World Experts Debate Disaster Management

Dealing with Disasters 2009, Resilience through Local Governance, brings together leading academics, policy makers and practitioners to debate some of the latest research and practice in disaster management.  It explores how resilience may be strengthened through local governance to enable the world to be better prepared to deal with and avoid future disasters.

The conference, which is being co-ordinated by Northumbria University in Newcastle in partnership with the University of Glamorgan and the Nepalese Government, is set to be opened by Ministers of the Government of Nepal in the presence of dignitaries from other parts of the region.

Dr Andrew Collins, Director of the Disaster and Development Centre (DDC) at Northumbria University and UK Chair of the event says:

“This is the fourth annual conference in the series and builds on some of the major international strategic alliances we have been engaged with, for some years, through projects in South Asia, Southern Africa, Japan and the UK.

“The conference includes a number of keynote speeches and papers by influential disaster management advisors and high-level government officials, with special sessions looking at the areas of Health Security and Risk, Community Based Disaster Risk Reduction, Communication, Dialogue, Networks and Education, as well as Local Emergency Management.  We believe it will contribute to identifying progressive ways in which local governance can support best practice and in dealing effectively with current and future disaster risks.”

The conference will feature presentations by representatives of universities in Japan, Bangladesh, Italy, Pakistan, Nepal, Taiwan, Australia, USA and the UK, as well as high ranking members of the emergency services in Denmark, Japan, Taiwan, Nepal, South Korea, the Maldives, England and Wales.

The two day conference, which takes place in Kathmandu, includes keynote papers and thematic and open discussion sessions which will support strategic planning for a number of collaborative projects.

The Dealing with Disasters Conference Series is chaired by Professor Julie Mennell, Dean of the School of Applied Sciences at Northumbria University and Professor Brian Hobbs, Pro-Vice Chancellor for Research at the University of Glamorgan.

The event in Kathmandu will enable specialists to share insights into the significant progress that has been made in recent decades in dealing with a range of disaster related issues from cyclones, floods, earthquakes and disease epidemics in South and Eastern Asia and Africa, to less publicised aspects of human vulnerability to disaster throughout the world.  A key theme of the event is the way in which communities can counteract the threat of disaster by becoming more resilient and the role of local governance in this. 

Focused broadly on local governance issue, it will look at topics such as the problem of health care ethics in disaster response, the importance of self care in infection disease risk reduction and an education and communication perspective on dealing with disasters.  This also extends to topics as unique as the power of story telling and personal narratives in dealing with communities after a disaster.

Dr Andrew Collins says: “The conference builds on practical exchange via the Disaster and Development Centre and its extensive experience of projects around the world.

“Whilst we are often reasonably aware of how disasters impact on a region’s environments, society and the economy, we are now pushing ahead with better understanding how resilience, human security, good local governance and investment in research can leave us better protected in the future.”