Dear partners, friends, and colleagues,
The Center for Rebuilding Sustainable Communities after Disasters (CRSCAD) was formally established on July 5, 2008. It is an affiliate of John W. McCormack Graduate School of Policy Studies at the University of Massachusetts Boston.
As we mark our first anniversary, we are launching a monthly newsletter to provide information about our activities to those interested in global disaster studies.
In this inaugural Newsletter, we would like to share with you some of the many notable activities and achievements of the Center since its inception. It is, therefore, organized into three main sections. First, the mission of the Center is briefly presented as well as its broad strategic objectives. This is followed by a review of the principal means which were used vigorously to pursue its mission and to achieve the strategic goals during the 2008-2009 year. The final section lists other major achievements during the year
It is my hope that the contents of this Newsletter will provide you with some delight and insight into the activities of CRSCAD. I look forward to receiving your comments and helpful ideas about this and future issues.
Thank you.
Adenrele Awotona
Founding Director & Professor | | Our Mission | |
The primary purpose of the Center for Rebuilding Sustainable Communities after Disasters (CRSCAD) is to work in close collaboration with practitioners, academics, researchers, policy makers and grassroots organizations in the United States of America and in all the continents of the world in their search for the most appropriate and sustainable ways to rebuild their communities after disasters.
Examples of disasters would include bad governance and poverty, environmental pollution, AIDS, wars, conflicts, severe weather-related events, earthquakes, large-scale attacks on civilian populations, technological catastrophes, and influenza pandemics. Scholarship, service, consultancy, workshops and training, outreach and education as well as creative work are key components of CRSCAD's mission.
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Broad Strategic Objectives of CRSCAD |
The central strategic objective is to improve the visibility and image of the Center as one of the leading academic centers in the world addressing the issue of the effects of natural and man-made disasters on vulnerable populations, specifically children, women, the elderly, disabled people and the poor. CRSCAD's primary audiences include international and national organizations and government agencies, grassroots entities, academics, and the media.
| | The Year in Review | |
2008 Conference Key note speaker Governor Scott McCallum
The Center has been involved in several engaging workshops, commissions, and committees. We strive to involve all aspects of disaster relations programs in order to assist local, national and international agencies as well as the victims of disasters to develop practical, sustainable and long-term solutions to the social, economic and environmental consequences of disasters.
The first year of CRSCAD's existence was devoted mainly to Center-building activities. Please enjoy many actions we have taken over the past year
- Participation in The Disasters Roundtable of the National Academies - "Children and Youth in Disasters: Closing Gaps among Research, Practice, and Policy," Co-Hosted by the National Commission on Children and Disasters. Washington DC, June 25, 2009
- Participation in the National Commission on Children and Disasters' Public Meeting, Washington DC, June 26, 2009.
- Attendance at the "Speaker Series" program organized by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Working Group on Education (NGO Committee), United Nations Plaza, New York City, June 4, 2009
- The CRSCAD Director participated in a delegation to Haiti led by Dorchester state Representative Marie St. Fleur (March 17-22, 2009), an informational trip to the Caribbean county, which was still reeling from the heavy hurricane season. The delegation also included state Rep. John Quinn (D-Dartmouth).
- Dr. Robert Weiner, the director of the MSPA International Relations tract actively participated in the 2008 conference with some of his students. Similarly, Dr. Stephanie Hartwell's Honors Students also made a Panel Presentation on "Multiple Perspectives in the Wake of Disasters." Dr. Hartwell is an Associate Professor and Graduate Program Director in the Sociology Department at UMASS Boston.
- The Center worked in collaboration with the U.S Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to host the Workshop of the Target Capability Implementation of Weapons of Mass Destruction/HazMat Rescue and Decontamination Technical Working Group at the University of Massachusetts-Boston, July 29-30, 2008
- The Center worked in collaboration with FEMA Region 1 to host a national Workshop on Emergency Preparedness Education Forum: Grade School through Higher Education at the University of Massachusetts-Boston, July 28, 2008
Please view our publications and many other accomplishments at our website: CRSCAD Publications |
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2010 Conference on Rebuilding Sustainable Communities with the Elderly and Disabled People after Disasters
July 12-15, 2010
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Please see our conference website:
as well as our conference flyer:
While many conferences have examined challenges that the elderly and people with disabilities face in emergencies, no significant systematic post-disasters study has been undertaken with a focus on the long-term, sustainable community recovery and rebuilding needs of this population. _________________________
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CRSCAD is sponsoring an international student essay
competition on the topic of the conference.
The 50 winning essays will be published as a CRSCAD monograph and the top 20 winners will be invited to participate in the conference and publicly honored.
Competition Guidelines
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| Our Sponsors | Interested in becoming a co-sponsor of the 2010 Conference?
See our
co-sponsor invitation |
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Published Book on Iraq
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Kindly see the publisher's flyer advertising
the book:
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Further Achievements | |
Adenrele Awotona has been appointed as both a member of the Editorial Board for the International Journal of Disaster Advances and a member of the Editorial Board for the International Journal of Information Systems and Social Change(IJISSC).
The center is thrilled to have established a working relationship with the PhD program in Gerontology, formed
an International Advisory Board and developed partnerships with government and non-governmental agencies and organizations. |
We invite you to share your ideas with us. CRSCAD exists for a common purpose: working with all the stakeholders to develop appropriate policies and programs for the development of sustainable communities that will be safe and secure for all (especially the vulnerable populations) after disasters.
Thank you for your time and we look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Jennifer Brunson
Research Assistant
Center for Rebuilding Sustainable Communities after Disasters | |
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