Overview
The taskforce aims to:
- Strengthen understanding of, and appreciation for, the role of culture and the arts in disaster management systems
- Make progress towards embedding culture and the arts in local, state/territory and federal disaster management arrangements
- Increase opportunities for artists to work as part of disaster recovery and access available funding for arts-based programs
- Encourage increased recognition of, and sustainability for, culture and the arts in communities and advocate for its ongoing inclusion in disaster management programs
- Forge new pathways of thinking in response to the unprecedented challenges being faced by communities
National Taskforce Members
Our Taskforce members represent a range of sectors, working in partnership with colleagues across government, the arts, service organisations, the private sector and within communities to advocate for the inclusion of arts-based programs in disaster planning. Read about them HERE.
Recommendations
In August 2022, the National Taskforce for Creative Recovery released a series of recommendations calling for creative practices and the specialist skills of the arts and cultural sector to be embedded as a key component of Australia’s disaster management systems.
“These recommendations speak directly to the findings of the Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements and the knowledge that we must find multi-dimensional, equitable ways to work with communities to transform systems and build capacity for the challenges ahead.
The evidence is clear that arts-led processes have enormous capacity to activate civic participation and deepen relational, people-centred approaches to community resilience. The time has come to prioritise support for embedding these processes into disaster management planning and we look forward to working with all levels of government and response organisations to achieve this.”
– Jillian Edwards, Creative Recovery Network Chair
First Peoples Voice
- Acknowledge First Peoples wisdom and cultural protocols. This enriches self-determination and community-led practices and is foundational for long term systemic change.
Enabling actions:
- Include Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultural Protocols and work to highlight the value of First Peoples cultural heritage and the need for their acknowledgement, leadership, and protection.
- Give precedence in recovery and mitigation programs to loss of sites of cultural significance from disasters and prioritise their recovery.
Strategy, Planning and Activation
- All levels of government, disaster management, business and community organisations, embed Creative Practice in disaster management planning, investment and bipartisan commitment.
- All levels of government, non-government agencies and academic institutions commit to and/or invest in impact research to demonstrate the value of Creative Practice programs in disaster management, for the wellbeing, preparedness and recovery of communities across Australia.
Enabling actions:
- Recognise and include the Creative Recovery Network as a key stakeholder representing the arts and culture community in disaster management.
- Support Creative Recovery Network to design and implement a good practice creative activation model to work within existing disaster management systems.
- Engage with the Creative Recovery Network on the development of protocols to support the use of creative practice within disaster management, for example: grant making and tender processes.
- Use the Creative Recovery Handbook to embed arts and culture and Creative Practice within existing disaster management frameworks, disaster planning and exercising.
- Work together to educate organisations and communities about the value and application of Creative Practice as part of community resilience building.
- Profile and acknowledge the value and impact of creative practice within disaster management, for example: national disaster management awards programs.
- Partner with the Creative Recovery Network to monitor, evaluate and give feedback on the activation of creative practices and projects.
Embedding and extending national disaster capacity
- Formally recognise creative practitioners and culture and the arts, as an essential component of Australia’s disaster management capacity and a key component of the nation’s preparedness, recovery and resilience capability, delivering trauma informed practice and helping people prepare for and cope with disasters.
Enabling actions:
- Engage with the Creative Recovery Network to connect with creative practitioners for localised creative practice within disaster management.
- Prioritise support for local communities to build Creative Practice into preparedness and recovery plans.
- Work with the Creative Recovery Network to train local creative practitioners and disaster management and recovery personnel.
