Seismics and the City: Learning from resilience, recovery and reinvention in Christchurch

Christchurch, 20 March 2012 - This week Christchurch organisations will share their compelling learning experiences and new ways of working in the wake of the quakes at TelstraClear Seismics and the City as the region refocuses on a vibrant new future. The event is being held in Christchurch on Thursday 22 March, a year and a month on from the 22 February 2011 earthquake.

“The ability to quickly recover from a disaster is a critical factor for success for organisations. After the February 22 earthquake, Christchurch organisations found themselves in uncharted territory dealing with unprecedented issues such as the loss of people, premises, networks and data. This event provides an opportunity for organisations to look at learning from the past 18 months,” says organizer, Lyall Lukey, SmartNet.

The forum will focus on how businesses can best prepare for, respond to and recover from emergencies and disruption and what they can learn from such experiences in order to build more strength and sustainability. Powerful case studies will be presented to demonstrate the ingredients of a resilient organisational culture.

The event will also emphasise the opportunities which accompany catastrophic events and disruptive changes and the on-going need to re-strategise business planning in order to prepare for the worst while planning for the best.

Speakers include Roger Sutton, CERA and formerly Orion; Allan Freeth, TelstraClear; Dr Colin Harrison, IBM’s U.S. based pioneer in smarter cities; Peter Townsend, CECC; Dr Rod Carr, University of Canterbury; Sam Johnson, the Student Volunteer Army; Jim Boult, Christchurch International Airport; Mary Devine, Ballantynes; Peter Davie, Lyttelton Port Company; Joseph Thomas, NZIM; Dr John Vargo, UC; John Vale, Vynco; and Anthony Leighs, Leighs Construction. Psychologist Fran Vertue will also develop the concept of post-traumatic growth-opportunities arising out of crisis.

TelstraClear CEO Allan Freeth, a keynote speaker at the event says, “At TelstraClear we always believed we had strength in our network design, especially when it came to resiliency. The quake proved us right, but we also learned that BCP plans must be based on reality, take account of basic human behaviours – and assume the very worst.”

An Urban Safari in the afternoon following the forum will include a brief inner city bus tour on the way to chosen workplace streams hosted by Christchurch organisations including Orion, Re:Start the Heart, JADE, CTV, Mainland Press and Tait, University of Canterbury, and Marian College. Other afternoon options include an IBM hosted Cloud Round Table and Organisational Resilience workshops facilitated by Brian Dooley and Dr John Vargo.

To close the day, a networking event and virtual expo showcasing innovative products, services and solutions will be held between 5.30 and 7.00pm at The Westpac Business Hub.

TelstraClear is the major sponsor of the event along with sponsors IBM. Supporters include the University of Canterbury, NZIM, Mainland Press and Vero. For more information on TelstraClear Seismics and the City, 22 March, at the Addington Events Centre in Christchurch visit www.smartnet.co.nz

TelstraClear Seismics and the City: 22 March, Addington Events Centre, Christchurch

Together with sponsors and supporters, SmartNet is running a one day event on 22 March with the focus on learning from the experiences of Christchurch public and private sector organisations: their resilience, their preparedness to handle business interruption and their innovation in the wake of the quakes as they and their people recover, rethink what they do and how they do it and refocus on the future.

Overview: http://www.smartnet.co.nz/events/other/seismicsandthecity/overview.htm
Programme: http://www.smartnet.co.nz/events/other/seismicsandthecity/programme.htm
Contributors: http://www.smartnet.co.nz/events/other/seismicsandthecity/contributors.htm

ENDS

© Scoop Media