSEN National Forum brought together a diverse group of presenters to explore educational program design and interactive technology, disaster resilience education (DRE) as a catalyst for increasing women in STEM, international perspectives on DRE and youth voice and school-based interventions.
- The inaugural DRANZSEN Teachers Forum provided an opportunity for teachers and educators to learn how DRE is currently being implemented in schools and community education settings through real world examples.
Online Masterclasses
AIDR hosted a number of online masterclasses throughout 2021, that are on offer again in 2022:
- Decision Making Under Pressure: New Skills for the New Normal
This is a highly interactive, evidence-based, and practical two-day online masterclass. Participants are introduced to a range of tools to improve their own decisions and those of their teams so they can best meet their obligations and accountabilities as a leader. The online masterclass focuses on building and maintaining psychological safety for contractive dissent in high pressure environments and the resulting impact on thinking and decision-making. As well as group dynamics considering multiple perspectives, organisational culture, meaning making and recognising and managing drift to unsafe conditions.
Keep an eye on the AIDR events page for 2022 dates. - Meteorology for Disaster Managers
This highly informative masterclass provides a practical overview of the science of meteorology, tailored to meet the needs of the disaster resilience sector. Attend the masterclass to learn about the fundamentals of weather and deepen your understanding of weather forecasts and warnings, direct from the Bureau of Meteorology.
Bookings are now available February, March and May 2022.
Volunteer Leadership Program
The Volunteer Leadership Program (VLP) equips volunteers from community organisations, not-for-profits, disaster relief organisations and local government within the emergency management sector, 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. The VLP will be running again in 2022 in cities and regional centres across Australia. View the dates and application deadlines here.