School of Social and Political Science

Description

Social work is a global profession; its practice transcends national borders, and responds to critical challenges facing our community and the world. The roots of problems that we find in our contemporary society stem from local issues that affect individuals, families and communities. Poverty, inequality, injustice, human rights violations, wars and internal conflicts, natural disasters, environmental changes and climate crisis pose fundamental questions of what is right and what is wrong, and place a responsibility on social work to respond appropriately, given its commitment to reducing human suffering and promoting wellbeing.

We live in a globalised world, where geographical distances have been narrowed down by technological advances, with a near certainty that local actions have global implications. For example, there is perhaps no place in the word that hasn’t been affected by the war in Syria, that led to an exodus of refugees arriving on different shores around the world. Equally, there is an imperative to consider the international drivers shaping local practice. For instance, the unbridled industrial progress made by certain countries of the world has led to significant adverse changes in climate, impacting the natural eco-system and environmental degradation, and leading to increased frequency of climate-induced disasters in countries like Bangladesh.

Across the world, social work has been concerned with the impact of poverty and inequality on human development, and promoting human rights and social justice. Professional social workers are on the frontline addressing some of today’s most pressing international issues. The enormous contribution that social work makes to local as well as global issues such as street children; human trafficking; disaster relief and humanitarian aid; food shortages; climate change; existing and emerging pandemics; and forced migration and refugees, needs to be recognised. The Global Agenda for Social Work and Social Development, developed jointly by IASSW, IFSW and ICSW in response to the increased complexity of the ‘social’ world, particularly for vulnerable people and communities, makes a clarion call for recognising the significant role social workers play globally in promoting human rights and social justice.

Helen Clark (United Nations Development Programme, 2012), while accepting the Global Agenda on behalf of the UN reflected that: “across the United Nations, our organisations work to eradicate poverty, promote human rights, and advance sustainable development. The Global Agenda’s vision mirrors many of the goals, rights, and agreements established by the United Nations … we support the call in the Global Agenda ‘to create a more socially-just and fair world which we will be proud to leave to future generations’” and highlighted the significant role social work plays in promoting human rights and supporting people to realize their full potential.

Increasingly, social workers are playing a crucial role in responding to global challenges. Recognising the relationship between the wider global climate and its influence on local practice is fundamental to the success and growth of the profession. Simply put, in order to provide localised interventions to individuals, families and their communities, it is imperative to first understand and to question the international context of these complex inter-connected challenges. As Kendall (2008) notes, the social problems and conditions arising out of globalisation create significant areas of international responsibility and demands for expanded knowledge and understanding for the social work profession.

The tools and strategies for managing this important connection are varied. Through advocacy, social workers use their knowledge to raise critical awareness on the structures that promote unequal access to resources. Through service provision, social workers develop interventions for those individuals, families and communities affected by structural inequalities. By empowering communities and developing connections, social workers promote resilience.

In short, the wider global climate influences and shapes the local trends and practice priorities. Social workers have a responsibility to navigate and critically analyse the ‘how’ behind global forces, while developing context-specific interventions that celebrate diversity, promote social justice, and empower communities.

The Universitas21 Community of Practice Inaugural Conference is an opportunity to showcase the myriad ways in which social work has engaged with these issues and challenges, locally and globally, with the aim of improving outcomes for individuals, families and communities.

The conference will explore global challenges such as (but not limited to):

• Poverty, hunger/food security
• Gender inequality
• Ageing population
• Pandemic/public health emergencies
• Peace and security
• Forced displacement and refugee crisis
• Environmental degradation and climate crisis
• Violence against women and children
• Human rights (including disability and LGBTQ+ rights)
• Assistive technologies and artificial intelligence
• Innovations in social work education
• Indigenous social work
• Leadership in social work

The conference will include key notes, individual presentations/parallel sessions and workshops, providing a space for intellectual exchange on innovative projects, research methodologies and cutting-edge practice that showcases social work’s contribution to addressing global challenges.

Date: 

• Wednesday 15 May 2024: 07:00-13:00 hrs UK time (catering to South Asia, Far East, Australia, New Zealand)
• Thursday 16 May 2024: 12:00-17:00 hrs UK time (catering to Africa, Europe, UK, the Americas)

Participants are encouraged to confirm timings for their time zones; in the middle of May the UK is in British Summer Time which is GMT+1 or UTC+1. Programme times will be displayed in British Summer Time.

Platform: Zoom (joining instructions will be sent in due course)

Recording: please note that we may record presentations.