Connecting for Regional Disaster Resilience Symposium

Description

The symposium was hosted by the Regional Work and Organisational Resilience Group (RWOR), one of the Charles Sturt University Sturt Groups. Participants came together (face-to-face and online) connect research and industry, to discuss the role of businesses in disaster resilience, the importance of recognising businesses’ role in disaster recovery, and the work that needs to be done to support businesses to prepare for future events.

Thirteen experts shared their experiences of working and connecting during disasters. They identified challenges to address, the lessons they have learned through experience and showcased some of the solutions being implemented.

As part of the event, a World Café session was held to identify actions to support business engagement in disaster resilience and preparedness and to workshop answers to the question: How do we support businesses to connect with the community for disaster preparedness? Participants identified a range of challenges, enablers and actions and spent some time discussing who should take responsibility for those actions.

We were lucky to have a group of passionate people in the room interested in working with small businesses. However, one of our key target groups "businesses" were not well represented on the day, and this led to recommendations on the structure and recruitment strategies used in future events.

Nevertheless, this was a successful event and the outcomes of the symposium included: recognition of the importance of small businesses to communities, the need to think differently about disasters, and to strive for business continuity and sustainability.

Importantly, we were able to showcase the tremendous work communities have done as they have risen together and how connection was the key to their resilience in the face of disaster.

The event was held face-to-face and online. 73 registrations (33 online) representing 32 different organisations, five universities, five regional councils and engaging with all three faculties from CSU. Participants in included government agencies (e.g., DPI, Ministry of Health, RFS), local councils (e.g., Bathurst, Hawksebury and Temora) and not for profits (e.g., Lifeline and Red Cross ) and all of the attendees were interested in understanding the perspective of small businesses.

Period	07 Mar 2023
Event title	Connecting for Regional Disaster Resilience Symposium : Regional Work and Organisational Resilience Group (RWOR)
Event type	Conference
Location	Bathurst, AustraliaShow on map
Degree of Recognition	Regional