After travelling to London, the Northumbria University Disaster and Development Society (DDS) delegation arrived at Kings College (Strand Campus) on Monday the 9th of January 2017 for the 2-day inaugural UK Alliance for Disaster Research (UKADR) annual conference 1. The theme of the conference was ‘What are the areas of data, knowledge and capacity that research funders should prioritize to maintain UK’s international science leadership and responsibility under the Sendai Framework2?’.
Approximately 100 researchers, research funders, government and other policy makers/ practitioners from the UK and overseas attended, hoping the conference would provide a space for the attendees to influence thinking on UK policy and research funding. The DDS presented a poster on their work on ‘The Youth Voice’ in the study of Disasters & Development, which was on show for the conference duration for people to observe between sessions.
The Vice-President of the society, Peter McGowran, also contributed to a session on ‘Mobilising Young Scientist’s Contribution to Disaster Risk Reduction, chaired by Virginia Murray (Consultant in Global Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR)/Public Health England). Peter was a panel member alongside 2 UK based PhD students who act as representatives for the UN Major Group for Children and Youth -Young Scientists Platform on DRR. During this session, Peter also gave a short talk to about the work of the DDS and why ‘The Youth Voice’ should be heard in the field of Disasters and Development/ DRR.
The delegation was made up of 3 DDS committee members Peter McGowran (Vice-President), Hannah Gowling (Secretary), Peter Blanch (Events Co-ordinator) and 2 society members Angelina Gudzio and Jennifer James. All 5 delegates are students on the Disaster Management and Sustainable Development MSc course at Northumbria University. Attending the conference provided a great opportunity to witness how theories, concepts and methodological approaches studied in modules such as Disaster Risk Reduction and Response and Approaches to Project Management are being put into practice at the cutting edge of Disaster Research and Practice, whilst facing criticism in an academic environment.
The DDS would like to acknowledge the support of Prof. Andrew Collins in helping the society to attend and contribute to the conference, along with Virginia Murray (Young Scientist Session Chair) and Lydia Cumiskey and Robert Sakic Trogrlic (UNMCGY), for building the DDS’s contribution into the Mobilising Young Scientist’s Contribution to DRR session.
The DDS would like to thank: Northumbria’s Students Union and delegates for financially contributing towards the trip and Northumbria’s Department of Geography for the production of our poster.
Northumbria DDS will be hosting a number of social and informative events over the coming months, including: film and quiz nights, attending and hosting public lectures and seminars and hosting “What’s all the buzz about?” – a fundraising event for the DDS, Northumbria’s Relief Convoy and the Mama Buci charity, with music from Northumbria’s Gig Society.
For more information about the DDS, events and ways to get involved, get in touch and visit our:
Facebook: NSUDisasterandDevelopment Instagram & Twitter: @nudisastersoc
Website at - http://nudisastersociety.weebly.com/
1 - http://www.ukadr.org/conference.html 2 - http://www.unisdr.org/we/coordinate/sendai-framework
Approximately 100 researchers, research funders, government and other policy makers/ practitioners from the UK and overseas attended, hoping the conference would provide a space for the attendees to influence thinking on UK policy and research funding. The DDS presented a poster on their work on ‘The Youth Voice’ in the study of Disasters & Development, which was on show for the conference duration for people to observe between sessions.
The Vice-President of the society, Peter McGowran, also contributed to a session on ‘Mobilising Young Scientist’s Contribution to Disaster Risk Reduction, chaired by Virginia Murray (Consultant in Global Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR)/Public Health England). Peter was a panel member alongside 2 UK based PhD students who act as representatives for the UN Major Group for Children and Youth -Young Scientists Platform on DRR. During this session, Peter also gave a short talk to about the work of the DDS and why ‘The Youth Voice’ should be heard in the field of Disasters and Development/ DRR.
The delegation was made up of 3 DDS committee members Peter McGowran (Vice-President), Hannah Gowling (Secretary), Peter Blanch (Events Co-ordinator) and 2 society members Angelina Gudzio and Jennifer James. All 5 delegates are students on the Disaster Management and Sustainable Development MSc course at Northumbria University. Attending the conference provided a great opportunity to witness how theories, concepts and methodological approaches studied in modules such as Disaster Risk Reduction and Response and Approaches to Project Management are being put into practice at the cutting edge of Disaster Research and Practice, whilst facing criticism in an academic environment.
The DDS would like to acknowledge the support of Prof. Andrew Collins in helping the society to attend and contribute to the conference, along with Virginia Murray (Young Scientist Session Chair) and Lydia Cumiskey and Robert Sakic Trogrlic (UNMCGY), for building the DDS’s contribution into the Mobilising Young Scientist’s Contribution to DRR session.
The DDS would like to thank: Northumbria’s Students Union and delegates for financially contributing towards the trip and Northumbria’s Department of Geography for the production of our poster.
Northumbria DDS will be hosting a number of social and informative events over the coming months, including: film and quiz nights, attending and hosting public lectures and seminars and hosting “What’s all the buzz about?” – a fundraising event for the DDS, Northumbria’s Relief Convoy and the Mama Buci charity, with music from Northumbria’s Gig Society.
For more information about the DDS, events and ways to get involved, get in touch and visit our:
Facebook: NSUDisasterandDevelopment Instagram & Twitter: @nudisastersoc
Website at - http://nudisastersociety.weebly.com/
1 - http://www.ukadr.org/conference.html 2 - http://www.unisdr.org/we/coordinate/sendai-framework