As recent emergency events have shown, there’s an evolving extreme that is producing new challenges in terms of impact on the community, environment and economies.
The community expects the emergency management sector to stay ahead of these events but with resourcing challenges, overlapping seasons here and abroad, and the surge in reviews, inquiries and recommendations, what do agencies do differently?
AFAC21 powered by INTERSCHUTZ is returning to Sydney, 17-21 August 2021 to focus on how we manage the consequences of major events, while meetings the expectations of the communities and governments. The program will explore how the sector can continue to learn and find opportunities to deliver with new and innovative approaches.
Back better than ever, AFAC21 will build on the success of the hugely successful AFAC19 in Melbourne that saw a record number of over 4,000 practitioners, researchers and leaders from across the sector.
Keynote speakers announced
- Grace Tame – 2021 Australian of the Year & Advocate for Survivors of Child Sexual Assault
- Dominique Hogan Doran – Counsel Assisting the Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements
- Stan Grant – ABC’s International Affairs Analyst
- Shane Fitzsimmons – Commissioner, Resilience NSW
What can you expect at AFAC21?
AFAC21 powered by INTERSCHUTZ is Australasia’s largest and most comprehensive emergency management conference and exhibition brought to you by AFAC and Deutsche Messe.
On rotation around Australia’s major cities, the AFAC21 will be hosted by AFAC members in the ACT and NSW: ACT Emergency Services Agency, ACT Parks and Wildlife Service, Fire and Rescue NSW, NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, NSW Rural Fire Service, and NSW State Emergency Service.
AFAC21 will offer you an unrivalled opportunity to learn from local and international thought leaders across the multi-streamed AFAC conference, which includes access to the Institution of Fire Engineers (Australia) National Conference and the Australian Disaster Resilience Conference, which will again run as concurrently.
Day one of the conference will begin with the AFAC Research Day, highlighting research and innovation that supports the work of the fire and emergency service sector. The day will conclude with the Welcome and Awards Ceremony, where much-deserving key innovators and leaders will be acknowledged for their contributions to the sector, before moving to the comprehensive powered by INTERSCHUTZ exhibition for the Welcome Drinks function.
Days two and three of the conference are focused on knowledge sharing, with a multi-streamed program offering insights into the latest research and practice. The conference program is centred on the theme and also draws on supporting topics:
- communities
- embedding research into practice
- new approaches
- supporting ourselves and others
There will be many opportunities for networking throughout the conference in the AIDR Knowledge Centre, where delegates can participate in the Meet the Speaker and poster presentation sessions. The Gala Dinner is the highlight of the social program, providing a night of entertainment and the chance to re-connect with colleagues and make new connections.
Following on from the conferences, the fourth day will be dedicated to professional development and will feature practical workshops, forums and field trips for hands-on learning.
AFAC21 will also feature its renowned world-class exhibition. Every year, the exhibition attracts a comprehensive range of exhibitors covering all facets of emergency management equipment, technology and services. All attendees will have access to the very popular live demonstration zone
and practical expo stage presentations.
Concurrent conference program
Following the success of the co-location at AFAC19 in Melbourne, AFAC21 will be co-located with the Institution of Fire Engineers (IFE) Australia Conference and the Australian Disaster Resilience Conference (ADRC).
The co-location of these three conferences provides a unique opportunity to build connections and share knowledge between the emergency management, the disaster resilience and the fire engineering sectors through a shared keynote speaker program and networking lunches. As an added benefit, AFAC21 delegates are able to attend concurrent sessions in the IFE and ADRC program as part of their AFAC Conference pass.
The IFE Australia Conference will explore how the fire safety engineering and firefighting sectors much shift in culture to enhance safety, sustainability and resilience, through their conference theme Vision 2021: Shifting the culture; enhancing safety, sustainability and resilience. The conference will explore topics including how can building be built better, how quality can be assured, and how competency is enhanced and maintained.
The Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience (AIDR) will again host the Australian Disaster Resilience Conference (ADRC). The ADRC will focus on Meeting in the middle: community voices and complex choices. The ADRC will ask, how do we truly enable communities to be in the driver’s seat to ensure the ‘community’ is in community-led and how do we tackle systemic risks influencing communities that arise from public policy legacies and past decisions?
The ADRC is aimed at the community, local government, business, education and not-for-profit sectors, and will take a broad look at disaster risk reduction in action across a range of sectors and partnership areas.
Registration open
Registrations are now open for AFAC21 powered by INTERSCHUTZ. Register before June 30 2021 to take advantage of the Early Bird rate on the conference website at www.afacconference.com.au
