An
international conference exploring hazard management and disaster survival is
being organised by two North East universities.
Academics
from Northumbria University, Newcastle and Durham University are hosting the
Impact of Hazard, Risk and Disasters on Societies conference, which will
include the recent leader of the United Nations strategy for Disaster Risk
Reduction, Margareta Wahlström among its keynote speakers.
Both
institutions are recognised as leaders in this field. In 2004 Northumbria
University launched the
Disaster and Development Network (DDN), alongside it’s MSc in Disaster Management and Sustainable Development, which was launched in 2000. They are the
first programme and group of their kind with this focus anywhere in the world.
Meanwhile
Durham University established its Institute of Hazard, Risk and Resilience 10
years ago and is marking the anniversary by teaming up with Northumbria to
organise the Impact of Hazard, Risk and Disasters on Societies conference.
ProfessorAndrew Collins is conference co-chair and leader of the Disaster and
Development Network (DDN) at Northumbria. He said: “This is the 11th in our annual series of global Dealing with Disasters conferences, which has
been staged at different institutions around the world including Sierra Leone,
South Africa, Nepal and UK.
“This
year, we’re very honoured to have Durham University’s Institute of Hazard, Risk
and Resilience host the series to recognise our common interests and the North
East’s status as a world leader in this field. Northumbria’s DDN also co-chairs
for the recently formed UK Alliance for Disaster Research (UKADR), also linked
to this event, and the Global Alliance of Disaster Research Institutes (GADRI)
that will link with a future DDN event in Newcastle.
“We
have a number of prestigious speakers and delegates from around the world
attending. Our own student Disaster and Development Society (DDS) will also
play a prominent role and have been as proactive as always in getting involved.
“Northumbria
was one of the first institutions in the world to drive disaster and
development approaches that are now a recognised and growing field. It is
appropriate that over the next few years we plan to bring this international
conference back to Northumbria.”
Among
the keynote speakers at this year’s event is Margareta Wahlström, UN Special
Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction from 2008 to 2015. She will be
joined by Dr Ciro Orgate, Director of Emergency Preparedness and Disaster
Relief at the Pan American Health Organization, as well as Professor Eelco
Dykstra, the Institute of Civil Engineers’ 11th Brunel International
Lecturer 2016-18.
The
aim of the conference is to bring together practitioners, researchers,
humanitarian agencies and hazard managers to present and discuss the latest
findings and challenges around managing hazards and surviving disasters.
Themes
will include the security of natural resources such as water, understanding and
managing geohazards, the displacement of refugees, the impacts of hazards on
culture and heritage, vulnerabilities and health centred disaster risk
reduction.
The conference takes place at Durham
University from 19 - 22 September. For more information please click here.
The
Disaster and Development Network (DDN), based at Northumbria, aims to develop
through research, teaching and learning, the knowledge and skills to address
hazards, disasters and complex emergencies from the perspective of different
development debates and experience. For more information please click here.
Northumbria’s
Department of Geography and Environmental Sciences encompasses work in cold and
paleo environments, social and cultural geographies, communities and
resilience, environmental geochemistry and health, and ecology, with projects
and engagement taking place in more than 30 countries, from the poles to the
tropics. For more information click here.
To
find out more about the courses on offer at Northumbria come along to one of
our Open Days – more information available here.
