AFAC21 hosts vital conversations in the virtual environment

AFAC21 HOSTS VITAL CONVERSATIONS

IN THE VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENT

For the first time in its 26-year history, the AFAC21 powered by INTERSCHUTZ conference and exhibition was held as a virtual event, bringing speakers and delegates together through an interactive and immersive online platform.

AFAC21 KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

ALANA BEITZ

AFAC

Hosted on 5–8 October, the virtual delivery of AFAC21 ensured that knowledge, research and insights from the past two years were shared with the sector, while also providing an accessible opportunity for professional development.

Delegates tuned in to over 150 live presentations (also available on demand) that centred on the conference theme ‘Balancing impact and expectations’. In total, 2,883 delegates joined the virtual conference either from collaborative workplace settings or independently from their homes.

With the postponement of the AFAC20 conference and exhibition due to COVID-19 restrictions on gatherings and travel, AFAC CEO Stuart Ellis AM said that AFAC21 moved online to ensure dialogue and development were maintained across the fire and emergency service sector.

“We’ve faced some of the most extraordinary and unique challenges in recent history since our last meeting in 2019, which have prevented us from bringing the sector together in person for our last two conferences,” Mr Ellis said.

“So, as we continue to encounter evolving emergency situations, it’s important that experienced and emerging sector leaders find space to discuss these challenges. It is only through the combined contributions of our diverse fire and emergency service sector that we can fulfil our individual agency responsibilities and best serve the community.”

The event opened with the AFAC Research Day on 5 October that showcased quality research with a focus on implementation and practical application for fire, emergency and land management agencies. Speakers shared their case studies and facilitated cutting-edge conversations on cultural and community engagement, risk and prediction, workforce and capability, communications, recovery and more.

On 6 and 7 October, the conference was split across seven streams— including two from the Australian Disaster Resilience Conference and one from the Institution of Fire Engineers Conference—presenting initiatives and leading thinking relevant to the broad practice of emergency management. Fitting to the conference theme of ‘Balancing impact and expectations’, community engagement, shared responsibility and workforce and volunteer management were prominent topics, alongside an exploration of future technology capabilities in the fields of forecasting, planning, fleet innovations, simulation and data.

Despite COVID-19 restrictions impacting a majority of the planned events of the Professional Development Program, a workshop on managing extreme wildfires took place virtually on 8 October that shared current knowledge of global warming impacts on fire behaviour, including pyrocumulonimbus clouds.

Stan Grant, ABC’s International Affairs Analyst

“While ever we don’t tell the truth of our history, while ever we don’t deal with the legacy of our history, history festers, and where that festers, violence and conflict follows.”

Turia Pitt,

Mindset coach, author and athlete

“It can be really powerful if you’re going through something tough, to lean in to that and say ‘what I am going through right now is really tough’, and there is nothing wrong with that, you don’t have to find a silver lining. It can be really powerful to just own how are feeling.”

Shane Fitzsimmons

AFSM, Commissioner Resilience NSW

“Community has to be at the heart of all our thinking, ... Recovery is more than rebuilding, repair and reconstruction of houses, property, infrastructure and things – one of the most critical parts of recovery is healing and the emotional and psychological wellbeing of communities, individuals and families.”

PHOTO: AFAC

Dominique Hogan-

Doran SC, Senior Counsel Assisting the Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements

“You need to have strong systems of transparency and accountability because of the connection it has with public confidence. The next time, in the absence of these structures being really well resourced, supported, acknowledged and engaged with, if that does not happen, then there may be a real push for the next Royal Commission to be a ‘blame game’. It’s a big call for this sector to try and achieve all of these things, given the pressures that you’re under. Something I came away with from this Royal Commission is a sense of pride in how much people give – not just in their voluntary time in preparing and defending their own communities from disasters – but also the leadership. We only look to you in times of disaster, we need to trust you, and we need good reason to do so. I hope you get to take this time to network virtually and to take comfort in each another. Going forward, you will certainly have my support.”

Dr Michelle Dickinson, Nanotechnologist and materials engineer

“It’s not about what we know, it’s about how useful it is to others. Creating a language and experiments that are inclusive allow more people to help you problem solve, which is a way better way of getting a diverse set of answers and solutions to a problem. It’s crucial for long term success.”

PHOTO: AFAC

Australasia’s most comprehensive emergency management exhibition came to life from 5 to 7 October in a state-of-the-art virtual environment. A showcase like no other, the AFAC21 virtual exhibition floor offered the latest in equipment, technology and service providers via an accessible, feature-rich platform.

Over 30 exhibitor stands could be browsed through the platform, supported by downloadable factsheets and video capability to showcase available products and services.

Over 120 posters were submitted to the virtual poster display during the conference, with delegates invited to vote for their favourite. Spanning research, case studies, project overviews and new resources, the poster display offered a rich variety of information to conference delegates.

Industry awards

AFAC Knowledge Innovation Award „ Individual winner: Bruce Botherway, Fire and Emergency New Zealand „ Agency winner: Fire and Rescue NSW Preventing FireFighter Exposure to Carcinogens Program Laurie Lavelle Achiever of the Year Award „ Winner: John Gilbert, Country Fire Authority „ Highly commended: Mark Halverson, Queensland Fire and Emergency Services Stuart & Heaton Leading Practice in Mental Health Award „ Winner: Tasmanian Department of Police, Fire and Emergency Management for the ‘My Pusle’ program „ Highly commended: NSW Rural Fire Service for the RFS Connect initiative Women and Firefighting Australasia (WAFA) Outstanding Contribution by a Female Firefighter Award „ Winner: Karmell Frost, Fire and Rescue NSW WAFA Youth Leadership Award „ Winner: Kiara Muraca, Queensland Fire and Emergency Services WAFA Male Champion Award „ Winner: Wayne Phillips, Fire and Rescue NSW WAFA Organisation Diversity, Fairness and Inclusion Award „ Winner: Queensland Fire and Emergency Services IFE Australia Ray Manser Award „ Winner: Ted Simmons, Queensland Building and Construction Commission

AFAC is excited to announce that AFAC22 powered by INTERSCHUTZ will take place in Adelaide on 23–26 August 2022, on the theme ‘Connecting communities. Creating resilience’. The AFAC22 Call for Abstracts opens November 2021.

To see the highlights from 2021 and learn about AFAC22, visit www.afacconference.com.au.

AFAC21 conference proceedings are publicly available via the AFAC website: www.afac.com.au/events/proceedings

Above: The virtual conference allowed delegates to explore multiple presentations and connect with each other through video and chat funtions.

Delegates could engage directly with dozens of exhibitors through the virtual exhibition and download resources from the virtual stalls.