It is with pleasure that we once again bring the disaster resilience community together for the Australian Disaster Resilience Conference.
Held for the first time last year in Perth, the conference was born in recognition of an emerging need – that as the disaster resilience community continues to expand and diversify, there is value in establishing a national platform where we can share our experiences, and connect with others facing similar challenges to spark new ideas and seek inspiration.
Our population continues to change and evolve as our nation grows, bringing both a strength in diversity and an increasing importance in ensuring that our collective disaster resilience efforts reach the many, not the few.
This year’s conference will drive the important disaster resilience conversations we need to have. We are here in Melbourne to address the growing number of complex and interconnected challenges that lie ahead for Australian communities. In the context of a changing climate, shifting demographics and the influence of technology, we are coming to learn that the past can’t always be relied on as an accurate predictor of the future.
With this in mind, the theme for the Australian Disaster Resilience Conference this year is: Are we future ready? Supporting disaster resilience is a truly multidisciplinary affair that is progressed by the efforts of people working in many different fields. From planners to business people, volunteers to academics, not-for-profits and educators, emergency services and emergency managers at all levels of government, the strength of this conference lies in bringing people together to share what we have learned in working towards our shared goal of a disaster resilient Australia.
Over the coming days, you will have the chance to make new connections and gain insight from some of the leading disaster resilience thinkers and practitioners across Australia.
Take this opportunity to connect, reflect and learn together, and return home feeling inspired to act.
Robert Cameron OAM
Director General
Emergency Management Australia
Department of Home Affairs
