Disaster Talks podcast - helping school communities to prepare for the future
Published: 21 February 2023
Introducing Disaster Talks — a three-part podcast series where educators and young people talk about their experiences of disasters and their reflections on what worked, what they learnt and what they wished they had known before the disaster.
About the podcast
The series is a collaboration between the Australian Child and Adolescent Trauma, Loss and Grief Network (ACATLGN) (Opens in new tab), at the Australian National University and UNICEF Australia.
Hosted by Laura Gooyers-Bourke and Michelle Roberts from ACATLGN, this series is by educators for educators.
Exploring the complex and multifaceted nature of disasters and adversities, each episode covers a theme:
- Episode 1 (Opens in new tab) looks at the experiences and reflections of the Corryong College leadership team during and after the 2019 bushfires, including the secondary adversities that can be experienced by a community following a disaster.
- Episode 2 (Opens in new tab) explores the child’s experience of disaster, as told by them in their own words, and the way in which they saw their school respond and support.
- Episode 3 (Opens in new tab) takes listeners behind the scenes of the education wellbeing system and the preparation for supporting schools at a state-wide level.
Studying the impacts throughout disaster recovery
From March 2020 to December 2021, ACATLGN undertook engagement with several school communities in East Gippsland and Ovens Murray regions of Victoria to support them in their recovery journey following the devastating Black Summer bushfires of 2019/2020.
COVID-19 and the impacts were considered which assisted ACATLGN in researching the compounding nature of different adversities. As a result, the team had an opportunity to enable disaster-affected school communities to share their stories, wisdom and reflections with a wider audience. The topics can also help those who haven’t been through a disaster better prepare themselves and their school community for the future.
Disaster Talks ties in elements of ACATLGN’s evaluated TRUST in Schools trauma-sensitive schooling program (Opens in new tab) which provides a valued resource for educators that brings quality knowledge, combined with practical tips and observations, supported reflections, and positive ways forward.
The Disaster Talks podcast is available on Buzzsprout, Apple, Spotify and wherever podcasts are found.