| Nominations call - Social Innovation and Community Leadership |
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Call for Nominations : Social Innovation and Community Leadership in Natural Disaster Prevention, Preparedness, Response and Recovery
The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) released a National Strategy for Disaster Resilience in February 2011. It agreed to adopt "a whole-of-nation resilience-based approach to disaster management, which recognises that a national, coordinated and cooperative effort is needed to enhance Australia’s capacity to withstand and recover from emergencies and disasters".
The National Strategy document has good things to say about the need for social innovation and stronger social capacity in developing natural disaster resilience. "The Strategy focuses on the common characteristics of disaster resilient communities, individuals and organisations. These characteristics are: functioning well while under stress; successful adaptation; self-reliance; and social capacity. Resilient communities also share the importance of social support systems, such as neighbourhoods, family and kinship networks, social cohesion, mutual interest groups, and mutual self-help groups".
The trouble is, the Strategy left implementation to governments and bureaucracies. On issues that are as important as this, communities cannot afford to leave implementation solely to governments. Communities around Australia are invited to nominate instances of social innovation and community leadership in natural disaster prevention, preparedness, response and recovery. Our aim is to network and strengthen grassroots community responses to the ravages of fire, flood, drought and wind. Use this online form to nominate the initiatives in innovation and leadership that you think point the way to a better and more resilient community.
You are invited to make a nomination using the four categories of: Prevention; Preparedness; Response; and Recovery. Make your nomination using this form.
We are interested in connecting up all the innovative, people-centred, community-driven initiatives around Australia so that we can exercise community leadership in disaster resilience and develop alternatives to bureaucracy-ridden approaches. Jodie Thorneycroft is a community leader in Kinglake, Victoria. She provided meals for Black Saturday survivors and helped establish a community dining project. "Every night in Kinglake, the scents of freshly cooked dinner wafts through the centre of town. At 6 o'clock, the doors open on Kinglake's community dinners. It's a community initiative, set up by a group of locals acting together, operating out of a local cafe." Jodie also initiated the Bush to Beach retreat, that took hundreds of women bushfire survivors to Lorne for a weekend and a community medical clinic.
Around Australia, there are hundreds of social leaders and innovators doing similar things. Hurricane Katrina One of the most startling events during Hurricane Katrina was that nearly all public sector police and emergency services workers abandoned their posts during the hurricane. The organisation that saved the day – and were the real heroes during the hurricane - was the Ambulance Service, a 100% employee owned company (owned by its 2000 employees through an Employee Stock Ownership Plan Trust). It was set up by and for Vietnam Veterans. Arcadian Ambulance Services runs basically like a workers cooperative, hence its close connection to the community it was serving and why that community wasn’t abandoned by them in its hour of need. Social services employees are usually much more representative of their communities than their social services employers.
To see a 13-minute video of interviews with Acadian's employees about Katrina, go to http://www.acadian.com/ Fire and Rain: Jodie Thorneycroft Kinglake Ranges Community Dining VIC This national conference will explore innovative community responses to Australia's ongoing vulnerability to natural disasters and need for effective disaster risk management and emergency services. The emphasis is on community-based innovation, self-help and leadership, with the aim of identifying and strengthening effective grassroots community responses to the ravages of fire, flood, drought and wind.
The conference will identify cases around the country where social innovation and self-help are being implemented in creative ways to generate effective responses to these risks. The conference will bring together community innovators and leaders, service practitioners, researchers, policy makers, social entrepreneurs and workers in community agencies who are interested in furthering social innovation and community self-help in these areas.
Areas for discussion: - case studies of innovative community responses to the ravages of fire, flood, drought and wind;
Expressions of interest in presenting a paper or workshop or display should be forwarded to: Vern Hughes |