Seismics and the City - Learning from resilience, recovery and reinvention in Christchurch
Wednesday 21 March 2012, 8:28AM
By Shine Group
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Christchurch, New Zealand - Tuesday 20 March - 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