We recently had the privilege of hosting a thought-provoking conversation at Changefest 2024
In March 2024, the TACSI team attended Changestfest 2024, a gathering held over two days in Mildura on Latji Latji Country, where over 500 community changemakers and collaborators came together to exchange ideas for place-based change.
We hosted a thought-provoking conversation called “Reimagining disaster response, recovery and resilience with a place-based lens”, which asked big “what ifs” to better shape different futures for communities affected by disaster and crises.
Hosted by TACSI’s Aunty Vickey Charles and lauren anseline alongside speakers Aunty Jemmes Handy (Mildura Community), Jane McCracken (Hands Up Mallee), Kate Fawcett (DisasterWISE Communities Network), and Pauline Cook (Snowy Monaro Family Services), the focus was exploring the potential of asking big “what ifs” to shape different futures for communities affected by disaster and crises.
As the conversation unfolded, we heard that in the face of increasing disasters and crises, it’s essential to recognise the deep relationships, intelligence and social capital in communities that are vital for response, recovery and resilience.
Our approach to disaster resilience
TACSI has developed an approach to disaster resilience that is grounded in both the Now and the Future, making space for communities to develop creative and imaginative ideas about possible solutions. As part of this ongoing work, TACSI developed the ‘What if’ game, a process of storytelling and reimagining that lifts communities up to think bigger with local strengths and stories of now guiding them.
The framing of “What If” is powerful to help people lift up and see the bigger picture. We asked participants to note down their big What ifs as they listened, so we could see how people framed the difference that they wanted to see. Below are some of the key big What ifs we heard:
What if… technical disaster response worked in partnership with community wisdom?
In the aftermath of disaster or crises, technical responses often take over. What if we shifted our perspective and recognised the power of community wisdom in disaster response?
At Changfest, we heard that there are communities that have experienced strong recovery and partnerships with technical expertise, and there are great benefits to partnering with community intelligence in response, as well as recovery and resilience efforts.
While the technical is essential, there is local place-based knowledge that communities bring that can support response efforts to be better for all.
The evidence and stories from communities that have partnered successfully with technical response teams need to be elevated and shared.
Aunty Jemmes Handy’s experience in Mildura in partnership with Jane McCracken is a great example of this partnership. During the Covid crisis, Aunty Jemmes successfully facilitated 70 people to be vaccinated through door-to-door efforts in a single weekend, followed by 1500 more over six weeks.
These community members had previously been unable to access vaccinations due to systemic barriers. Aunty Jemmes demonstrated that community-led efforts can partner technical responses effectively through provided place-based knowledge.
The conversation emphasised the need to elevate our perspective on emergency management. Rather than viewing technical responses in isolation, we should explore how they can partner with community-led initiatives.
What if… funding supported community initiatives alongside external efforts?
While place-based organisations play an essential role in supporting communities, they often operate as an “invisible infrastructure”, working tirelessly without adequate financial support. Instead, in times of disaster, often funding tends to flow disproportionately toward larger external agencies.
External organisations, no matter how important their offerings, often face barriers around lack of trust when attempting to deliver emergency support.
There is power in a communities’ trust of local organisations and people in times of disaster. At Changefest, we heard that people intuitively go to places, people and organisations they feel safe at and that they know.
These trusting relationships cannot be solely built in times of emergency, they must be nurtured and developed beforehand. This is why effective disaster response requires more than technical expertise. It hinges on knowing the community intimately, or as Kate Fawcett said, “knowing who’s got the chainsaws, got the tractors, that sort of practical stuff and having those connections. Who do we know who we can call on in this, in this situation?
What if… community voices shaped ‘best practices’?
We heard that there is intelligence and wisdom being shared amongst communities both informally and formally, through channels like the DisasterWISE Communities network.
What if… disaster responses measured success beyond business metrics?
As part of an emerging conversation, we heard that communities were interested in creating more holistic metrics for disaster response, metrics that encompass a diversity of success factors such as the wellbeing of people and place.
What if disasters adopted holistic response, recovery, and resilience, encompassing community and four environments: social, economic, natural and built, as New Zealand’s holistic framework for disaster recovery suggests?
What if… we had time and space to imagine what we want to be different in future events?
We heard that communities need time and space to heal in the wake of a disaster or crisis so they can reflect on what was lost, and imagine how they might create their place in a way that supports community visions.
