The Global Animal Disaster Management Conference (GADMC), hosted by Animal Evac New Zealand and sponsored in 2023 by VIER PFOTEN (Four Paws) International, is one of the most important events for disaster management experts from all over the world.
The GADMC conference is a platform for emergency management practitioners at all levels to discuss new ways to protect animals during disasters. The conference awards showcase the very best and brightest in this field over the previous 2 years.
This year, category winners were:
Most Engaging Presentation – awarded to Dr Jennifer Betz from the US for her work on ‘Dogs of Chernobyl: beyond the Russian invasion’ that is about the impact the Russian occupation of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant had on the dogs of Chernobyl (see https://gadmc.org/speakers/profile/?smid=848).
Most Popular Presentation – awarded to Dave Pauli from the US for his work on Wildlife Disaster Response that provided an insight into the challenges faced in wildlife disaster response and how the USA is leading the way in protecting precious creatures during emergencies.
Both these presentations captured the hearts and minds of attendees and were voted most highly to achieve these awards.
Most Thought Provoking Presentation – awarded to Christine Parker-Graham from the US for her work on 'A Case for Aquatic Animal Evacuation'. This work challenges traditional thinking and introduces new approaches to disaster management when dealing with animals (see https://gadmc.org/speakers/profile/?smid=824).
Emerging Researcher was awarded to Fredred Valdiva and his team in Nicaragua in recognition of the important work being done in animal welfare, especially where working with horses is a challenging task (see https://gadmc.org/speakers/profile/?smid=858).
Best Overall Presentation – awarded to the international panel that discussed the important issue of unofficial responses to animals during disasters. The panel consisted of international experts Gerardo Huertas (Costa Rica), Jen Gardner (USA), Adam Parascandola (USA) and Dr Steve Glassey (Australia). See the presentation at www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrSXCo0xAvc.
As a Special Merit, the awards recognised the incredible work being done by Azzedine Downes and Shannon Walajtys from the US on 'Meeting conflict with compassion'. There was also inspiring stories by Tarusha Mishra from India on 'The Drowning Community Dogs of Mumbai' (see https://gadmc.org/speakers/profile/?smid=821) and Valentyna Vozna from Ukraine on ‘What could the EU do better to protect animals in disasters: lessons learnt from Ukraine' (see https://gadmc.org/speakers/profile/?smid=850).
The GADMC Awards are a testament to the dedication, innovation and passion of disaster management professionals around the world.
All GADMC presentations, including this year's award winners, are online free and accessible via https://gadmc.org/recordings/.