This panel focusses on pathways to recovery for Vanuatu following the devastation wrought by Tropical Cyclone Pam earlier this year. Leading off from debates that took place in social media forums in particular, it combines contributions from social sciences researchers with the perspective of ni-Vanuatu and expatriates embedded in the recovery process. Issues to be addressed include: responsibilities and capabilities of the state in responding to disaster; the concept of resilience in disaster response and management; capacity of politicians, NGOs and/or local communities to manage relief and recovery; “best practice” for providing assistance to developing countries on the part of both professionals and “amateurs”; and what recovery could/should look like.

The panel will also reflect on lessons that Vanuatu’s experience may have for the broader region, and also discuss the value that ethnographically-based analysis and longitudinal engagement can bring to such analysis.