Wellington is gearing up for a big event when it hosts AFAC14 in September this year.
The full speaker program for our 2014 annual conference was launched to the fire and emergency management sector last night in Melbourne.
New Zealand Fire Service Chief Executive and National Commander Paul Baxter welcomed the opportunity to host the conference in New Zealand.
"This conference has got more than 90 speakers from the research field, from management and other areas," Mr Baxter said.
"It has got everything you could possibly hope for: it's a really exciting program. The conference just continues to develop, going from strength to strength."
Up to 1000 delegates will gather in Wellington in September to discuss the latest challenges and trends in emergency management at the region’s major all hazards conference, the AFAC and Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC annual conference.
With 16 confirmed national and international speakers presenting at over 90 sessions over four days, AFAC Chief Executive Officer Stuart Ellis said this year’s conference theme After Disaster Strikes – Learning from Adversity was an opportunity for delegates to hear speakers from a range of industries and to network widely across the sector.
“Natural and man-made disasters strike all countries, but particularly in our region. Examining how emergency management services, land managers and communities prepare, respond to and assist with recovery is vital to developing evidence-based policy and practice,” Mr Ellis said.
“This conference is designed to bring together and share the combined wisdom of experience, research and analysis from across the sector to enable a deeper understanding of the approaches needed to secure the region’s future and prosperity.
This is the first time AFAC has partnered with the new Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC for the annual conference, following a decade of partnership with the Bushfire CRC.
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Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC Research Manager, Dr Michael Rumsewicz (above), said the conference and the Research Forum day will show why research and innovation are more important now than ever.
“With an emphasis on the diversity of the research being conducted across all hazards, the science on show across the week will highlight the significant work being delivered to emergency service agencies. The conference and Research Forum present a great opportunity for all emergency management practitionersto learn what we are discovering about the biggest challenges in emergency management across Australasia, and finding ways to use this knowledge every day to make our communities safer,” Dr Thornton said.
Delegates will hear from a number of leading international and Australian experts including:
Tom Harbour – Director of the Fire and Aviation Management Program for the US Forest Service. Tom’s emergency management experiences have included fires, hurricanes, earthquakes, riots, floods, and other types of disasters all across America.
Therese Walsh – Head of New Zealand ICC Cricket World Cup 2015. Therese maintains a strong interest in the international aid sector having served on the Board of Save the Children and currently chairing the MFAT International Development Advisory and Selection Panel. She was also named the inaugural supreme winner of the New Zealand Women of Influence 2013 Award.
Professor David Johnston – Director of the Joint Centre for Disaster Research, GNS Science/Massey University. David’s research focuses on human responses to volcano, tsunami and weather warnings, crisis decision-making and the role of public education and participation in building community resilience and recovery.
Dr Rory Nathan – General Manager Technology and Practice, Sinclair Knight Merz. Rory was lead author of the Australian guidelines on the estimation of large to extreme floods.
Key activities over the week include:
1-day, all hazards Research Forum: Tuesday 2 September