AWE Newsletter – June 2024

Last week, AWE welcomed its 2000th member! 

AWE’s members come from a broad range of sectors and organisations, working, volunteering, studying and having lived experience of disasters, emergencies and and climate change. Collectively our members make a significant contribution to community safety and resilience, and AWE is proud to promote, support and recognise every single one.

This growth in our membership is testament to the value that AWE provides in providing opportunities to network, share, support and learn. And the strength of AWE comes from each of our AWEsome members and supporters. We can’t wait for the next 2000 member milestone!

AWE Member Survey

The Membership Subcommittee is finalising the AWE Member Survey 2024, so please keep an eye out for your opportunity to have a say!

The information that we collect through the AWE Member Survey will be used by us to learn more about this AWEsome, ever-growing and changing member network, and hear your thoughts on networking events, mentoring, connections and things that make you want to be part of AWE. It also provides us with the opportunity for continuous improvement and increasing participation – we don’t have all the answers, and want to hear more about how you would like to be involved.

Thank you in advance for contributing to AWE through your participation in the survey. Together we can continue to grow and strengthen the network.

2024 Philippa Woolf Scholarship Winners

We are thrilled to announce the following seven AWE members have been successful in their applications for the Philippa Woolf Scholarships:

• Aimee Tyson, Orange Sky Australia (Qld)
• Breanna Pollock, Central Coast Council (NSW)
• Jana Wurriehausen, Country Fire Service (SA)
• Kiara Noonan, Macedon Ranges Shire Council and CFA (Vic)
• Kelly Boladeras, Northern Grampians Shire Council (Vic)
• Natalie Sonenko, Fire and Emergency Services, and SES (Qld)
• Robyn Short, NSW Reconstruction Authority (NSW)

These members will study nationally accredited disaster relief and recovery units as a group with ACIM Solutions, developing peer relationships along with important new skills to support their careers and their work with disaster impacted communities.

Philippa Woolf, Director of ACIM Solutions, said, “We are so pleased to be partnering with AWE for the 2024 scholarship. Our cohort all come from diverse backgrounds and with varying levels of experience in the emergency recovery sector which will be fantastic for their group discussions and the engagement with the course content. Our team are looking forward to working with the group and supporting their learning journeys and helping them to achieve their nationally accredited qualifications.” 

AWE QLD

We are excitred to have Liz Drumm as our new Chapter Lead in Queensland! Read more about Liz above in our AWE News section. Liz and Amanda have been discussing ideas for some great activities in Queensland and are currently planning a weekend walking adventure, so stay posted for details. We will also establish some networking activities in Queensland so we can connect all our AWE QLD members. If you would like to host/attend something in your area in Queensland, please get in touch with Liz at [email protected],au and share your ideas.

Liz would love some support in Queensland, so if you are keen to be a Chapter Co-lead in Queensland, please email us.

AWE SA

AWE SA hosted breakfast as a sideline event at the recent NHRA Forum in Adelaide. It was great to see so many familiar faces from previous SA AWE events.

If you know of an event in Adelaide or SA where it is likely that AWE members will attend, email us and we can coordinate for AWE members to get together as a sideline event. 

AWE VIC

AWE VIC is planning a visit to the Victorian State Control Centre in the coming months and would like to get an indication of numbers of members who would be interested in attending. We have a limit of 15 and already have a number of members express interest in attending, so get in quick. It will likely be an afternoon visit at 4.30pm followed by drinks. Please email Amanda to register your interest.

AWE members living or working in or around the Yarra Ranges and outer eastern suburbs of Melbourne are also invited to come along to breakfast at Hutch & Co, 251 Main Street Lilydale  on the third Wednesday of the month at 8.30am. Next breakfast is on Wednesday 12 June. Email Amanda to let us know if you can make it.

7.30am Tuesday 2 July
Old Bailey Restaurant
101 Lambton Quay, Wellington

Join AWE for breakfast on the first Tuesday of every month in Wellington! Drop in to the Old Bailey from 7:30am – have a coffee or stay for breakfast and connect with AWE members and other women working in our sector! For more information or questions, please contact Amy, AWE NZ Chapter Co-Lead.

National Volunteer Week New Zealand 16-22 June & AWE NZ Panel Event

AWE recognises and celebrates the extraordinary contribution of volunteers to emergency management and disaster resilience every day, and especially during New Zealand’s National Volunteer Week!

We’re helping celebrate with an exciting online panel event at 7pm on Thursday 20 June, featuring volunteers from Fire and Emergency New Zealand, New Zealand Red Cross, New Zealand Response Teams, Land Search & Rescue and Task Force Kiwi. Check out the AWE Events section above for details or book your spot here. 

Matariki 28 June

Mānawa maiea te putanga o Matariki.
Mānawa maiea te ariki o te rangi.
Mānawa maiea te Mātahi o te tau.
Celebrate the rising of Matariki.
Celebrate the rising of the lord of the sky.
Celebrate the rising of the New Year.

The next AWE Pacific Chapter meeting will be held at 9.30am AEST on Wednesday 19 June. All AWE Pacific members and anyone else interested in joining is welcome! To register please click here. 

News and resources:

• Climate change and migration: Climate-induced disasters are intensifying in Asia and the Pacific, affecting migration and causing economic strain. The need for effective adaptation strategies and international cooperation is urgent as remittances play a vital role in risk management.
• Early warning systems: Tonga is a step closer to creating a policy for a multi-hazard early warning system after the final consultation was recently completed. 
• Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai: The eruption of Hunga Tonga could have lingering effects on winter weather for years to come according to a new study exploring the climate impacts of the eruption.
• Tsunami Ready Communities: The Federated States of Micronesia is the first country in the North Pacific to recognize communities under the UNESCO-IOC Tsunami Ready Recognition Programme.

If you would like to get in touch with the AWE Pacific Chapter Lead, or have any news, information or events to share with AWE Pacific members, please email us at [email protected]u 

The Gender Pay Gap: From in-depth analysis to targeted action
Tuesday 11 June, Sydney
At this Gender Pay Gap Workshop you can learn why reducing your gender pay gap (GPG) is critical for business performance. Understanding the drivers of the GPG, tracking performance and sharing information with your workforce to create shared responsibility to achieve gender equality, are essential components of a successful organisation’s business strategy. 

Lessons in disaster
Various dates across Australia in 2024
Gender and Disaster Australia offers Lessons in Disaster training that can increase your capacity to identify, respond to and prevent the harmful impacts of gendered expectations in disaster.
Find a training session coming up near you by clicking here. 

Leading for Better Mental Health
Various dates in Melbourne, Wangaratta, Ballarat in 2024
A new evidence informed program from ESF, Leading for Better Mental Health, takes an action learning approach to help participants create and sustain psychologically safe workplace environments. It is available for Victorian emergency services organisations.
More information is available here. 

Unlocking Insurance Affordability using Big Data and AI
Recorded webinar
Griffith University’s Unlocking Insurance Affordability using Big Data and AI webinar includes a panel of emergency management and insurance experts, along with academic researchers, who discuss data and AI public-private opportunities for insurance affordability in an era of increasing severe weather events.  

Addressing domestic violence after disasters: This new podcast features Dr Debra Parkinson, and Steve O’Malley AFSM, from Gender and Disaster Australia, discussing their research and the links between disasters and increased violence towards women.

Care through disaster: The new Care through Disaster in Practice toolkit breaks down the tangible contributions we can make as citizens, community organisations, through all levels of government, to build a new infrastructure of care at a scale required for communities to thrive through increasing systemic disaster risk. 

Climate change and impacts on the brain: A new review finds that climate change is making the symptoms of certain brain conditions worse, including stroke, migraines, meningitis, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s.

Disrupting Disasters: The latest Disrupting Disasters podcast features Dr David Lallemant on balancing both the built and social environments, risk mitigation, optimism biases, and finding hope amidst climate anxiety.

Ecosystem-Based Disaster Risk Reduction: This policy paper is designed to increase awareness of the important role of ecosystem-based approaches in reducing disaster risk, emphasising. the central role of ecosystem-based disaster risk reduction in strengthening the coherent implementation of various international frameworks under the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Fire to Flourish webinar: Check out the Fire to Flourish Our Process, Lessons and Impact webinar which includes the launch of their Impact Report and Learnings Report and a panel discussion with community and research staff.

Gender, Climate and Environmental Justice in Australia: A new report from Women’s Environmental Leadership Australia addresses the gap, assessing research data and expert stakeholder perspectives from across Australia. 

Gendered impacts of climate change: This article discussed how and why women and gender-diverse people are disproportionately vulnerable to the changing climate and including death, impacts on health, homelessness, family violence and more.

Heat-related deaths in Perth could rise 60%: This article says that heat-related deaths will jump more than 60 per cent by 2050 if temperatures continue to climb, according to modelling done for the WA Department of Health.

LGBTQ+ people and climate change: A new study has highlighted the extent to which LGBTQ+ people can be uniquely affected by climate change, underlining the particular and underreported vulnerabilities of a community that also often suffers from poverty and discrimination.

National Adaptation Plan submission findings: New research analyses public submissions made on New Zealand’s first draft National Adaptation Plan to understand how future climate adaptation is framed and imagined by different groups.

North Island Severe Weather Events Review: The National Emergency Management Agency has published its internal review North Island Severe Weather Events Response Internal Operational Lessons Report.

NSW volunteering review: The Review of Emergency Volunteering has made 13 recommendations for the State Emergency Management Committee and its member agencies to support NSW to be more prepared for the future of emergency volunteering.

Me, Myself & Disaster Podcast: Check out the latest Me, Myself and Disaster Podcast with Christchurch City Council’s Head of Civil Defence and Emergency Management as he shares his story working as part of the massive recovery effort following the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes.

Māori women’s economy: Te Ōhanga Wāhine Māori, The Māori Women’s Economy represents the first major research study into the Māori women’s economy.

Rural children’s resilience: A new short film highlights an award-winning Bushfire Recovery Program implemented in rural and remote regions, where 2 in 5 children were personally impacted by the 2019/2020 bushfires.

The impact of disasters on children and young people: A new report from UNICEF Australia and Deloitte Access Economics estimates the impact and costs of disasters on children and young people in Australia.

Thriving Kids in Disasters: The Thriving Kids in Disasters project is a systemic review of disaster preparedness, management, and recovery arrangements in Queensland as they relate to children and young people.

Too hot to handle: This report from the Australian Security Leaders Climate Group provides an overview of a new climate risk assessment methodology, analyses the current failure, explores four case studies and identifies specific and necessary priority actions for the government.

Wildfires’ lasting psychological impact: This article states that the intensity of natural hazards have been accelerated by climate change, and as a result, we are seeing climate trauma and exaggerated mental health symptoms. 

Women in Leadership Summit 2024: This is an amazing opportunity to join the Right Hon. Theresa May MP, The Right Hon. Helen Clark, and The Hon. Julia Gillard AC at The Hatchery’s Public Sector Women in Leadership Summit on 28-29 August. 

If you’ve got news or resources you would like shared in the AWE Newsletter, please email us the details by the end of the calendar month in time for publication the first week of each month.

NSW
Director, Crisis Response & Recovery, Department of Education
Natural Resources & Bushfire Consultant, GHD

QLD
Research Fellow or Senior Research Fellow (Climate Extremes and Adaptation), University of Southern Queensland
Senior Emergency Management Advisor, Seqwater

SA
Senior Policy Officer, Department for Environment and Water
Manager, State Command and Operational Systems, SA Country Fire Service

TAS
Emergency Evacuation Planning Project Officer, Department of Police, Fire and Emergency Management
Specialist Policy Analyst, Climate Change, Department of State Growth

VIC
Advisor, Emergency Management, Greater Western Water
Deputy Chairperson, Victoria State Emergency Service

WA
Senior Land Use Planning Officer, Department of Fire and Emergency Services
Senior Research Fellow – Curtin Institute for Energy Transition, Curtin University

NZ
Advisor, Planning – Emergency Management, Bay of Plenty Regional Council
Emergency Management Support Coordinator, Otago Regional Council

If you’ve got a job vacancy you would like to promote in the AWE Newsletter, please email us the details by the end of the calendar month in time for publication the first week of each month.

16-17 July                   Emergency Management Conference 2024 (Melb)

22-23 July                   2024 Disaster & Emergency Management Conference

3-6 September            AFAC24 with ADRC 2024

24-26 September        National Indigenous Disaster Resiience Gathering

8-10 October              The Global Nature Positive Summit 2024

October                       Australasian Women in Emergencies Day

13 October                  International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction

11-24 November         UN Climate Change Conference (COP 24)

14-17 October             Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (PH)

9-10 September          Climate Change and Business Conference Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland NZ.

7 – 9 November           Australasian Conference on Traumatic Stress

1-2 December             International Conference on Climate Change and Global Warming (NZ)