AWE Members at the AGM in December 2020 – who knew an AGM could be so much fun!
Welcome to our first AWE Newsletter for 2021!
On Thursday 17th December 2020, AWE held its 2nd Annual General Meeting and Committee Election.
We are delighted to announce our new AWE Committee:
President: Bridget Tehan
Vice President: Amanda Lamont
Secretary: Kath Cooney
Treasurer: unfilled
Committee Members: Lisa Marie Jackson, Margaret Moreton, Jeanene (Nene) Howard, Margaret (Midge) Gray
Congratulations to all our re elected and new Committee members. We look forward to continuing the great work from AWE’s first three years and taking our network to the stars and beyond.
Thanks to our outgoing Treasurer Paula Hives. Paula stepped into the role as AWE’s first Treasurer. We were in a safe pair of hands in our early years as Paula assisted in many administrative and financial matters at this critical time. Thank you for your contribution Paula and we wish you well in your future study and career. Of course, we will continue to see you at AWE events.
International Women’s Day is almost upon us again. This is an important day for AWE as it was at an IWD breakfast hosted by UN Women back in 2018 that the idea of AWE was conceived. AWE will be celebrating IWD in many ways as you can read in this newsletter.
The new AWE Committee has now met and we have put in place a great framework to continue to deliver some great services for our AWE members, including the Conversation Series, mentoring program, scholarship program and a great networking and social events schedule. We are also planning some great upgrades to our website, including a photo gallery, events page and access to current and past newsletters.
As always, we welcome your feedback as we are always looking for ways to make sure we are meeting your needs and expectations. Please send us an email at [email protected] if you would like to get in touch.
“Each time a woman stands up for herself, without knowing it possibly, without claiming it, she stands up for all women.” Maya Angelou.
I note the obvious differences
between each sort and type,
but we are more alike, my friends,
than we are unalike.
We are more alike, my friends,
than we are unalike.
We are more alike, my friends,
than we are unalike.
AWE News
Celebrating our AWEsome Achievements in 2020
At the AWE AGM 2020, members revisited some of the many AWE successes and achievements over a challenging year.
Here is a snapshot:
Invitation to and participation in the UNDRR Asia-Pacific Forum in Brisbane in November 2019
Vic AWE Chapter end of year dinner in Melbourne with guests Elizabeth and Jolie from New Zealand AWE Chapter
NSW AWE Chapter monthly Friday networking including site visits and guest speakers and end of year meeting and drinks in Sydney in December 2019
AWE presentation at ANZDMC conference in Brisbane
Monthly member newsletters
Mentoring program commenced
AWE Speaking engagements by members of the AWE committee including at the Women’s Environmental Leadership Australia (WELA), Loneliness Dialogue, SES Sunbury Unit – Women’s Day, Grampians Health, guest speaker at IWD events
WA AWE Chapter Leads and Advisory group breakfast in Perth
Invitation to ELCA National Climate and Emergency Summit and signatory to recommendations to Commonwealth Government including full page ad in the weekend newspaper with AWE logo
AWE Scholarships program commenced
Ongoing activity and networking on social media including posting our recordings of events on our private AWE You Tube channel
AWE Conversation Series – delivered 6 events featuring prominent women from within our AWE network and our close friends
Other events included – virtual Pool Party, regional drinks, virtual drinks during COVID
Monthly Mindfulness and Breath Work sessions
Partnered with ESF at IWD event at AAMI Park followed by joining almost record making crowd at MCG to watch the final of the International Women’s T20 cricket
Building relationships with other women’s groups around the world
Partnered with HAG and HWN on IWD 2020 for special forum on diversity in disasters and the role of women’s networks
AWE Committee and Chapter Leads Planning sessions
Go Fund Me campaign raised $3,500
2nd Member Survey
Over 1300 Members
AWE Mentoring Program
Mentoring can be an enormously rewarding process for both Mentor and Mentee. Mentoring relationships provide a trusted and supportive environment in which to:
explore who we are and who we are growing to become,
face challenges that come with life and work,
think about and problem solve the issues that we face,
practice new strategies and get feedback, and
just enjoy sharing and learning with one another.
We currently have established mentoring relationships in the AWE network and we hope to hear from them soon about their particular relationship and the benefits it brings to them. If you are in a Mentoring relationship, please think about writing up a short article about how it works for you. It would be great to publish stories in future newsletters.
If you are not currently in a mentoring relationship, then consider becoming a Mentor or a Mentee and head to our website for more information.
And if you have already registered your interest in being mentored, please reach out to one of our fantastic mentors, they are waiting to hear from you. If you want help contacting a mentor, please email [email protected].
AWE Philippa Woolf Scholarships
In 2020 AWE was thrilled to introduce the Philippa Woolf Scholarships.
Two full scholarships were available for AWE members to study a Diploma of Public Safety (Emergency Management) and an Advanced Diploma of Public Safety (Emergency Management) at ACIM Solutions.
The Philippa Woolf scholarships will be available again in 2021.
More information will be available in our next AWE newsletter.
AWE Chapter News
ACT Join other AWE members at :
Australasian Institute of Emergency Services (AIES) ACT Chapter
Book Club Breakfast
Book being discussed: “Atomic Habits”
Time: 7:30 – 8:30 am
When: Tuesday 20 April
Where: Capital Eatery, 68 Northbourne Avenue
RSVP: [email protected]
New Zealand
Welcome to Demetra De Gregorio who has joined Elizabeth and Jolie in NZ to support the AWE NZ Chapter. Dems is the administration and project support person at Hummingly. She has worked for Consumer NZ, LT McGuinness and the Office of the Banking Ombudsman in the roles of Personal Assistant and Receptionist before embracing the challenge of 3 kids under 3. Dems says she is looking forward to getting involved in AWE activities and is planning some AWE events in NZ soon. Welcome Dems.
Queensland
Thank you to our fabulous AWE Qld Chapter co-lead Alessia Anibaldi who has decided to step down from her AWE role after a huge contribution and great support over the last 2 years. We have greatly enjoyed working with you Alessia and we know you will still be an AWE member and remain active in our events and activities in Queensland and further abroad.
AWE Committee Member Profile – Jeanene (Nene) Howard
Nene has spent 19 years with CFA as a firefighter and in various brigade positions including working on the juniors program and Group Communications Officer, Field Operations Vehicle and in Incident control Centre operations. Nene is also a former bushfire educator.
Nene has also held roles in crisis intervention for groups and individuals, counselling and employee assistance for private and government agencies, with Victoria Police as an Injury Management Consultant, a University tutor in a post graduate counselling course, secondary school teacher and research and administration officer for the South Australian Government.
Nene has been a great AWE supporter and contributor since we began, she is a regular attendee at events and with her broad emergency background she will be a great addition to the Committee and the AWE network.
AWE Committee Member Profile – Margaret (Midge) Gray
Hi. Although my name is Margaret, everyone calls me Midge. I live in far north west Tasmania with two dogs – Lucy and Sammi and two cats – Archimedes and Pythagoras. I am a part time first aid trainer with Red Cross Tasmania and I also volunteer with Red Cross Emergency Services. In the past, I have also volunteered with SES Tasmania and Tasmania Fire Service. I have been a volunteer with SES NSW (Kuringai) since 2018 and NSW RFS (Hunter Valley Communications Brigade) since 2019. I possess a Masters in Emergency Management, a current TAE (trainer qualification) and am studying a Graduate Certificate in Fire Investigation which I expect to complete in April.
I wanted to be on the committee of the AWE Network because I want to represent those women who still don’t have a voice in Emergency Services. Although progress has been made in this area, there are still women like me, who have not been given the same opportunities (for example) as other volunteers. I thought by being on the committee that it would enable me to help women who are in this situation.
AWE Events
International Women’s Day 2021
International Women’s Day is celebrated each year on 8th March.
The global UN Women theme for International Women’s Day (IWD) 2021 is “Women in Leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world”. This theme celebrates the tremendous efforts by women and girls around the world in shaping a more equal future.
Women leaders are making a difference, every day
The COVID-19 crisis has highlighted the disproportionate burdens that women carry and the centrality of women’s contributions to decision making.
Across the globe, women are leading organisations and institutions carrying out effective and inclusive COVID-19 responses, from the highest levels of decision-making through to frontline service delivery. Women bring different experiences, perspectives and skills to the table, and make invaluable contributions to decisions, policies and laws that work better for all.
And yet:
Women are significantly under-represented in parliaments, holding only one-quarter of parliamentary seats worldwide. In Australia, we fare only slightly better, and still fall short of the 50/50 goal: 30.46% of MPs are women.
In Australian companies, women represent just 17.1% of CEOs and 14.1% of board chairs.
Just one of the 25 CEOs appointed to lead ASX 200 organisations in the past year has been female.
While women comprise around 47% of all employees in Australia, they take home on average $253.60 less than men every week (full-time ordinary earnings), making the national gender pay gap 14% — a figure that has remained similar for the past twenty years.
Advancing women in leadership is central to creating more profitable and productive economies, flourishing businesses and a healthier and more peaceful planet. There is a growing understanding and expectation that leadership in all facets of economic, political and social life must reflect communities; organisations miss out if 50% of the talent pool – women in all their diversity — is not around decision-making tables.
More diverse and inclusive groups have higher performance both on safety and operational performance.
A recent Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) study shows that more women on Boards and in senior leadership roles result in improved company performance, profitability and productivity. Moreover, the appointment of a female CEO led to a 12.9% increase in the likelihood of outperforming the sector on three or more metrics.
When women are at the negotiating table, peace agreements are more likely to last 15 years or longer.
Research shows that female-led countries are handling COVID-19 more effectively than their male counterparts. “…women leaders reacted more quickly and decisively in the face of potential fatalities…analysis clearly confirms that when women led countries are compared to countries similar to them along a range of characteristics, they have performed better, experiencing fewer cases as well as fewer deaths,” Supriya Garikipati, Developmental Economist from Liverpool University
AWE International Women’s Day 2021
The Australasian Women in Emergencies Network (AWE) is once again pleased to partner with Emergency Services Foundation (ESF) for International Women’s Day.
This year ESF is hosting 3 events:
BAIRNSDALE, 27th February 9.30am – 4.00pm
Bairnsdale Sporting & Convention Centre
WANGARATTA, 14th March 9.30am – 4.00pm
Wangaratta Performing Arts & Convention Centre
MELBOURNE, 16th March 9.00am – 4.00pm
ZINC Federation Square
The IWD theme of International Women’s Day 2021, #Choose to Challenge will be reflected in the forum program, exploring the topics of gender equality and wellbeing.
Please join us for a day of lively discussion, laughter and inspiration with your emergency colleagues.
If you are interested in attending any of these events, please contact Amanda Lamont at [email protected] to register your interest.
Numbers are strictly limited – please nominate now to avoid disappointment.
AWE is looking for volunteers to help us on the AWE stand at all these events, so if you are free, please come along and help us network and share with other women in emergencies.
AWE IWD Lunchtime Online Panel Discussion – Friday 5th
March
YOU DON’T WANT TO MISS THIS IWD EVENT!
The AWE Committee will be hosting an International Women’s Day (IWD) online panel discussion on Friday 5 March 12pm AEDT. The discussion will centre on the IWD theme this year ‘Women in Leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world’. Pop a placeholder in your calendar now and more information will be released closer to the time. Anyone can join us for this session whether they are AWE Network members, interested in the network but yet to join, or are just interested in the session.
#womenlead #IWD2021
AWE IWD Breakfast – Eastern Melbourne – Tuesday 9th March
Celebrate International Women’s Day 2021 with your AWE colleagues at a breakfast for those who live in, work in, or simply love the outer eastern suburbs of Melbourne.
Join us for a lively chat and reconnect over breakfast on Tuesday 9th March at 7.30am at Hutch & Co, 251 Main Street, Lilydale https://www.hutchand.co/.
Get prepared for emergencies at this action packed expo that was designed to fight for rural communities. Emergency services big and small will be demonstrating resources, as well as support services and community groups with a variety of interactive displays. Suitable for the whole family, there’s children’s activities, networking opportunities, VIP meet and greets, water sports, food and drink and the chance to consult with emergency professionals about your own preparedness. This is the third time it shall be held. And in a very special turn of events the event will take place over the same weekend as the Go Fish Nagambie Tournament and Festival. Go Fish Nagambie will also be the main organisers for this event. Free Entry however there will be a raffle on the day with all funds raised will go to the Nagambie Community specifically for emergency projects and equipment.
AWE Members in Victoria are encouraged to attend and AWE will have a stand at the expo so make sure you stop by and say hello. If you wish to support the AWE Network at the stand – please let Events Coordinator – Lisa Marie Jackson know ASAP ([email protected]).
AWE Conversation Series 2021
An Exciting 2021 Conversation Series is under development Our conversation series was a ‘beacon of light’ and a source of interest for many of us during 2020 – our first year of COVID. The feedback we received about this series was very positive and so we are going to offer another series of conversations during 2021. We are preparing the program now and invite you to suggest speakers.
Margaret Moreton is coordinating the series and is keen to announce diverse speakers from across our membership in 2021. Margaret would love to hear from members who are willing to share interesting projects and/or chat about their role. One of the exciting things about our network is that we have so many members who are involved in important roles and doing interesting work. Feel free to nominate someone you’d like to hear from AND please think about offering yourselves as well. These conversations are relaxed and it is a great way to learn more about one another. Great opportunities have come from these casual conversations.
Please send your ideas about possible speakers to [email protected].
Stay tuned for advice about the 2021 series.
AWE Conversation Series 2020 Recordings
You can view the recordings of the AWE Conversations for 2020 on the AWE You Tube Channel here:
AWE Conversation # 1 with Ruth Wraith, Child Psychologist and Emergency/Trauma Specialist – June 2020
AWE Conversation # 2 with Georgie Cornish, Director, State Recovery, South Australia – July 2020
AWE Conversation #3 with Kayeleen Brown, Empowering Aboriginal Women in Land Use Management and Women’s Role in Cultural Burning – August 2020
AWE Conversation #4 with Amanda McKenzie, CEO Climate Council and Lesley Hughes, Climate Councillor – Women Leading in Climate Action – September 2020
AWE Conversation #5 with Anne Leadbeater, Leadbeater Group, Disaster Recovery and Community Engagement Expert – October 2020
AWE Conversation #6 with Associate Professor Valerie Ingham, Charles Sturt University – November 2020
Sector News
Disaster Management Research Forum
A great opportunity to contribute to the Qld Emergency Management Research Forum on the following topics: Behaviour Change; Resilience; Environmental Change; Cascading Disasters; Recovery; Built Environment; Infrastructure; Social Impacts; Community Engagement. EoI due by 15th February.
More information here. The deadline is next Monday 15th Feb.
BNHCRC Online Resource – Driving Change
The new BNHCRC online resource, Driving Change provides a new entry point that synthesises the CRC’s findings around the key research utilisation themes. New content will continue to be added up to Driving Change to the end of the CRC.
So, if your questions are – What do I really need to know? Where can I find it? How can I use it? How are others using it? Who do I contact to better understand it? – Driving Change is the place to start.
Inquiries and Reviews Database
Australia has had hundreds of inquiries and reviews into natural hazards over the years, but how can policy makers ensure lessons from the past are not forgotten?
This video describes how the Inquiries and Reviews database gives emergency services the upper hand in learning from the past to create a better future by allowing users to search and compare more than 4,000 recommendations from 315 inquiries and reviews into natural hazards in Australia.
Kids News Bushfire Poetry Competition closes on 20 February 2021
There’s still time for primary and secondary students to submit poems about what they felt, saw, heard or went through during the 2019-20 bushfires.
If you know a budding poet, encourage them to submit their poems by 5pm AEDT on 20 February 2021.
Poems can be submitted, and more information can be found, on the Kids News Bushfire Poetry Competition page. There are plenty of tips around, including author Jackie French’s five rules for writing a poem.
Other Events
Global Animal Disaster Management Conference – 15-24 February
This online emergency management conference is a world-first that looks at the considerations for animals and brings together leading emergency experts in this field.
Organised by Animal Evac New Zealand, the conference will connect leading animal emergency and disaster researchers with practitioners and fellow academics. The online format offers a staggered series of free-to-view online webinars. The interactive presentations offer convenient time zones for those presenting and viewing. With 50 presenters from 16 countries, and more than 500 delegates registered, GADMC is shaping up to be a landmark event.
VCOSS Disaster Recovery Conversation: Children and young people
in disaster recovery – Thursday 25th February 4-5.30pm
VCOSS’ new Disaster Recovery Conversation series provides leaders, staff and volunteers of community and social service organisations to network and gain access to in-depth expert knowledge on topical issues relating to emergencies and disasters.
On Feb 25th, this will be a free event, booking is required, we want as many students, teachers, D&I practitioners and generally interested people to attend as possible.
In this virtual event, we are excited to present some of Australia’s thought leaders and doers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM). Our expert panel will explore the following themes and provide practical strategies you can use immediately in your workplace, or in your entrepreneurial endeavours:
attraction and how to inspire the next generation and end under-representation
how we reshape the stories we share about STEM to address enduring myths
rethinking attraction to grow our pipeline, including the role of research and universities
why women leave STEM: the challenges of culture and covert discriminatory practices
practical strategies to make schools, universities and workplaces ready and more inclusive
International Women’s Day 2021- Women in Leadership – 5th March
On International Women’s Day (IWD) 2021, UN Women Australia will launch their 10-year gender equality acceleration campaign: Every. Day. Women.
On Friday 5 March join one of five live events in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Brisbane and Perth. UN Women’s theme for International Women’s Day 2021 is Women in Leadership. New in 2021, we are delighted to concurrently live stream the events to an interactive virtual platform, so you can join us from anywhere across Australia.
Regional Institute Australia 2021 NATIONAL SUMMIT Regions Rising – 17th-18th March
RIA’s National Summit, Growing Regional Australia – Shaping the Good Life, is the flagship event in the event series Regions Rising. This event links all levels of government, business and the community sector to ensure a collaborative and future-focused discussion that will help inform and engage with our leaders as we move toward the regionalisation of our nation.
Working to Build Disaster Resilient Nations – 12th-13th July
Gain the skills and knowledge to better coordinate management, leadership, and community driven activities at the 2021 Disaster & Emergency Management Conference. This annual event is designed for all leaders, change-makers and workers in the disaster and emergency management sector. Hear from keynote speakers, sector representatives and lived-experience speakers, expand your connections, and discover how you can improve current industry operations. In person and virtual registration available https://anzdmc.com.au/
AFAC21 Theme : Balancing impact and expectations
17th-20th August
AFAC21 will focus on how we manage the consequences of major events and meet the expectations of the community and government. The program will explore how the sector can continue to learn and find opportunities to deliver with new and innovative approaches.
If there are other events you are attending, please let us know so we can let other members know about them. It would be great to have an AWE presence at these events, including side events, members wearing their AWE badges, poster displays, presentations, displays. Please get in touch with the AWE Committee at [email protected] if you would like further information on how to get involved.
Job Opportunities
Keep your eye on the AWE Social Media pages for more job opportunities and application closing dates as some are closing outside the monthly newsletter cycle.
Mary Fran Myers Scholarship – Call for Applications – due 15th
March
The Mary Fran Myers Scholarship recognises outstanding individuals who share Myers’ commitment to disaster research and practice and have the potential to make a lasting contribution to reducing disaster vulnerability. At least one scholarship recipient each year will receive financial support allowing them to attend the Annual Natural Hazards Research and Applications Workshop. The Workshop will be held virtually in 2021. To apply, please visit our website. This year, we are accepting applications from those who reside outside of N. America and the Caribbean. Applications are due March 15, 2021.
Central Queensland University – Free Courses
If you reside in Queensland and out of work, CQU have many subsidised or free courses on offer. For those in this position, with an emergency management background, the Certificate IV in Training & Assessment may be of interest as often related training roles require this. Check out the terms and conditions, and full list of courses available at https://lnkd.in/g7iHHTh
UN Women Young Leaders Program
Together with United Nations Volunteers, we’re launching the new Young Women Leaders Initiative to create professional opportunities for leaders of tomorrow from the Global South. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/dbwaUyT
How Do Rural Regional & Remote Women get on Boards
The Social Recovery Reference Group has prepared a resource for a local government in Australia after finding conflict testing their internal and relationship resources.
It outlines reflections and findings from recovery and community conflict practitioners about how to view conflict, understand it, potentially prevent it and how to deal with it. It is written for public organisations working with communities but may be useful to other organisations and communities themselves.
If you have any questions about the SRRG and what we are doing contact Louise Mitchell, National Consultant Disaster Recovery, Social Recovery Reference Group (SRRG), [email protected].
Reference Guides on Gender and Disaster Series
The IRDR Centre for Gender and Disaster at UCL, the first Volume of our Reference Guides on Gender and Disaster Series are available. This is part of an ongoing project to compile the existing literature on Gender and Disasters and to share it with other disciplines and sectors.
This first volume provides some of the essential readings to support an introduction to readers who may be new to this area of study. It also includes more recent case studies to further the understanding of the gender and intersectional dimensions of Disaster Risk Reduction which might be of interest to scholars already familiar with the literature. Where we could, we populated the list with references that could also be useful to an audience of practitioners, to support the transition from theory and conceptualisations to implementation of gender-responsive practice with examples from different contexts.
Dr Virginie Le Masson
Co-Director, IRDR Centre for Gender and Disaster, University College London
& Global Monitoring and Evaluation Coordinator for GRRIPP
BNHCRC Hazard Note: How to enhance disaster recovery in the community
Disaster recovery is complex and dynamic, with multiple factors influencing the recovery of people and communities.
Researchers have developed a Guide to Recovery Capitals – a multidimensional, inclusive and systemic guide to disaster recovery that emphasises the interconnected interactions between different areas of recovery, known as capitals. Accessible at www.recoverycapitals.org.au, the guide is a resource for people, organisations and governments involved in disaster recovery support across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand.
Hazard Note 89 presents the research behind the new guide, from the University of Melbourne, Massey University and the Australian Red Cross.
The AWE Newsletter is published monthly on the first Friday of the month. Please send submissions Submissions are due one week before. For queries or to change your subscription, or to let us know what you would like to see in the newsletter email us at [email protected].
We would love to hear from more of our members, there are many great successes we want to share.
About AWE
The Australasian Women in Emergencies Network (AWE) promotes, supports and develops the contributions of women in emergency management and disaster resilience to help build stronger individuals, communities and organisations.
