AWE Newsletter – July 2021

Scholarship winners announced!
AWE is pleased to announce the two successful applicants to the 2021 Philippa Woolf Scholarship are AWE members Nicky Haslinghouse and Zoe Chenier-Hinde. You can read more about Nicky and Zoe below, and send your congratulations to them here.

Australian Gender Equity Council membership
AWE is pleased to advise that it is now a member of the Australian Gender Equality Council (AGEC). AGEC is Australia’s first independent, national body dedicated to driving gender equality. It is committed to creating the same rights and opportunities for women when it comes to pay, superannuation, the workplace and society. Members of AWE now form part of AGEC’s member network of over 500,000 women and girls. Working together, we aim to drive a cultural shift in Australia’s attitudes towards gender equality through national campaigns, underpinned by rigorous empirical research. 

We are thrilled to announce the successful applicants for the 2021 Phillipa Woolf Scholarship are Nicky Haslinghouse and Zoe Chenier-Hinde. While only one scholarship was originally on offer, the calibre of the candidates was so strong that two scholarships were made available.

                          
  Nicky Haslinghouse                                        Zoe Chenier-Hinde

Nicky Haslinghouse, Emergency and Critical Incident Specialist at the University of Melbourne, volunteer firefighter and SES trainee, stated in her application: As my experience as a young female firefighter hasn’t always been easy, I now have a passion for increasing the visibility of women within the sector, and the number of women in leadership positions, while also actively challenging gender-based discrimination.

Zoe Chenier-Hinde, Lead Intelligence Officer with Emergency Management Victoria, stated in her application: I want to be a strong female leader in Emergency Management, helping women from all walks of life to enter into and thrive in all aspects of emergency management.

Philippa Woolf, Director of ACIM said, “It is a privilege for us to support such committed, passionate and capable women continue to contribute to the emergency management sector. Together with our team, we are all looking forward to working with Nicky and Zoe as part of their ongoing professional development.”

AWE and ACIM believe both Nicky and Zoe have the potential to make great contributions to the emergency management sector and congratulate them on being each awarded a 2021 Philippa Woolf Scholarship. 

We have a wide range of AWEsome Mentors signed up to the Mentoring Program, including:
Ruth Wraith – Trauma and Disaster Consultant
Jillian Edwards – Director Beyond Business as Usual
Siusan MacKenzie – CEO Emergency Services Foundation

          
Ruth Wraith                            Jillian Edwards                          Siusan MacKenzie

AWE NSW

Calling all AWE NSW members 
As many of us stay at home to reduce the impact of COVID-19 within the community, we have an opportunity to reflect on the past 12-18 months and the changes that have occurred for women during and post emergencies. Our way of working and engagement continues to evolve for social interactions and in professional settings. How we continue to engage, support and grow is ever evolving and our ability to adapt to the ever changing environment continues. We need to look at developing creative ways to interact with each other without the requirement of meeting face to face.

In NSW we are looking to develop a sub-committee to commence the development of a program of activities for the next 12 months. The sub-committee will also promote the Australian Women in Emergencies Network. You can put in as little or as much time you have available. We encourage anyone who is interested in being involved in the sub-committee to please contact the AWE NSW Chapter Lead Nicole Hogan on [email protected]

AWE QLD

AWE members networking dinner
Calling all AWE members who will be in the Gold Coast for the 2021 Disaster and Emergency Management Conference! AWE QLD will advise members of an AWE networking event when the new dates are announced.
Book now

AWE QLD seeking expressions of interest
If you are an AWE member who is interested in supporting AWE QLD’s coordination, strategy and operations by joining a sub-committee, please email Chapter Co-Lead Jaimee Morgenbesser at [email protected] to discuss.

Airservices Australia tour
In June, AWE Network members in Townsville got together for a networking event, which included a tour of the Airservices Australia Aviation Firefighting Station on the RAAF Base. Members were treated to an inside look of the station and appliances, and left with a greater understanding of local capabilities for emergency response. Thank you to AWE member Sarah Steinegg and Airservices Australia for hosting us for this wonderful event.

AWE SA

Calling all AWE SA members 
Here in South Australia, we are acutely aware of the continuing impact of COVID-19 across the nation. It is important to recognise the contribution women make to the emergency management sector during this time.

We want to hear from our members on how best to engage, to support the growth and sustainment of AWE. We would also like to put the call out for SA sub-committee members to support the engagement opportunities and promote AWE SA. If you have a little, or a lot of time you would like to put towards this, please do reach out to the AWE SA Chapter Lead [email protected] for more information, or an informal chat.

Keep your eyes on your inbox for new and creative ways for us to connect as a network.

AWE VIC

EMC rescheduled
Please note that the Emergency Management Conference has been rescheduled to October 2021. We will advise members about the AWE networking event closer to the date.

Free ticket to Emergency Management Conference
AWE VIC is offering one lucky AWE member a free ticket for the rescheduled Emergency Management Conference 2021. If you are free to attend and are willing to help out at the AWE stand during the conference. please email us and tell us in 50 words or less why you would like to attend.
Applications close on 31 August.

AWE WA

WA Emergency Management Conference
The WA Emergency Management Conference, Building Capacity to adapt in an Era of Unprecedented Disasters, will take place on Wednesday, 13 October, 2021 in Bunbury. Confirmed speakers include Dr Robert Glassner, Dr Kate Brady, Aaron Kearney OAM, and Lewis Winter.

Call for abstracts are now open and potential presenters are encouraged to make an application here. 

AWE NZ

Police, Defence and Emergency Services Women’s Leadership Summit. The 2021 Police, Defence and Emergency Services Women’s Leadership Summit offers a unique opportunity for women across a wide range of organisations to connect, share their experiences and develop their leadership capacity. Created by Women & Leadership Australia, the Summit is supported by a wide range of stakeholders throughout the sector.

Flexible work key to future economic prosperity. A new report, Equitable Flexibility: Reshaping our Workforce, shows 95 per cent of employees want flexibility and also want their companies to do more to encourage flexible work arrangements. The research also confirms flexible and remote-work arrangements can work at scale and highlights flexible working as a key lever for economic growth.

Women’s voices changing public discussion on climate change. The Women’s Climate Congress is a network of women from all walks of life and political views leading united action on climate change.  The Congress hosts regular online conversations, Women’s voices changing public discussion on climate change on 6 July.

Gender Mainstreaming in Emergency Management. The Elaine Enarson training manual, Gender Mainstreaming in Emergency Management, can be used to highlight the need for increased awareness about sex and gender; undertake more inclusive programme and project planning for emergency preparedness at all levels; and promote organizational change toward gender mainstreaming, thereby creating the institutional framework necessary for sustained gender analysis and planning.

2021 Lessons Management Forum. The AFAC AIDR 2021 Lessons Management Forum, taking place on 6 and 7 July, will consider lessons, good practice and innovation in knowledge and lessons management from a broad range of sectors. The themes for the forum relate to lessons identified and learned, challenges faced and successful approaches.

Support the mental health and wellbeing of young volunteers. BNHCRC’s Care4Guide is a new suite of positive mental health and wellbeing resources for young volunteers and includes a guide, posters, social media and fact sheets. 

 ACT
Director, Operations, Rural Fire Service
Directors, Communications Branch, National Recovery and Resilience Agency

NSW
Strategic Emergency & Disaster Recovery Project Support, The Salvation Army
Security and Emergency Response Operations Coordinator, Department of Premier and Cabinet

QLD
Directors, Communications Branch, National Recovery and Resilience Agency
Group Executive, Australian Climate Service

SA
Bushfire Management Policy Officer, South Australian Country Fire Service
Principal Procurement Advisor, SA Fire and Emergency Services Commission

TAS
Manager – Emergency Response, Department of Health
Lead Knowledge Broker, Future Drought Fund, University of Tasmania

WA
Emergency Response and Safety Trainer, Fire & Safety Australia
Community Emergency Services Manager, Shire of Ravensthorpe

VIC
Area Recovery and Resilience Manager-Ovens Murray, Department of Education and Training
ROEM, Bendigo, Victoria State Emergency Service

NZ
Manager: Civil Defence Emergency Management, Tauranga City Council
Senior Advisor, Social and Community Resilience – Māori, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

POSTPONED      2021 Disaster and Emergency Management Conference –  ANZDMC

August                 AFAC21 powered by INTERSCHUTZ – AFAC

August                 Australian Disaster Resilience Conference 2021 – AIDR

October               Emergency Management Conference 2021 – ESF

October                Australasian Women in Emergencies Day – AWE