UG, Child Link team to host Guyana Social Work Education and Practice Conference

Last Updated on Sunday, 17 March 2024, 20:24 by Denis Chabrol

In observance of World Social Work Week 2024 being observed from March 18 – 22, the University of Guyana’s Faculty of Social Sciences and ChildLink Guyana will host the Guyana Social Work Education and Practice Conference from March 19th – 20th, the university said.

The conference will be hosted at the university’s George Walcott Lecture Theatre (GWLT), Turkeyen Campus under the theme; “Respecting diversity through joint social action: Aligning social work education and practice to global standards”. World Social Work Week is celebrated annually and aims to highlight social work’s achievements, raise social services’ visibility, and defend social justice and human rights.

“Two broad sub-themes of the conference are Social Work Education and Social Work Policy and Practice. Under the Social Work Education sub-theme, the conference will consider the state of social work education, social work field education, social work professional identity, and new pedagogies in social work education. Under the Social Work Policy & Practice sub-theme the conference will examine all forms of violence, migrant families and children, access to social services, public health and mental health among other issues,” UG said in a statement.

The Opening Ceremony of the conference will be held on Tuesday, 19th March at 9:00 hrs in the George Walcott Lecture Theatre (GWLT), Turkeyen Campus, and will see several high-profile persons making presentations, including, Minister of Human Services and Social Security, Hon. Dr Vindhya Persaud, University of Guyana’s Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Paloma Mohamed Martin, European Union Ambassador to Guyana, H.E. Rene van Nes and University of the West Indies Social Work expert Dr Tarcie Rogers, among others.

The international theme for 2024 is ‘Buen Vivir: Shared Future for Transformative Change’, emphasises the need for social workers to adopt innovative, community-led approaches that are grounded in indigenous wisdom and harmonious coexistence with nature.

UG says the conference will provide the opportunity for social work educators and practitioners from the University of Guyana and other institutions, researchers, students, policymakers, and social planners to share results of their academic research, pursuits, and experiences, and engage in policy discussions. The overall goal of the conference is to stimulate academic discourse on social issues related to the conference themes and to address practitioners’ role in addressing social issues in society. 

Registration is now open for the conference. Persons can register by using the following the link https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd-qww0S3qtOzCkb4445g4ab3cdA9ttM4xyyQ0fd1RKVXTtgg/viewform?usp=pp_url  or by calling Ms. Gopi Rampersaud on 693-6497. 

The University of Guyana, the national University of Guyana, now in its 60th year, was founded in October 1963, three years before Guyana became independent. “UG” as it is fondly referred to offers over 160 distinct programmes in over 60 disciplines from certificates, Bachelor’s degrees, Master’s Degrees to Ph.D.’s. These programmes are offered online, face-to-face or in blended formats. UG delivers though a Guyana-based system across eight campuses. This includes its 35-year-old community-based institute for Distance and Continuing Education (IDCE) and the second major campus at Tain in Berbice celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2025.  The University of Guyana’s student population is over 11,000. 

Through its 8 Faculties, including an accredited College of Medical Sciences, School for Entrepreneurship and Business Innovation and the School for Earth and Environmental Sciences which is ranked # 5 globally, “UG” has provided education, training and research for over 60,000 alumni over its 60-year history with significant national and global impact. Other faculties include the Faculty of Engineering and Technology, The Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, The Faculty of Natural Sciences, The College of Behavioural Sciences and Research, The Faculty of Education and Humanities and the Faculty of Social Sciences. The University is also home to 10 Research Institutes including the internationally important Centre for Biodiversity, The Institute for Food and Nutrition Security, The Institute for Innovation, Research and Entrepreneurship, The Institute for Energy Diplomacy, The Green Institute, The Institute for Human Resiliency, Strategic Security and the Future, and the International Centre for Excellence in Early Childhood Education. The mission of the University of Guyana is to discover, generate, disseminate and apply knowledge of the highest standard for advancement of communities, the nation, and mankind within an atmosphere of academic freedom, transparent accountability, pragmatic innovation and universal respect. 

UG’s forward-thinking Blueprint 2040 is currently setting the course for the University’s future design and institutional response to the changing needs of Guyana, the region and the world. UG is currently celebrating its 60th anniversary with renewed focus on becoming the leading teaching and research University in Guyana.  Visit UG at www.uog.edu.gy