Call for abstracts - ANZ Disaster and Emergency Management Conference

Organisers are calling for abstract submissions for the 2015 Australian & New Zealand Disaster and Emergency Management Conference, to be held on the Gold Coast on 3-5 May next year.

The conference will feature multi-agency presentations covering all phases of emergency and disaster management - prevention, preparedness, response and recovery.

Topics to be covered will include:

• Innovation in emergency and disaster management and governance
• Leadership in disasters: measuring effectiveness and strategies
• Risk management, reduction and communication
• New technology and social media
• Volunteers: engagement, training and support
• Community resilience: initiatives, engagement and recovery
• Behaviour change: cultural, public and organisational
• Resilience in infrastructure

Abstracts must be submitted by Friday, 23 January 2015.

Last year the conference attracted more than 400 delegates and received abstract and poster submissions from 18 countries.

The 2015 event will include a focus on research while maintaining an interest in showcasing contemporary innovation and approaches to disaster and emergency management.

“One of the strengths of the ANZDMC is its broad applicability to a wider range of the disaster and emergency management community; this includes and is not limited to health, welfare, maritime, volunteers, fire, search and rescue and law enforcement,” says Associate Professor Brett Aimers, co-chair of the ANZDMC.

“With the ever-increasing nature of larger-scale disasters and emergencies impacting our communities and a renewed focus on catastrophic planning, the ANZDMC is an ideal and appropriate conference to come together to share innovative practice, understand emerging research themes and discuss collective challenges with a view to improving our planning for, response to and recovery from emergencies and disasters.”