WORLD SOCIAL WORK DAY 2009 PRESS RELEASE

Press release concerning World Social Work Day 2009

Social Workers around the world join together to celebrate the Third World Social Work Day March 17, 2009. This annual event, celebrated on the third Tuesday in March, is held to focus on social work's contributions to society and be part of an ongoing dialogue with all partners on how challenges linked to social conditions can met by communities.

The general theme for the World Social Work Day is "Social Work and Social Development: The Agenda", and is initiated by the International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW), a global body for social workers in 90 countries around the globe.

In focus for the conference is how we can build a social work and social development agenda for the upcoming decade that face the challenges the global society is confronted with and that makes sure that humanity can thrive despite the troubled times.

Key words for the conference are therefore:

Together we build the agenda
Together we face the challenges
Together we thrive

We live in troubled times with a global financial crisis unfolding and with serious food shortages in many parts of the developing world. Sustainability concerns are also becoming more pressing as we experience how environmental changes affect the daily and future life of people in a number of areas.

We all need to find new ways to cope with this. We as social workers believe it is crucial that societies ensure that the most vulnerable members of the community are in focus in this situation. We need to act in solidarity to make sure that resources are available for all.

The theme for the World Social Work Day reflects the global preparations for the major social work and social development event taking place in Hong Kong in June 2010 when thousands of professionals in the field from all over the world are expected to gather for a World Conference on Social work and Social Development. The conference is a joint cooperation between the international Association of Schools of Social Work, the International Council on Social Welfare and the International Federation of Social Workers with 8 professional Hong Kong partners.

Social Work has made and continues to make a significant contribution to the response to economic and social changes and to the support of vulnerable people and communities. Social work promotes the social welfare of individuals, groups and communities, facilitates social cohesion in periods of change and supports and protects the vulnerable members of the community, working in partnership with service users, consumers, communities and other professions.

Social workers assist individuals, families and communities who are disadvantaged to address challenges and positively impact changes in their lives. These are times of major social upheaval in all communities. The social work profession has always been flexible in the face of social change, says IFSW President David N Jones. Social workers make an essential contribution to the promotion of social cohesion, both through preventive work and their response to social problems. Social work is therefore an investment in the current and future welfare of our communities.

The International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW) has since its original establishment in 1928 been the representative body of professional social workers globally. Today, IFSW represents social work associations in 90 countries with a total membership of more than 740 000 social workers. Special consultative status has been granted by the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). In addition, IFSW is working with the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the World Health Organization (WHO), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and others.

20TH ASIA PACIFIC SOCIAL WORK CONFERENCE

Date: 11 - 13 November 2009

Venue: Sky City Auckland Convention Centre, Auckland, New Zealand

Tena koutou, tena koutou, tena koutou, nga mihi mahana ki a koutou katoa.
Very warm Pacific greetings,

The Aotearoa New Zealand Association of Social Workers (ANZASW) looks forward to welcoming you to the first joint Asia Pacific Regional Conference of the International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW) and the Asia Pacific Association for Social Work Education (APASWE) to be held in Auckland, New Zealand, in November 2009.

Conference Theme "Many Voices, Many Communities, Social Justice for all"
Subthemes

1) Population dislocation – disaster recovery/refugee/migrant/human trafficking

2) Indigenous populations

3) Social work education, research and practice

4) Social justice and youth justice5) Social exclusion and inclusion/ empowerment of communities/community development

Click here to visit the website for more information and view the call for papers
*Deadline for abstract submission is 28th February 2009

or go to http://www.modepartners.com/emailmarketer/link.php?M=12144&N=40&L=82&F=H

XI CONGRESSO ESTATAL DE TRABAJADORES SOCIALES "TRABAJO SOCIAL: SENTIDO Y SENTIDOS"

Estimado/a compañero/a:

El XI Congreso Estatal de Trabajadores/as Sociales “TRABAJO SOCIAL: SENTIDO Y SENTIDOS” se celebrará en Zaragoza los días 6,7 y 8 de Mayo de 2009, organizado por el Colegio Profesional de Diplomados en Trabajo Social y Asistentes Sociales de Aragón junto con el Consejo General de Colegios Oficiales de Diplomados en Trabajo Social y Asistentes Sociales, que entre sus funciones, tiene encomendadas las tareas de representar a toda la organización colegial en los ámbitos estatal e internacional y organizar encuentros profesionales con cierta periodicidad.

Anunciaros de que ya está abierto el plazo de inscripción.

Os esperamos a todos/as, ya que es un foro que nos da la oportunidad de intercambiar experiencias, contactar, compartir y convivir con compañeros y compañeras, procedentes de otras Comunidades Autónomas, lo que sin duda es enriquecedor para el futuro de nuestra profesión.

Recibe un cordial saludo.
Ana Isabel Lima Fernández

Presidenta del Consejo General de Colegios Oficiales de Diplomados en Trabajo Social y Asistentes Sociales

PRE-CONFERENCE ON HUMAN RIGHTS IN TEACHING AND PRACTICE

ENSACT– Conference in Dubrovnik/Croatia, April 27th to April 29th, 2009

SOCIAL ACTION IN EUROPE. DIFFERENT LEGACIES – COMMON CHALLENGES?

PRE-CONFERENCE: HUMAN RIGHTS IN TEACHING AND PRACTICE

APRIL, 26TH, 2009, 10.00 to 18.00 in the old city of Dubrovnik, adress: Benfortuna d.o.o., Poljana Paška Miličeviċa 4. (You can see the place of Benfortuna on www.benfortuna.hr)

At the European Conference in Parma, in March 2007, colleagues from schools of social work and from social services have participated in a Roundtable with the human rights expert, professor Joe Wronka from Springfield College, Mass./ USA. After an introduction by Joe Wronka the participants informed about the relevance of Human Rights in the curricula of their schools. The session closed with the idea to start a European Network about the topic of “Teaching and Training for Human Rights in Social Work”.

Fact is, that in spite of the different documents about the “International Definition of the Social Work Profession”, the „Ethics in Social Work, Statements of Principles” and the “Global Standards for the Education and Training of the Social Work Profession” (all in a Supplement of the Journal of International Social Work of 2007), who all mention human rights as ethical criteria for social work, there is still little resonance about this till to-day. The same holds for the Recommendations of the Minister Committee of the Council of Europe of 2001 and 2003 to integrate human rights in the education and field work of social work. Yet, the revised European Social Charter of 1966 could and should be a great chance for social work to put its focus on social rights in theory and practice. A speaker at the Conference of the International Association of Schools of Social Work in Durban/South Africa was very radical in saying, that if the schools are not able to engage in and teach about human rights, they should stop to talk about them.

Yet, there are enough issues to discuss in their relevance for European social work. But it seems easier to point to the human rights violations of non-European countries: Considering the increasing gap between rich and poor and the ,jobless-growth’ in many regions and suburbs (banlieues), considering the cutting of subsidies till to zero by misbehaviour, considering the inhuman European policies for refugees, the trafficking with women and children, the sometimes disastrous situations in homes and institutions, the growing nationalisms and racism, the crude national ethnocentrism of social policies and social welfare of the rich countries etc., there are plenty of relevant social problems which challenge social work and ask for a contribution with the means it has.


ORGANISING COMMITTEE OF THE PRE-CONFERENCE

Prof. Dr. Silvia Staub-Bernasconi, Master of Social Work “Social Work and Human Rights”, Berlin/Zürich (mail: staubernasco@bluewin.ch)
Prof. Dr. Hans Walz, University of Applied Sciences, Ravensburg-Weingarten (mail: walz@hs-weingarten.de)
Dr. Graça André, Social Worker and lecturer at the Catholic University in Lisbon (mail: gandre@net.sapo.pt)

REGISTRATION FOR THE PRE-CONFERENCE

We would like to invite colleagues – teachers, practitioners and students – to discuss these issues in the Pre-Conference on Sunday, April 26, 2009. Capacity of the room: 100 participants.

For Participation please send an email to: walz@hs-weingarten.de
Postal adress:
Prof. Dr. Hans Walz
Hochschule Ravensburg-Weingarten
Postfach 1261
88241 Weingarten
Germany
Fax: Prof. Dr. Hans Walz – 0049-751- 501-9455

Program for the Pre-Conference:
HUMAN RIGHTS IN TEACHING AND PRACTICE

10.00 - 10.15: Opening: Silvia Staub-Bernasconi and Hans Walz

10.15 - 11.30: Gaby Franger–Huhle, University of Applied Sciences Coburg, Germany Elisabeth Reichert, Southern Illinois University, Cabondale (USA):
Human Rights education in Schools for Social Work

11.30 - 12.00: Students from University for Applied Sciences in Weingarten, Germany: Nikias Bermetz, Benjamin Börner, Maria Günther, Joerg Hügle, Daniela Lentner-Banholzer, Anna Knieper, Bastian Oechsle, Lars Stoll, Tobias Linder, Michael Bollinger:

Human Rights in Social Work Practice

12.00 - 12.15: Break

12.15 - 12.45: Rudi Roose, Ghent University, Belgium:
Childrens Rights: A Challenge for Social Work

12.45 - 13.15: Sharon Schneider, Head of Division, Zick-Zack, Dornbirn, Austria:
Realising the Convention of the Rights of the Child in Social Work Practice

13.15 - 14.45: Break for Lunch

14.45 - 15.15: Christel Michel, University of Applied Sciences Weingarten, Germany:
Justice and Social Work

15.15 - 15.45: Silvia Staub-Bernasconi, Director of a “Master of Social Work and Human Rights”, Berlin/Germany

How to rethink Theories of Social Work in the light of Human Rights

15.45 - 16.15: Break

16.00 - 16.30: Graça André, Social Worker at Casa Pia and lecturer at Universidade Católica Portuguesa in Lisbon, Portugal:
Social Work Education and the relevance of Human Rights Topics

16.30 - 17.00: Hans Walz, University for Applied Sciences in Weingarten, Germany:
How to teach Human Rights to different professions

17.00 - 17.15: Break

17.15 - 17.45: Ruth Stark, Social Officer BASW, Edinbourgh, UK, Head of IFSW Human Rights Commission:
A new version of the Manual “Social Work and Human Rights”

17.45 – 18.30: What has to be discussed in the next meeting; conclusions and further steps (e.g. the Manual and the Network)

WORKSHOP APSS DELEGAÇÃO REGIONAL DO CENTRO

Car@ Colega

Vimos apelar à sua participação nas actividades promovidas pela Delegação Regional do Centro da APSS como forma de mobilização da classe para o Projecto da criação da ORDEM DOS ASSISTENTES SOCIAIS.

Uma das actividades que a Delegação dinamiza é a organização de workshops temáticos com o objectivo de (in)formar, mas também como forma de reunir Assistentes Sociais e criar a oportunidade de os mesmos formularem questões e apresentarem propostas relativas ao PROJECTO DA ORDEM.

A próxima iniciativa realizar-se-á em Coimbra, no próximo dia 28 de Fevereiro, e terá como tema o Aconselhamento Familiar: Contributos para a Promoção da Saúde Mental, conforme cartaz e ficha de Inscrição que poderá consultar no site da APSS.

Participe e divulgue esta informação junto do maior número possível de ASSISTENTES SOCIAIS.

Saudações associativas,

A Delegação Regional do Centro da APSS

Delegação Regional do Centro da A.P.S.S.

E-mail: apssdrcentro@gmail.com

Apartado 4101 – E.C. São José – 3030-999 Coimbra

Site: http://www.apross.pt/

JORNADA SOBRE LA LEY DE DEPENDENCIA Y SERVICIOS SOCIALES EN LAS ENTIDADES LOCALES

Estimados/as compañeros/as:

El Consejo General de Secretarios, Interventores y Tesoreros de la Administración Local (COSITAL) en colaboración con el Consejo General de Trabajo Social co-organizan una “ JORNADA SOBRE LA LEY DE DEPENDENCIA Y SERVICIOS SOCIALES EN LAS ENTIDADES LOCALES” , que tendrá lugar el próximo 27 de febrero de 2009 en la sede de COSITAL situada en la C/ Carretas nº 14.

Está dirigido a todos los profesionales de entidades sociales, trabajadores sociales y funcionarios de habilitación estatal.

La colaboración de ambas instituciones nos brinda la oportunidad de que en estas jornadas se abarque una doble perspectiva, la jurídico-financiera y la de la intervención social.

Sin duda estas jornadas serán un espacio de reflexión entre los profesionales que intervienen desde las distintas administraciones locales.

Recibid un cordial saludo,

Consejo General de Trabajo Social

http://www.cgtrabajosocial.es/

REUNIÃO DO COMITÉ EXECUTIVO DA FIAS EUROPA EM LISBOA

O Comité Executivo da Federação Internacional dos Assistentes Sociais, Região Europa reuniu em Lisboa, de 9 a 11 de Janeiro de 2009, dando continuidade aos trabalhos que tem vindo a desenvolver desde a última reunião realizada em Copenhaga de 26 a 28 de Setembro de 2008.

A reunião decorreu na sede da Associação dos Profissionais de Serviço Social APSS, com a presença do Presidente da Região Europeia, Nicolai Paulsen e restantes membros do executivo, com a excepção de Anthea Agius de Malta, impossibilitada de viajar por razões de saúde, mas que mesmo assim participou na reunião via Internet.

Fernanda Morais, secretária administrativa da APSS, deu as Boas Vindas aos membros do Comité Executivo da Europa, acolhendo uma reunião que pela primeira vez se realizou em Lisboa, Portugal.

O objectivo primordial desta reunião consistiu na preparação e organização da próxima Reunião de Delegados da Região Europa (Delegates Meeting) que está agendada para 24 a 26 de Abril de 2009 em Dubrovnik, Croácia.

O processo da legalização da Federação Europeia está já numa fase final sendo que os actuais membros do Executivo serão os membros fundadores na constituição desta Associação de Direito Público.

Os Seminários que se realizaram em 4 países da Europa para debater o novo Projecto da FIAS Europa sobre os Fundamentos da Prática do Serviço Social ao encontro dos Direitos (Humanos) Sociais e Económicos, decorreram com sucesso. O relatório final será apresentado na Reunião de Delegados e também será apresentado em forma de Simpósio durante a Conferência de Dubrovnik.

O Executivo está muito empenhado em desenvolver a Comunicação interna e externa e a criação dum Blog foi já um passo decisivo nessa área.

No início do mês de Fevereiro será divulgada a próxima edição da revista Euro Social Worker.

Para mais informações sobre as actividades da FIAS Europa visite o blog
www.ifsweurope-ifsweurope.blogspot.com/

Findo os trabalhos o Executivo saboreou um jantar no Restaurante “Bacalhau de Molho – Casa de Linhares”, enquanto assistia a excelentes interpretações de Fado.