Sarah Anderson is a Senior Project Officer at the Office of Emergency Management. Sarah has previously worked at the Surf Life Saving Australia where she administered the Total Service Plan. Sarah has had the opportunity to take part in several national committees including the Australian Tsunami Advisory Group (ATAG), Australian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council (AFAC), Australia New Zealand Safe Boating Education Group, and the Disaster Resilient Australia New Zealand Education Network.
In 2013, Sarah worked closely with ATAG and the Federal Attorney-General’s Department to produce Tsunami: The Ultimate Guide and the Australian Disaster Forum. The Guide was recognised at the 2014 Resilient Australia Awards with a Highly Commended in the Projects of National Significance category.
Sarah is a project manager with more than 15 years’ experience in publishing including at Fairfax Media and as Editorial Director at Global Book Publishing.
Lead end user
Children represent the most vulnerable demographic group in disasters – across the globe it is estimated that 30-50% of fatalities are children - while they are also most vulnerable to psychosocial impacts. Early research indicates that children are a resource for reducing current disaster risks and can also mitigate future risks.
The role of children’s disaster education in managing risk has been recognised as a major priority in the federal government’s National Strategy for Disaster Resilience. Yet, despite a recent surge in child-centred disaster research, the social, psychological, economic and political mechanisms that enable children to both understand and take action to reduce disaster risk remain largely unexplored and the evidence-base for best-practice remains limited.
This project is conducting a nationwide evaluation of programs and strategies based on a child-centred disaster risk reduction framework. It will develop cost-effective programs that reduce the risk and increase resilience for children, schools, households and communities.
