SOCIAL workers from across the globe will tackle the Coronavirus crisis in an online conference being co-organised by Liverpool Hope University.
The event - ‘Social Work and the Covid 19 Crisis: International Perspectives’ - takes place on Thursday this week, live-streamed via Facebook.
It’s being jointly hosted by the International Federation of Social Workers, the Social Work Action Network (SWAN), and the Critical and Radical Social Work Journal - which is based at Hope and edited by the University’s own Professor Michael Lavalette, Head of the School of Social Science.
The aim of the worldwide powwow is to share innovative social work practices being implemented in the face of the global pandemic, while also discussing what extra help is needed from governments in order to aid those who need it most.
Event co-host Professor Lavalette explains “The social work sector has been forced to adapt rapidly, and with great urgency, to the Coronavirus outbreak, with real turbulence being experienced for both adults' and children's services.
“And the aim of this online conference is to share ideas, solutions and concerns so that we can take a joined-up approach to tackling the pandemic. .
“We have speakers from Chile, the USA, Portugal, Greece, South Africa, Palestine and the UK.
“We have asked three questions of contributors: What is happening locally, and what has the government response been? What have social workers been doing in their local areas since the pandemic first began? And finally, are there any examples of innovative, creative practice or mutual aid initiatives that other nations can potentially learn from?
“There will also be a question and answer session, led by viewers, which will shape the rest of the meeting.
“We hope to make a meaningful contribution to the Coronavirus debate and I invite any interested parties to join us on the live stream.”
The conference begins at 5pm UK time via the Social Work Action Network’s Facebook page.
You can find it here:
www.facebook.com/