Resilience through relationships: Communities in disasters
Description
Join those with lived experience of climate disasters and disaster adaptation researchers as they discuss how communities can and do respond resiliently to disasters.
Climate disasters are becoming more frequent and severe. In 2023 alone, 34 disasters were declared in Australia with 128 local government areas impacted. This follows the catastrophic bushfires, floods and storms of recent years in addition to prolonged drought and extreme hot weather. In the face of increasingly complex impacts on people, communities, and environments around the country, Australia-wide, communities are incorporating local knowledges and place-based planning for disaster preparedness and adaptation.
As Climate Action Week thinks about how “change happens locally” this panel explores the intersection of local and more centralised climate disaster responses . What methods are campaigners using to incorporate local knowledges and action into decision-making? How do solutions address pre-existing inequities and unequal impacts on communities? Join researchers from the University of Sydney, resilience practitioners, and community advocates to hear how communities are strengthened through alliances, social infrastructure, training and advocacy.
Join us for a one-hour panel talk in the city, followed by mingling and snacks.
Speakers
David Schlosberg (Chair), Professor of Environmental Politics, Director of the Sydney Environment Institute
Serena Joyner, CEO, Bushfire Survivors for Climate Action
Alex McAlpin, community development researcher, University of Sydney
Alice Simpson-Young, Principal Consultant in Resilience and Sustainability with AECOM
Sanaa Shah, climate justice campaigner, Sweltering Cities
See full bios below.
This event is in partnership with Sweltering Cities and Bushfire Survivors for Climate Action.
Image credit: Maythee Voran via Shutterstock.
Lineup
David Schlosberg (Chair), environmental justice and climate adaptation expert
David Schlosberg is Professor of Environmental Politics, Director of the Sydney Environment Institute and Co-Theme Lead of the Environmental Justices and Climate Disaster and Adaptation research themes. His work focuses on environmental, ecological, and climate justice; environment and everyday life; and climate adaptation planning and policy. David has worked extensively with local and state governments on just adaptation and resilience planning, the social impacts of climate change, and community-based food systems and policy.
Serena Joyner, community leader and climate advocate
As CEO of Bushfire Survivors for Climate Action, Serena has cemented the organisation's impact through its strengths of lived experience storytelling, communications and advocacy. A skilled facilitator and communicator, Serena connects new audiences to the reality faced by climate survivors. Living in the bushfire-prone Blue Mountains with her volunteer firefighter husband, she has witnessed the impact of loss and threat to her community from bushfires and seen first-hand the impact of climate change on lives and communities. Serena is an experienced community leader with more than a decade of experience supporting patient and carer advocates to make positive change in the health system.
Alex McAlpin, community development researcher
Alex McAlpin is a research and policy professional exploring regenerative, community-led development. At the Sydney Environment Institute, Alex supports the 'Universities’ Responsibilities in Disasters’ project, investigating the ways universities can support locally-led climate adaptation in the places and communities where they are located. Alex holds an Executive Master of Arts and Social Sciences from the University of Sydney, and has produced research and policy analysis for the Climate Council, Sydney Policy Lab and Charles Perkins Centre on areas such as citizen science, youth-led climate activism and environmental disaster policy.
Alice Simpson-Young, resilience and climate risk reduction expert
Alice Simpson Young is a Principal Consultant in Sustainability and Resilience at AECOM, specialising in resilience, climate adaptation and disaster risk reduction. With 9 years’ experience across local and state government, consulting, and community engagement, she is passionate about building community resilience to disruptions and mitigating climate change whilst ensuring environmentally-just outcomes. Alice has contributed to a range of resilience and climate related projects across NSW, including work supporting the Northern Rivers flood recovery through roles at Infrastructure NSW and supporting NSW Government agencies whilst at AECOM. She was previously a Senior Policy Advisor at Infrastructure NSW, where she co authored the resilience, Net Zero, Aboriginal outcomes and environmental sustainability chapters of the 2022 State Infrastructure Strategy. Alice also brings strong technical knowledge of urban resilience from her work delivering resilience initiatives at Resilient Sydney and through academic research, including co authoring on extreme heat.
Sanaa Shah, climate justice campaigner
Sanaa Shah is a climate justice campaigner and community advocate, working with Sweltering Cities on heat justice. Through grassroots organising, research, and policy, she focuses on creating heat-resilient public spaces, streets, and homes for all. Growing up and living on Dharug land in Western Sydney, she is motivated to ensure that local climate solutions are shaped by community needs and aspirations for a more equitable future.
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