The new normal, post-COVID, recovery…all these terms point to what comes next. As a profession, we have the privilege – and responsibility – to share our experiences, insights, and challenges with each other to improve disaster risk reduction in Canada.. What long-term impacts from the past eighteen months will shape the direction of our field? What will the next eighteen months look like as we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic or tackle a fourth or fifth pandemic wave?
Knowledge-sharing is the key to improvement. Rarely before have so many across the country and around the world shared similar challenges, successes, and the collective need to adapt and pivot to emerging issues and risks. We want to provide a platform and networking space to discuss and share your insights for the future through HazNet and the CRHNet platform.
On a personal note, I love the “Silver Linings” theme of this issue of HazNet. It is important to take time to recognize the benefits of these challenging times. For me, having always worked largely from home, I felt a much greater societal recognition of how challenging such an environment can be. It is not easy to manage, especially as it further blurs the lines between work-life and home-life. Similarly, after years of being on the road for 200+ days a year for work, I was finally home long enough to be able to welcome a puppy into my family! With the pandemic having lasting impacts on business travel and enabling greater virtual collaboration, I do not see myself returning to that unsustainable level of travel again.
I hope others share their silver linings and remind one another that although you sometimes have to look for them, silver linings are always there. Stay tuned for some exciting updates on how CRHNet hopes to facilitate knowledge sharing and collaborations among our disaster risk reduction network. Thank you to everyone that has worked so hard during this unprecedented pandemic.
Ramona McVicker
Executive Director, CRHNet
execdir@crhnet.ca