Latvian Social Workers ‘Association participates in the International Federation of Social Workers’ Conference in Vienna
From 8 to 11 September 2019, a conference organized by the International Federation of Social Workers was held in Vienna. Title of the conference was Social protection and human dignity. In total, the conference was attended by about 500 representatives from 47 countries around the world and it was possible to gain world experience in over 80 presentations. The conference was welcomed by the Austrian Social Workers’ Association, which recently celebrated its 100th anniversary. Ieva Ozola, a representative of the Social Workers ‘Association, also took part in the conference and shared her findings with other members of the Social Workers’ Association at the October 12 meeting. Here is a brief presentation of the findings and key topics of the conference.
One of the most important questions that permeated the entire conference was: Is a social Europe possible? It also raises questions about the role of social work in Europe? There was a lot of talk at the conference about the need for social workers to return to the original role of social work, namely to engage in social policy-making and by playing a more active role in driving change. It also means acting at the macro level, representing the most vulnerable socially on the agenda of policymakers.
International Federation of Social Workers contributes to the Global Agenda, including the updating of the European Pillar of Social Rights and the improvement of the European Social Charter. The main idea is to bring a special view of social work into EU policies. The conference held a discussion on what are the arguments for justifying the social dimension in order to bring European economic development into line with social development.
There were also ideas that radical social work at all levels – micro, meso and macro – should be activated. This means being more proactive about the rights of people / clients as opposed to the needs of the institution. This conflict was mentioned in many presentations, the topic of institutionalization, bureaucratization was mentioned a lot, which indicates that this tendency of Europe has something in common, that this problem is observed in many countries. It was emphasized that the client’s interests may conflict with those of the institution where the social worker works. One way to reduce this tendency is to join professional organizations and speak with one voice, protecting clients from the impact of excessive bureaucracy on their lives and the solutions they offer. Thus, one of the themes was the disappearing role of social work, or the balance between the individual and society.
As a result of the above trend, social workers are beginning to individualize the problems of the individual, ie social problems are transformed from political to personal, despite the fact that many problems have their origins and causes in social environment such as in-work poverty, women’s pay inequality in labor market, immigration, etc. And so the job of the social work profession is not just to stay at the micro level, but to see the wider social environment and the changes that are needed.
The main problems or themes in the field of social work in the EU are:
- Radicalization of society;
- Discrimination against minorities;
- Relations with migration / immigration, incl. the internal conflicts of social workers when their own values do not correspond to this reality;
- Inequality of women in the labor market and in politics;
- Poverty and its changing forms – the low wage zone, which is one of today’s new forms of poverty, including hidden poverty, is a pressing problem;
- Elderly rights – Human rights do not distinguish elderly people as a separate group. Problems can be seen in the involvement of seniors (especially those with care needs) in decision-making and in the transition to long-term care. The rapporteurs called for this target group to be viewed as active members of society.
The community work and its potential were also frequently mentioned at the conference. If people have relationships with secure communities, then communities have great potential to solve common problems and create a sense of security. Germany, for example, has a high level of ethnic conflict among young people, so German social workers are trying to organize community activities to build links between different groups. The work of the community as a subject in education programs in the context of equality promotion was also discussed. It is important to include community work in the education process in order to highlight the radical role of social work.
Another important topic discussed at the conference is evidence-based practice at all levels. At the macro level, evidence from practice is also needed. Social work should be represented in national documents that deal with the situation in the country. Such documents should include the views of social workers based on existing research and evidence. This would make it possible to discover more fully the interrelationships between the social security system as a reverse investment in the national economy. Similarly, the education system and the planning of social services must be based on evidence about the most effective solutions.
An interesting theme that emerged in the context of evidence-based practice was so called fake news and evidence. The information provided by social workers must be well thought out and validated so as not to inadvertently give rise to other negative stereotypes.
The conference also expressed the view that Europe, like the US, should agree on a common standard for social work, as there is currently a great diversity of social work in the EU.
The conference also touched upon issues that are not yet in the scope of social work, for example, social work’s answer to ecological questions: does social work have a definite position in this context? What is the role of social work today in terms of social stratification and inequality, as well as in terms of social fragmentation and poverty reduction? What is the role of social work in harmonizing society in general?
It can be concluded that social work in Latvia faces the same challenges that exist elsewhere in Europe. This means that we need to get closer to the international community of social workers, following the solutions seen in European countries with a longer and richer history of social work. Therefore, the Social Workers Association will continue discussions on topical issues in Europe and Latvia both among social work practitioners and with social policymakers.
The 2nd meeting of the Social Work Specialists Cooperation Council of the Ministry of Welfare Latvian Social Workers Association Annual Conference 8.11.2019
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