A walk down Resilience Lane

Resilience Lane continues to provide a space for people and organisations to connect and form collaborative partnerships that build resilience and strengthen communities.

In its third year, Resilience Lane is now an established and popular destination in the AFAC25 Exhibition for delegates attending the Australian Disaster Resilience Conference (ADRC), as well as delegates from the other concurrent disaster management conferences including the AFAC Conference, Women and Firefighting Australasia Conference and the Institution of Fire Engineers Australia National Conference. This year, ADRC25 welcomed 323 delegates, contributing to the total number of 4,451 delegates across all conferences.

During ADRC25, Resilience Lane was home to 22 exhibitors, featuring 21 community focused organisations alongside NRMA Insurance, this year’s Resilience Lane sponsor. Located among fire trucks, innovative emergency equipment, and a helicopter (yes, there really was one), Resilience Lane provided a space to focus on organisations that work to connect communities and individuals to reduce disaster risk, build resilience, and to recover from impacts of disasters. Resilience Lane is a microcosm of these connections that bring different sectors together to support people, communities, towns, agriculture, businesses, and people who care for animals.

Resilience Lane is a place where exhibitors and delegates engage with each other and share knowledge and projects. In follow up survey discussions with AIDR, many exhibitors said they shared ideas, contact details and had planned follow up meetings with new contacts to explore future collaborations. As people who are familiar with AIDR know, the practice of connecting different sectors, knowledge, and systems is what we do, so feedback like this is music to our ears.

Source: AFAC

Thank you to all Resilience Lane exhibitors at ADRC25

Source: AFAC

Feedback from ADRC25 delegates and Resilience Lane exhibitors

‘Resilience Lane was a great initiative. It helped me connect with people working on similar projects.’

‘I appreciated Resilience Lane – it gave visibility to grassroots efforts and community-led initiatives’

‘Resilience Lane was a highlight. It felt more interactive and engaging than some of the formal sessions.’

‘Loved the concept of Resilience Lane. It made the conference feel more grounded in real-world practice.’

‘A warm, open space for sharing stories and ‘having a yarn’ about the future of recovery.’

‘Every conversation was a chance to share ideas, learn from others, and strengthen our collective resolve to pursue radical transformation.’

ADRC26 Resilience Lane Expressions of Interest

ADRC26 will be held in Melbourne from 19-20 August 2026. AIDR will open the Expressions of Interest process in the new year. We welcome applications from any interested organisation working to reduce disaster risk and build resilience. Look out for details in AIDR’s monthly newsletter, Updates from AIDR.

AIDR would like to thank NRMA | A Help Company for their sponsorship of Resilience Lane in 2025, and since its inception in 2023.