Harmony Week webinar: Multicultural perspectives on disaster resilience
Harmony Week is a time to celebrate who we are as a multicultural nation and the strength that comes from our diversity.
To mark Harmony Week, the Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience is hosting a special Harmony Week webinar that brings together multicultural perspectives on disaster resilience. The session will showcase inclusive disaster resilience initiatives and explore how cultural diversity, co‑design and community leadership strengthen resilience across our communities. Through shared insights and examples, the webinar will highlight the importance of connection, collaboration and inclusion in building resilient and cohesive communities.
AIDR welcomes Farah Farouque (ECCV), Mary Hajistassi (Australian Red Cross), and Scott Hanson-Easey (Adelaide University) to this webinar for Harmony Week. Farah, Mary and Scott will bring their expertise and perspectives to this discussion on multicultural perspectives on disaster resilience.
Speakers
Farah Farouque
Chief Executive Officer, Ethnic Communities Council of Victoria (ECCV)
Farah brings substantial experience in social policy, strategic communications and advocacy, combined with senior leadership experience in the community sector. Prior to joining ECCV, she was Director of Community Engagement at Tenants Victoria, and Principal Advisor for Public Affairs and Policy at the Brotherhood of St Laurence.
She was a journalist at The Age for almost 20 years, where she undertook reporting assignments across Asia and was political reporter in both the Victorian and Australian Parliamentary press galleries as well as Social Affairs Editor, and Law & Justice Editor
Farah is the long-standing Chairperson of The Social Studio, a social enterprise tapping into the design talents of multicultural young people. She also serves on the advisory board of The Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation.
Mary Hajistassi
State Manager - Programs, Australian Red Cross
Mary has a long history of working alongside communities, empowering and supporting them to create meaningful change in their neighbourhoods, communities and workplaces.
Her background in community mobilisation, campaigning and advocacy has spanned across her career in the not-for-profit, emergency services and migrant support sectors as well as the trade union movement, both in Australia and the United Kingdom.
Mary is currently the State Manager – Programs at the Australian Red Cross. An aspect of her role that she is extremely passionate about is supporting her team who work directly in communities, empowering them to design, develop and implement their own community-led disaster resilience plans. Prior to this Mary, worked at Together SA, leading the SHARE Collective Impact initiative, again taking a whole of community approach to deliver positive outcomes for children in the Southern Suburbs of Adelaide.
Dr Scott Hanson-Easey
Senior Lecturer, School of Public Health, Adelaide University
Scott is a Senior Lecturer and social psychologist in the School of Public Health at Adelaide University. His research examines how diverse communities understand and respond to health risks, particularly those associated with anthropogenic climate change. His recent work focuses on strengthening natural disaster, adaptation, and emergency risk communication between agencies, health services, and the public.
Grounded in a social justice perspective and a community-based participatory research (CBPR) paradigm, Scott’s research brings together community members, government, and community service organisations to co-design risk communication that reflects and resonates with peoples lived experiences. He argues that the effectiveness of natural hazards risk and adaptation communication is significantly enhanced when communities are provided with genuine and meaningful opportunities to contribute to the development of interventions.
Scott has consulted for agencies including the Country Fire Authority (CFA) and provides advice on emergency management communication to the Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience (AIDR) and organisations such as Royal Life Saving Australia.
Moderators
Dr Mayeda Rashid
Manager Capability Development and Engagement, AIDR
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