2012 Winter Lectures: Hazards, Disasters, Risks & Responses

Associate Professor Peter O’Connor, Faculty of Education: Understanding human responses - ‘a teaspoon of light’.

Peter led a team of teachers and artists from The University of Auckland to work with Christchurch children within days of the 22 February earthquake. The programme was named The Teaspoon of Light after a young child during one of the workshops was asked what she thought would help repair a torn cloth of dreams. Her response: “A teaspoon of light from the darkest tunnel would help as even a small amount of light can go through everything.” More than 3,000 children across Christchurch have taken part in Peter’s arts based workshops. The New Zealand UNESCO Commission has funded a further phase of work, which is about preparing teachers internationally for work in past or ongoing trauma sites.

The last two years brought the unpredictable nature of New Zealand’s natural and man-made hazards to the fore. Christchurch’s major earthquake and its devastating aftershocks, the Pike River mine disaster, the Rena oil spill, heavy rain and snow falls, tornadoes and other unexpected events overstretched the country’s infrastructure, caused loss of life and livelihood, and tested the strength and resilience of everyday New Zealanders. This lecture series, held from July 17 until August 21, explores New Zealand’s disasters - the risks we face and the responses we make to those risks. Experts and scholars from, or connected with, The University of Auckland will share their knowledge and skills on a selection of topics from geology and engineering to media and education.