HowWeSurvive '26

Join HowWeSurvive for its flagship annual event, bringing together leading voices from disaster research, practice and lived experience to explore how recovery can be designed more effectively.

This year's program will focus on the decisions, systems and partnerships that shape recovery. Through lively debate, thought-provoking workshops and practical insights, we'll examine what good recovery looks like - and how research, practice and policy can work together to achieve it.

The program will include:

• Keynote talks from John Richardson, Executive Director at the Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience, Andrew Rae from the NSW Reconstruction Authority and HowWeSurvive's Dr Kate Brady
• Breakout sessions featuring Professor Esther Charlesworth AM from Architects without Frontiers and Aboriginal housing expert Dr Gillian Barlow from UNSW Sydney
• Insights on shelter recovery and good practice with academics from RMIT University
• Discussions exploring the work being done by the Social Recovery Reference Group established to drive the human and social perspective in emergency management
• Launch of the third edition of the Disaster Recovery Almanac, including hearing from contributors
• Opportunities to connect with colleagues across the disaster recovery sector

Whether you work in research, policy, planning, design, emergency management, community development or disaster recovery - or have lived experience of disaster - HowWeSurvive ’26 offers an opportunity to learn, question current approaches and contribute to a better future for disaster-affected communities.