We extend the deadline for abstract submission.
You can upload your abstract until
30 November 2024
European Conference on Social Work Education
Social Connectedness - Contemporary Challenges and Opportunities
Salzburg University of Applied Sciences
We extend the deadline for abstract submission. You can upload your abstract until 30 November 2024.
European Conference on Social Work Education
Social Connectedness - Contemporary Challenges and Opportunities
Salzburg University of Applied Sciences
Keynotes
Darja Zaviršek
Lisa Große and Karsten Giertz
Following the success of the “Building Bridges” themed European Conference of Social Work Education (ECSWE) in 2023 in Porto, the European Association of Schools of Social Work (EASSW) and the Department of Applied Social Sciences (Salzburg University of Applied Sciences) would like to invite you to contribute to the next ECSWE which is due to be held in Salzburg/Austria in June 2025. The theme for this conference will be “Social Connectedness”.
It is the aim of the conference to investigate the ways in which Social Work Education (SWE) can foster social connectedness as an important pillar for an inclusive, democratic, healthy and (socially) sustainable society.
We are interested in discussing:
definitions of, theoretical approaches to and empirical findings on social connectedness,
social, democratic, economic, demographic etc. conditions for social connectedness,
consequences at the individual, organisational and societal level that arise from a lack of social connectedness and
methods and approaches to critically address social connectedness in SWE.
As connectedness appears to be an indisputably positive aspect of social life, it also needs to be scrutinised critically. All contributors are invited to reflect on the topic, e.g. the “legitimacy” of being socially “disconnected”, especially against the backdrop of neoliberal dominant discourses, reinforced by modern technologies, propagating the regime of permanent “connection”.
The following questions may help to serve as a prompt and catalyst for your thinking in this area:
- What does “being socially disconnected” at the individual and collective level signify for democratic organising, social life and social work?
- What are the challenges for (radical and emancipatory) social workers that seek to address social connectedness without becoming agents of dominant discourses and power relations?
- What risks and negative effects may be caused by the globalised and universalised idea of social connectedness?
SW educators, researchers, students, service users, activists and practitioners are invited to elaborate on how SWE can (critically) address and/or promote social connectedness. The conference organisers encourage collaborative, innovative, creative, and proactive approaches to developing social work curricula, including ethics and values, theories, models and interventions, addressing the main theme and/or one of the following five subthemes.
Conference Themes
Like other spheres of professional practice, social work is strongly structured and influenced by political conditions. In pluralistic democracies with an emphasis on individualisation, it is a constant and complex challenge to strive for social connectedness and solidarity. It is important to forge connections between individuals and with the institutions of a state, for example through participation, inclusion, dialogue and empowerment. Social work therefore can play an important role in the development of democracy. At the same time, the idea of social connectedness harbours the democratic risk of excluding group identities and narrow narratives, which can run counter to the idea of pluralistic democracy and the freedom of the individual. However, a lack of social connectedness can create the conditions for the emergence of anti-democratic and potentially radicalised thinking and action. The following questions may help to guide thinking in this area:
- What is the role of social work in times of democratic crisis?
- Should social work contribute to a more inclusive democracy and how might the profession achieve this?
- What are the interdependencies between political actors as principals and social workers as agents?
- How can social work help to strengthen individuals in their political and social participation and mitigate feelings of alienation and exclusion?
Social isolation as the objective lack of social contacts and loneliness as the subjective feeling of lack of social connectedness can be caused by many factors. Social exclusion (through factors such as poverty and limited educational experience) contributes to the risk of social isolation and loneliness, but also life events (e.g. birth/parenthood, retirement, death of loved ones) or experiences of (chronic) illness or disability. Again, fragmented networks, unemployment and migration can be understood as causal factors. Trauma suffered in contexts of violence, war, forced migration, the pandemic etc. exacerbate the risk of social isolation and loneliness and require multidisciplinary interventions. The following questions may serve as a prompt for thinking about this theme:
- How can social work education address social isolation and loneliness as global health problems?
- What is the role of self-care, compassion and self-compassion in SWE for trauma sensitive social work and sociotherapy in integrating individual parts of oneself and wholeness?
- Which methods and approaches does SWE offer to future social workers and their clients to deal with daily challenges in after-trauma reconnection and after-trauma healing?
Climate change has a significant impact on society at a macro, meso, and micro level. The contributory factors to climate change are complex and intersectional in nature, and similarly, the individual, regional and global actions addressing climate change are interwoven, too. Who shapes the discourse on climate change on the political level has a significant influence on the proposed actions, the mitigation of conflicts and ideas of how to foster peaceful coexistence and collaboration. Due to its political mandate, social work plays a central role in addressing social inequalities and climate injustices and in advocating for the empowerment of marginalised groups. Strengthening social connectedness appears to be one of the key factors for ecological, economic, and social transformation towards a socio-ecological future for all. The following question highlight some of the dimensions of this theme:
- Which approaches (e.g. human rights, indigenous perspectives such as Ubuntu or Pachamama) can be used in SWE emphasising mutual respect, understanding and solidarity among diverse communities and promoting sustainable relationships with both human societies and the natural world?
- How can SWE ensure that a diversity of perspectives and experiences inform the design of sustainability strategies and the development of an inclusive and equitable sustainability agenda?
- How does the globalisation of the sustainable development discourse affect the distribution of power and what is the role of social work in this field?
Individuals and/or social groups are differentiated and characterised by social class, age, religion, ethnicity, national and other intersecting social dimensions. They have differential dis/advantaged positioning in social hierarchies and unequal access to resources and power. Social inequality potentially leads to the struggle for resources and recognition between privileged and marginalised groups or individuals. Lack of social connectedness can be observed in phenomena such as racism, sexism, ageism and other “isms” that all share the social and cultural devaluation of individuals or groups. SWE is confronted with such dividing lines and their violent expressions, but also with transitions and must therefore address questions of equality and new, innovative identities. The following questions highlight some key ideas relating to this theme:
- How can individuals and/or social groups (be supported to) successfully connect despite these differential starting points and social cleavages and build social bonds?
- Which concepts of solidarity, participation, democracy, empowerment etc. are useful for social work theorising and practicing social connectedness across social divides?
- What are the limitations of social work theory and practice when it comes to social connectedness across social divides?
Technologically mediated social connectedness continues to develop at breakneck speed and has great impact on the dissemination of information, formation of opinions, living environments, etc. With newer tools such as artificial intelligence and robotisation enormous opportunities and risks that are difficult to predict are developing at the same time. Digital connectedness can be a promising tool for sharing social innovations. The European Commission calls new technical developments both the greatest risk and the greatest opportunity for today´s societies. Given these conditions, what are the possibilities and limits for SWE for promoting healthy working conditions, democracy, public health, and human rights in a digitalised world? Additionally, how might such innovations be harnessed and used in SWE?
