Dear colleagues,

Please could you distribute information on a great conference and networking opportunity for social work practitioners, researchers and postgraduate students interested in international dimensions of practice.  

All the best, 

Michael Rasell
School of Health and Social Care
University of Lincoln

Email: [log in to unmask]
Webpage: http://staff.lincoln.ac.uk/mrasell


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Social work without borders: building an international community of practice
University of Lincoln, Wednesday 22 January 2014

Although delivered in local settings, social work practice is shaped by global dynamics ranging from emerging norms and standards to international political economy and the mobility of practitioners and users of services.  Yet it has proved difficult to create international ‘communities of practice’ that link frontline practitioners across countries and continents.  This conference thus aims to build collaboration in international social work by providing a platform for exchanging experience, discussing shared challenges and developing a network of contacts.  

This event is targeted at social work practitioners, researchers and postgraduate students who work on issues of international and multicultural social work practice.  Held in conjunction with the Erasmus Mundus ADVANCES programme (www.socialworkadvances.org), participants will include social work practitioners from over seventeen different countries, including the Middle East, Eastern and Southern Africa, South Asia, South-East Asia, Caribbean, Australia, Central and Southern Europe.  

We welcome presentations on research, practice reflections and case studies on a wide range of themes on social work in international contexts, including but not limited to:

• Emerging, neglected and hidden issues in international social work
• Promoting indigenous and culturally sensitive social work
• Local and comparative understandings of social work practice and values
• Lessons for social work from the Global South 
• Cross-country projects and co-operation in social work
• Creative social work practices initiated by service users
• Co-operation between social work and non-related professions (e.g. architecture, journalism, natural science)
• Social work responses to environmental and climate change 
• Social work with displaced people, migrants, asylum seekers and refugees
• Promoting research and knowledge exchange in international social work 
• The challenges of implementing global norms and standards 

The conference is designed as an informal event with plenty of discussion, networking and mingling.  There is no conference fee and participation is open to all interested in the development of international social work, not just presenters.  

If you are interested in contributing a presentation to the event, please submit a summary of approximately 300 words along with contact details and a brief CV to [log in to unmask] by 20 December 2013.  A number of travel bursaries of up to £75 will be available to support presentations by postgraduate students and staff in the charity and voluntary sectors – please mention in your application email if you would like to be considered.