Seismics and the City forum focuses on organisational resilience
6 March 2012 - Christchurch , New Zealand – On March 22, a year and a month after the devastating February 2011 quake, a knowledge sharing event will be held in
Christchurch . TelstraClear Seismics and the City, a one day forum, will draw together the learning experiences from organisations in the public and private sector in
the wake of the Christchurch earthquakes.
“The ability to quickly recover from a disaster is a critical factor for success for many organisations. The forum
provides an opportunity for organisations to learn from the seismic events of the past 17 months and share what they
have learnt with others,” says forum organiser, 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.
Mr Lukey says, “After the Feb 22 earthquake, Christchurch organisations found themselves in uncharted territory dealing
with unprecedented issues such as the loss of people, premises, networks and data. Many had to adapt to working from
multiple locations. The forum will look at how those experiences inform business continuity planning.”
At the forum powerful case studies will be presented to demonstrate the ingredients of a resilient organisational
culture. The will also highlight the responsibilities of boards and senior management teams to prepare for the worst
while planning for the best.
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. “
Other speakers include Roger Sutton, CERA and formerly Orion; 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.
An Urban Safari in the afternoon will include a brief inner city bus tour on the way to chosen workplace streams hosted
by a variety of Christchurch organisations. Following this 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.
My Lukey says, “As the city refocuses on a vibrant new future, new ways of working and new technologies make it a
laboratory of creativity and innovation.”
The major sponsor of the event TelstraClear is joined by sponsor IBM and supporters University of Canterbury , NZIM,
Mainland Press and Vero. For more information on TelstraClear Seismics and the City to be held at the Addington Events Centre in Christchurch on 22 March visit www.smartnet.co.nz
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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.