Building resilience not ramparts: Reimagining emergency management in the era of climatic disasters
What has emergency management learned from global movements like #metoo and local heroes like Dylan Alcott? That the demands of people with lived experience cannot be silenced and the status quo and its systems must change. 'Nothing about us without us,' is the mantra and call-to-action.
Over the past 2 years, I have been immersed in designing a new model of disaster resilience at Fire to Flourish: a collaboration between 4 bushfire-affected communities, and a wonderful mix of frontline workers, academics and philanthropists. I have seen up close, what a response led by the local community - their ideas and their solutions - would look like. And what scaffolding, in the form of external expertise and resources, they need. Early indications suggest a potentially transformative effect.
Fire to Flourish is not alone in this vision. Community-led innovations around the country following the 2019–20 bushfires show similar promise. What does this look like in practical terms? Like Mallacoota’s community-led recovery program1, run by a committee elected by an estimated 500 locals, and even registered to take public donations. Like Cobargo’s community-run incorporated association2, which receives funds and supports collective decision-making about grants for community projects. And like Kangaroo Island’s community3, equipping residents with the knowledge, skills and assets to be self-sufficient in the event of another bushfire disaster.
What do we all have in common? An emerging consensus that community-led is the key principle.
'Nothing about us without us.'
