The Canterbury Earthquakes Recovery Symposium is set to feature cross-sector experts and representatives from the community.

The two-day forum, announced earlier this year by Greater Christchurch Regeneration Minister Megan Woods and Christchurch Mayor Lianne Dalziel, will be a forum for sharing lessons for the future across all sectors involved in the recovery.

“I am excited to announce that we’ve secured some fantastic speakers and presenters for this event,” Woods said.

Speakers and presenters include urban planner specialising in disaster recovery and catastrophe risk management Dr Laurie Johnson; Christchurch NZ chief executive and former Press editor Joanna Norris; academic researcher and designer Barnaby Bennett; filmmaker Gerard Smyth; and Ngāi Tahu chief executive Arihia Bennett.

Woods noted the event is invitation only, with more than 300 participants invited. The minister said they will be live streaming the talks and putting slides and videos up on the EQ Recovery Learning website for other parties interested in listening to the speakers and the presentations.

“The event has already attracted a huge amount of interest from across the sector, which shows that there is a real desire to share our recovery lessons, so that others benefit from our experiences when another disaster strikes, and, more importantly, that we don’t see a repeat of any of our mistakes,” Dalziel added.

The symposium will be held on November 29-30.