Communication research needs for building societal disaster resilience

Disaster resilience emphasises capacity building and generative coping mechanisms that involve communities in strategic planning. Participation of various stakeholders increases public confidence by sharing responsibility and reduces the reliance on government agencies alone. Recognising there may be no single definition of 'good community participation process', RMIT University's School of Media and Communication invited a multidisciplinary group of scholars from the United Kingdom, New Zealand and across Australia to a one-day symposium to identify practical, theoretical and conceptual communication issues and challenges associated with increasing the engagement of communities in building resilience to disasters. This paper presents outcomes from the workshop.