Together with the Fire to Flourish team at the Monash Sustainable Development Institute, the Paul Ramsay Foundation hosted a webinar on Community Leadership and Disaster Resilience on 26 August, 2021. The webinar invited reflection on the disruptive fires of the past two years and the evolving paradigm of disaster resilience, and provided a moment to celebrate the release of the Fire to Flourish research report.
Moderated by Fire to Flourish CEO Briony Rogers, the panel included:
- Zena Armstrong, President of the Cobargo Community Recovery Fund, who shared rich insights and reflections on behalf of her community of the experience establishing a community fund;
- Jason Ardler, Founder of Thirriwirri, member of the Fire to Flourish Advisory Board and previously Head of Aboriginal Affairs in NSW, who called us to all lead and engage with dignity, to focus on a healing centred narrative, to partner not just engage and ensure resilience is seen as not just bouncing back to what was before, but to use the opportunity to aspire to something more; and
- Amber Kelleher, a member of the Manning Youth Action Team, focused on the needs of children and young people, who like adults, also need a chance and space to share their experiences.
We were delighted that the Minister for Emergency Management and National Recovery and Resilience, Senator Bridget McKenzie and the Shadow Minister for Disaster and Emergency Management, Senator Murray Watt, recorded their opening remarks for our audience.
Watch a highlights video of the event
See the full webinar
The webinar proved an excellent example of bringing together government, business and community. With over 200 people online for the session, this may be the most widely attended public event from the Foundation to date. Thank you to our audience, moderator & panel, as well as Dr Jeni Whalan who delivered a warm welcome and Acknowledgement of Country.
Download and read the Fire to Flourish research report here.
Sustaining the Conversation around Community Resilience
- Save the Children Australia have partnered with Dr Lisa Gibbs and Melbourne University to evaluate the impact of its disaster recovery program, Journey of Hope, on children’s wellbeing, recovery, and resilience. The findings of this evaluation will be launched at an upcoming event. The event will be held virtually on Thursday 16th of September between 10.00-11.00 am AEST. You can register for the event here.
- Manning Youth Action Team (including our panel guest, Amber Kelleher) outline their recommendations to the Midcoast Council resulting from the experiences of young people during the Black Summer Fires – view the video here MYAT Video.mov – Google Drive
- ‘Get Bushfire Resilient’ webinars hosted by Bushfire Resilience Inc: this webinar will enable affected communities to gain valuable knowledge about evacuation procedures, physical and emotional preparations for disasters from industry experts. Click here for the digital flyer.
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