Education programs

Black Swans: Resilience and the Unthinkable

The term Black Swan is used for very low probability but high consequence events. Black Swan events are inherently difficult to predict or prevent and can result in truly catastrophic outcomes. Some forms of terrorist attack, natural and man-made disaster and economic failure can be defined as Black Swan events; the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre in New York and the 2004 Asian Tsunami are two examples.

More common and better understood events, such as wildfire and flood, receive more emergency management funding and are more often the focus of community preparedness education, policy and planning.

The Black Swan concept challenges us to think about the unthinkable. To consider events that may be inconceivable or at least highly unlikely. If common risk and emergency management approaches are inadequate, how do we identify potential Black Swans? This work will help you as a manager and leader build resilient communities and organisations that are able to survive through unexpected events.

Community Disaster Resilience for Local Government

This program provides face-to-face training at a location of your choice, tailored to the needs of your local council area. You will learn from experts in resilience and disaster preparedness and management from TRI, Flinders University and industry partners.

Evidence-based solutions and case studies are presented alongside the most current insights into disaster planning, preparedness, relief and recovery theory. We support learning through real-world examples relevant to your community and provide practical solutions based on your specific needs.

Disaster resilience

This forum supports the development of practical, real-world solutions based on the most current scientific evidence and experience. We will present the latest insights into disaster planning, preparedness, relief and recovery with an emphasis on the role of resilience building to mitigate and prevent disaster events.

We will utilise recent disaster examples and lessons learned to underpin theory and build an understanding of how disasters work. We will consider the typical disaster impacts, the relationships between hazards, events, damage and change in societal function and how that may lead to a disaster situation. We will help develop your understanding of disaster resilience building with strategies and individual projects discussed as examples of possible disaster resilience-building approaches.