The Disability Dialogue, Open Dialogue event 2025: Facing the storm together: How we plan and respond to weather-related disasters

The Disability Dialogue, Open Dialogue event 2025: Facing the storm together: How we plan and respond to weather-related disasters

This Open Dialogue event was held on Wednesday 24th September 2025. 

Kelly Griffis-Cox and Andrew Fairbairn, who works for an organisation called Limbs for Life, co-hosted the event. 

The first speakers were Jonathon Tracey, who goes by Jono, and Anthony. Jono shared his story about how he kept himself and his family safe during the Lismore floods of 2022. He took on the responsibility of bringing his family to safety and was in an evacuation centre for 2 weeks.

The next speaker would have been Nelly Caleb from Vanuatu, but she was not able to make the event. Instead Andrew shared a bit about Nelly and invited everyone to listen to a podcast where she talks about her work. You can listen here.

Then Joseph Archibald spoke. He is a service provider for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. He talked about what he has learned about keeping Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people safe, like making sure plans are person-centred and considering things like culture, history, and the relationship people have with emergency services.

The event ended with all the speakers taking questions from the audience, and with an invitation to the next Open Dialogue event on artificial intelligence.

This episode was produced by Powered Media and Vision Australia for The Disability Dialogue in 2025.