As our Capable Communities program draws to a close, our ABV team is hitting the road to celebrate, thank and reflect with the communities we’ve walked alongside since 2022.
ABV is proud to have been on this journey with communities across the shires of Snowy Valley, Bega Valley, Eurobodalla and Queanbeyan-Palerang to create lasting short- and long-term solutions to building the resilience necessary to withstand the environmental challenges to come.
An overview of the program:
Since October 2022, we have facilitated almost 1,000 hours (about 1 and a half months) of pro bono work over 25 ABV projects with 25 ABV Skilled Business Professionals (volunteers), 6 Arup pro bono projects with 26 infrastructure engineers and technical specialists as well as 14 industry expert volunteers across 3 ABV economic resilience and cultural fire projects.
Among the projects completed since 2022, several stand out as significant highlights in our efforts to support disaster preparedness and economic resilience in regional communities. The co-facilitated Cultural Burning Conference with the Batemans Bay Local Aboriginal Land Council (BBLALC) emerged as a pivotal event to foster collaboration among Local Aboriginal Land Councils, emergency services, and government agencies on cultural burning practices.
The economic resilience workshops, conducted in partnership with the Tumbarumba Chamber of Commerce and the Braidwood and Villages Business Chamber, helped strengthen local businesses, preparing them for the unpredictable and volatile economic circumstances that come with increased climate disasters. Hazard mapping exercises developed in Eden and Tumbarumba, in collaboration with Disaster Relief Australia (DRA), resulted in the formation of working groups and community-led initiatives to bolster disaster response capabilities.
These projects, alongside collaborations such as brokering relationships and partnerships, for example, between the BBLALC and the Braidwood community, exemplify our dedication to fostering resilient networks and partnerships across sectors.
Capable Communities Roadshow event information (17 -21 June):
During the week of 17-21 June, the ABV team of Oscar, George, Natascha, and Moneesha will be holding a series of meetings across the region with the NSW Reconstruction Authority.
These sessions aim to further develop the community stakeholders' disaster and economic resilience projects. As ABV continues to advocate for communities to lead their resilience-building activities and shape improved public policy and resources to facilitate a community-led model. These meetings will also include an evaluation component to assess how our program outcomes were achieved.
This project is being facilitated by Australian Business Volunteers and is funded by the Disaster Risk Reduction Fund (DRRF) which is jointly funded by the Australian and New South Wales governments.
