A UNSW-led event hosted at NSW Parliament will convene the sector to outline best practices for reducing the risks of disasters.
As the world faces more climate-driven catastrophes, leading experts from practice, research and lived experience will gather at a UNSW event to discuss strategies to lessen the impact of future disasters such as bushfires and floods.
HowWeSurvive'25, hosted at NSW Parliament today, will outline a series of local and global priorities for improving risk reduction, including prioritising community-driven action, post-disaster housing and using AI to help forecast and plan for future disaster events. Kamal Kishore, the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General (SRSG) for Disaster Risk Reduction and Head of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), and The Hon. Janelle Saffin, NSW Minister for Recovery, will be among those attending.
The event also marks the first anniversary of HowWeSurvive , a long-term, independent initiative that promotes community-centred approaches to disasters. Founded by UNSW disaster response and risk reduction expert Professor David Sanderson and funded by the Judith Neilson Chair in Architecture endowment , it encourages active engagement and participation with local communities in all disaster recovery and resilience efforts.
"When disasters strike, the toll on lives and livelihoods is devastating," said Prof. Sanderson, the Judith Neilson Chair in Architecture at UNSW Arts, Design & Architecture . "Now more than ever, it's critical to bring together experts, community leaders and those with lived experience to chart the path forward for disaster risk reduction globally and locally."
As disasters become more intense, frequent and costly, the need to prevent them, not just recover from them, is becoming more urgent. To do this, Mr Kishore said risk reduction efforts, such as using AI to forecast disaster risk, require more serious discussion and adequate resourcing at the national and local level.
"Disaster risk reduction is not optional, and no country is immune from the risks of disaster," Mr Kishore said. "We must strengthen national disaster risk reduction platforms, embed risk reduction into national policies and ensure sustainable and predictable finance.
"But the future of disaster risk reduction must also do this at the local level, or else we will not succeed."
Global lessons and local voices
Prof. Sanderson said success across all stages of disaster management came from community-centred approaches. In practice, this means spending time in disaster-affected areas learning from those with lived experience, empowering local government agencies and building the capacity of organisations.
"Far too often, vulnerable communities are subjected to centralised, top-down command and control systems despite evidence showing these responses are short-term and ineffective," Prof. Sanderson said. "Instead, it's vital to put people's voices at the centre and ensure decision-makers listen to and support communities with dignity and respect."
The event will feature reflections from local people impacted by disasters like the Lismore floods. For Elly Bird, Executive Director of Resilient Lismore, first-hand experience in her community has given deep insight into the issues with disaster recovery.
"Since the 2017 and then the 2022 floods, I've been deeply engaged in understanding and navigating disaster recovery, and the compounding impacts that disasters have on communities," Ms Bird said. "Governments and external organisations must work in partnership with communities so they are better prepared to help themselves and each other and can also strengthen the provision of tailored and trauma-informed support to help people to navigate their recovery journey and improve their resilience."
Now more than ever, it's critical to bring together experts, community leaders and those with lived experience to chart the path forward for disaster risk reduction globally and locally.
Minister Saffin said discussions at the event would help inform government approaches to risk reduction, which is critical to enabling communities to respond to and recover from disasters.
"I'm committed to working with councils, local leaders and communities across our State," Minister Saffin said. "The scale and speed required to reduce the risk of natural disasters makes it essential that we work together to create resilient communities that are better prepared."
