AWE Newsletter - December 2024

Promoting, supporting and recognising the contributions of women
in emergency management and disaster resilience across Australasia.

Welcome to the December 2024 edition of the AWE Newsletter

Click on the links below to get straight to what you want to read:
AWE News
AWE Events
AWE Australian Chapters
AWE New Zealand
AWE Pacific
Women in Emergencies for Climate Action
Professional development
Sector n ews and resources
Sector j ob opportunities
S ector events

To open the full newsletter in your browser please click here

AWE News

AWE AGM

The AWE AGM will be held at 5pm AEDT on Tuesday 10 December. Don’t miss this opportunity to hear about our year in review, what we’ve got planned for 2025, and to see who will be elected to the AWE Committee. Book now!

Join the Australasian Women in Emergencies (AWE) Committee for 2025

Are you ready to make a difference?
Do you want to champion, support, and celebrate women in emergencies and disaster resilience? Keen to boost your skills, expand your network, and add something AWEsome to your CV? Nominate yourself for the AWE Committee today!

What’s in it for you?
As a committee member, you’ll play a hands-on role in delivering real value to our members. Together, we:

Plan exciting events, newsletters, and networking opportunities
Support our mentoring, awards, and scholarship programs
Promote Australasian Women in Emergencies Day
Strengthen our reach through our website and communications

Meetings are held online and between meetings, you’ll have opportunities to roll up your sleeves and contribute to AWE’s goals.

Interested in a specific area?
Join an AWE Subcommittee! Choose from Awards, Events, Communications, Membership, Mentoring, or IT. Email us to express your interest and help us create meaningful change.

Ready to step up?
Nominate for a 2025 AWE Committee or Subcommittee role and help create an AWEsome future. For more information please contact us.

To nominate please email us with your name, your current paid or volunteer role, with a statement (less than 200 words) about what skills you will bring, why you’d like to join the AWE Committee, and your preferred role: President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer or General Member.

Nominations close on 8 December.

2024 in review

2024 was another great year for AWE and its members. Here are just some of our highlights:

Grew our membership to 2132
Awarded seven Philippa Woolf Scholarships
Awarded four scholarships for the University of Melbourne’s Foundations in Disaster Recovery course
Delivered 23 AWE Recognition Awards
Hosted almost 20 online events for around 1000 registrants
Delivered almost 20 networking events including camps, stargazing nights, breakfasts, drinks, dinners, tours and more
Revised the AWE Mentoring Program

Find out more at the AWE AGM next week. We’re always looking for people to help deliver our various programs. If you’ve got any ideas about what AWE could do for its members, or you’d like to volunteer please get in touch!

Fundraising update

With the support of members, friends and allies we’ve managed to raise almost $3500!

All of AWE’s work goes towards championing and promoting opportunities for women in the disaster and emergencies sector, and all donations help ensure these AWEsome opportunities are accessible and provided free of charge.

If every AWE member donates just $5 we can reach our goal.
Please d onate today and don’t forget to share with your networks!

Happy Holidays!
We know that many of you will be working across the holiday season helping keep communities, tourists and others safe, and we thank you for all that you do. For everyone else we wish you a safe and happy holiday season.

AWE will take a break over January but will be back in February 2025 with another year of AWEsome events, networking opportunities, scholarships and more. If you have any queries in the meantime, please contact us at [email protected]

AWE Events

What a great year of events we’ve had! If there are people or organisations that you’d like to hear from or you’ve got ideas for any AWEsome online or in-person events in 2025 please let us know!

Care through Disaster
The recording of the recent Care through Disaster webinar with AWE and Dr Millie Rooney from Australia remade is now available. To view the webinar recording please click here. To view the Care through Disaster research and reports click here. For details of the book that Millie recommended, A Paradise Built in Hell, please click here, and for information on The Wales we want which Millie touched on, please click here.

AWE events are a great way to learn about and get to know other women in the emergency management and disaster resilience sectors – keep an eye on our calendar of events, Missed an AWE event?
Many of our past events are available for viewing on our YouTube page.

Would your organisation like to host an event with support from AWE? Feel free to email us and we can work with you to facilitate an in-person or virtual opportunity for our members.

AWE Australian Chapters

AWE NSW North Coast
Please join us from 7am on Thursday 5 December at Zebu Rydges, Port Macquarie on the bar side for a coffee or breakfast. It would be great if you can think of one thing that has been a success for the year to share with others, work or personal achievements, and one thing you’re looking forward to in 2025. Let Catherine know if you’ll be joining so we can confirm numbers [email protected].

AWE QLD
Queensland disaster managers have their attention close to the weather as we enter the severe weather season, with bushfires, flooding and storms already impacting communities. While there is keen interest to meet across the state, finding suitable dates in the silly season/before the year ends, has proven challenging. We’ll be organising networking events in early 2025 networking so we can connect, network and hear from our peers.

AWE SA
Join AWE members for end of year drinks from 5.30 – 6.30 this Thursday 5 December at Roxie’s Garden, 188 Grenfell St. Feel free to stay on later if you like! Please contact Georgina for details.

AWE VIC
Come along to celebrate 2024 at our end-of-year Yarra Ranges breakfast at 8.30am Wednesday 18 December at Hutch & Co, Lilydale

Join us for end-of-year City Drinks from 5pm Wednesday 18 December at Lane’s Edge Wine Bar, 39 Bourke Street, Melbourne. Please contact Amanda with queries about either of these events.

Chapter Leads meet on the third Thursday of each month at 12pm AEST. The meeting link is here.
There were some great ideas shared at our last catch up so keep your eye out on events in your chapter in this newsletter, on the AWE events page, or in your emails, and if you have any ideas for an event you would like to attend, or host, please email us.

AWE New Zealand

Join us at some of our exciting events. Updates between monthly newsletters also come out by email and through our AWE New Zealand Facebook group!

AWE NZ Member Survey
It was fantastic to hear from so many of you through our NZ member survey and at our first online, informal chapter catch up on Wednesday, 30 October! After a quick meet and greet, we talked about recent happenings, results of the survey, and ideas for the network and activities for 2025. In addition to scheduling more activities with our Pacific and Australian whānau, we were excited to discuss forming an events committee so we can schedule with at least one online and one in-person activity every month. If you’re interested in joining the events committee for NZ, please let us know. We can’t wait to hear more of your ideas and suggestions!

Kapiti Coast network
The AWE Kapiti network is now officially up and running. We are meeting once a month to connect our wahine working in Emergency Management, Disaster Risk Reduction and Recovery across the Kapiti Coast from Otaki to Paekakariki.

Last month we discussed some of the learnings out of the Australian Bushfires reports, and considered how we could apply some of those learnings to our mahi here in New Zealand. The key topic that emerged was communications. At the heart of it, we all agreed that what we communicate, how we communicate and when we communicate are all critical to ensuring our communities are prepared, able to respond, and ready to recover from any unexpected event. If you are interested in reading the other lessons learnt by our Australian friends from the Victorian bushfires, you can find the link here.

We are now taking a break over Christmas and will have our next meet in February 2025 (date and venue TBC). Keep an eye on the NZ AWE Facebook page for details. If you are interested in coming along or have any queries about the Kapiti group, please contact Veronika Munro at [email protected].

Get summer reading list ready

An enthusiastic bunch of bibliophiles met for the first meeting of the AWE Wellington book club in November! The book chosen as our first read is A Paradise Built in Hell by Rebecca Solnit, which we will discuss at our next meeting on Thursday 23 January. Location will be CBD but register your interest with Casey now so we know to save you a seat!

If you’re interested in a reading list of EM related books, or would like to vote in the poll to set the books for the rest of 2025, join the AWE Wellington book club on Bookclubs.com – it’s free and easy to read along with us, even if you’re not in Wellington!

https://bookclubs.com/awe-wellington-bookclub/join/

AWE NZ Wellington Monthly Breakfast
We had a lovely group of women get together for coffee and breakfast, with new and old faces alike at December’s Monthly Breakfast! We’re skipping the January get-together and taking a wee holiday break as we head into summer! Breakfasts will be back on after the holidays, resuming in February. Can’t make the first Tuesday of each month, not a fan of the Old Bailey, or happy with the status quo? Message Amy to share your thoughts on the date and place for next time!

If you have any specific news or information to share with other AWE NZ members, or queries,
please forward them to AWE NZ Chapter Lead Amy.

AWE Pacific

If you live or work anywhere in the Pacific, or have an interest in emergency management and disaster resilience across the Pacific, come along to our next AWE Pacific Chapter Meet & Greet at 9.30am AEDT on Wednesday 18 December
Everybody is welcome!
Register here.

Resources:

Talbot Oration: The 2024 Talbot Oration, delivered by Cynthia Houniuhi, shares how a small group of committed Pacific law students transformed their classroom project into a global movement for climate justice.

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

Women in Emergencies for Climate Action

The next Climate chapter meeting takes place on Wednesday 18 December You can register here. Please contact Amanda with any queries.

Resources:

DFAT Webinar: Gender Equality & the Climate Change Nexus will explore Australia’s integrated policy approach to tackling climate change while promoting gender equality and disability equity. Understanding the intersection of these two critical issues is essential for designing effective development programs and activities. Friday 6 December online.

The Women in Emergencies for Climate Action chapter aims to be a strong and inclusive voice in climate change advocacy and action, sharing experience and expertise, and leveraging our partnerships and networks to add our voice and commitment to the climate emergency.

Professional development

Natural Hazard and Impact Essentials

A new, New Zealand course – Natural Hazard & Impact Essentials – is designed for emergency managers, risk professionals, and others. During this 16-hour course across four weeks attendees will:

Delve into essential concepts such as exposure, vulnerability, and risk and apply them to your geographical area.
Explore many hazards in depth—from earthquakes and weather events to tsunamis and volcanic eruptions—covering science, warnings, and effective risk-reduction strategies.
Learn to evaluate impact, measure progress, and optimise strategies for keeping communities safe.

Spaces are now open for the first Natural Hazard & Impact Essentials of 2025, that starts Tuesday, 4 February. NZ$550 + GST

Building Resilience and Managing Disasters

This University of Queensland short course will introduce you to the big ideas, cutting-edge concepts and contemporary theories of disaster management research that exist around the world. Over 25 hours you can learn about hazard, vulnerability and resilience paradigms, and explore cutting-edge concepts and theories related to rapid reflection, instinctive decision making, institutional adaptation, community resilience and the politics of planning, response and recovery.

Building Resilience and Managing Disasters is a self-paced, online learning course that you can start at anytime. AU$880

Sector news and resources

Award congratulations: Congratulations to Women’s Health Loddon Mallee (WHLM) for receiving a National Resilience Australia Award for their Women Rising project. You can watch AWE’s webinar with WHLM here.

Crisis Toolkit: A new Crisis Toolkit, comprising Australian Red Cross RediPlan and other resources, is designed to assist people with living with a disability or a chronic health condition to prepare for various crises.

Cyclone Tracy 50 year anniversary: NHRA is marking the respective 50-year and 20-year anniversaries of 1974’s Cyclone Tracy and the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami in this webinar, while AIDR is marking Cyclone Tracy in this webinar with Australian Red Cross and NT Emergency Services.

Disability Inclusive Emergency Management: The new Disability Inclusive Emergency Management Toolkit was launched this week.

First Nations winners: Three projects focusing on First Nations people and communities were winners at the recent National Disaster Resilience Awards including the NT’s Local Indigenous Cultural Recovery Advisors, Victoria’s Cultural Healing & Aboriginal Participation for the October 2022 Flood Clean Up, and Red Cross’ First Nations Recovery Group.

Nature-led community resilience: A new toolkit aims to inspire and guide communities and organisations to include nature-led community resilience practices in both disaster recovery and planning for future disasters.

Resilient Lismore: Resilient Lismore has released two new reports: Resilient Lismore Social Impact Report and Falling through the cracks: 2024 Lismore Flood Zone Survey and Outreach Report

Social capital and disaster resilience: Australian Red Cross has released new research exploring the role, and monetary value, of social capital in disasters.

Supporting infants and children in disasters: This new practice guide is for everyone who works with infants, children, parents and families to be prepared to support them in planning and preparing for disasters, as well as responding and recovering afterwards.

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.

Sector job opportunities

ACT
Assistant Director, Hazards Insurance Partnership, NEMA

NSW
Team Leader Emergency Management, Department of Primary Industries & Regional Development
Project Officer, NSW Rural Fire Service

QLD
Business Support Officer, Rural Fire Service Queensland, Cairns
Auxiliary Firefighter, Queensland Fire Department, Northern QLD

SA
Manager, Emergency Management, Department of the Premier and Cabinet
State Training Officer – Multiple Positions, SA Country Fire Service

TAS
Community Resources and Projects Officer, Department of Police, Fire and Emergency Management
Assistant Director, Operations and Resources, SES

VIC
Business Resilience Lead, Gippsland Water
Fire Prevention Officer, City of Greater Geelong

WA
Executive Support Officer, Department of Fire and Emergency Services
Project Coordinator – Disaster Preparedness, WA Primary Health Alliance

NZ
Planning and Intelligence Officer, Auckland, Fire and Emergency New Zealand

Sector events

If you are attending any of the major events below this year and would like to meet up with other AWE members, please email us at [email protected] and we’ll help you to connect.

2025

8 March International Women’s Day

22-24 May Lessons Management Forum (NZ)

27 – 29 May Local Govt Assoc. Qld Disaster Management Conference

18 – 20 June Natural Hazards Research Forum 2025 (Adelaide)

12-15 July Disaster and Emergency Management Conference 2025 (Gold Coast)

29 – 30 July Emergency Management Conference 2025 (Melbourne)

26-28 August AFAC/ADRC 2025 (Perth)

13 -16 October The 8th International Adaptation Futures Conference (AF2025) (NZ)

2026

23 – 24 March Gender and Disaster Conference (Melbourne)

Newsletter contributions

The AWE Newsletter is published monthly and is distributed to more than 2000 AWE members across Australasia. For contributions, queries or to let us know what you would like to see in the newsletter, please email us at [email protected].

About AWE

The Australasian Women in Emergencies Network (AWE) promotes, supports and recognises the contributions of women in emergency management and disaster resilience across Australasia.

www.awenetwork.org.au

[email protected]

To become an AWE member, please click here.

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AWE acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and recognises their continuing connection to land, waters and culture. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present. AWE acknowledges the injustices committed against First Nations people and recognise Sovereignty has never been ceded. Australian land always was, and always will be Aboriginal land.

AWE recognises the unique role of Māori, and embraces the Treaty of Waitangi (Te Tiriti), NZ’s foundation document confirming Māori as tangata whenua, the first people of Aotearoa, New Zealand. It recognises that they have tino rangatiratanga (absolute authority or sovereignty) over their lands, resources, and taonga (treasured possessions) while embracing the three guiding principles of the Te Tiriti – partnership, participation and protection.

AWE acknowledges, values and celebrates the rich diversity and intersectionality of our members, workplaces and communities. We are committed to creating an inclusive, equitable, respectful and safe network, where people of all identities, cultures, backgrounds, abilities and experiences feel they belong and are empowered and able to strive and thrive.