This online series brings together SW classes from around the world

In this online series we would like to encourage international Social Work classes as scholars and students to engage in an online discussion about current topics of global interest framed within the main theme, "From global to local – international conversations on social work.“

The goal is to create an ongoing platform for international exchange and to reflect on issues which are relevant to social work practitioners and scholars in different geographical contexts and sociopolitical backgrounds. In doing so, we hope to gain knowledge about social work from a global perspective and to create a dynamic and stimulating international network as well as a collaborative platform for further projects.

DATES AND TIMES
* April 7, 10am CST, Donal Forrester - How to Have Difficult Conversations in Child Welfare: A Rights Focused Perspective
* May 5, 10am CST, Emilia Żyłkiewicz-Płońska, PhD - How to Develop a Positive Identity Among Youth? Practical Implementation
* May 19, 10am CST, Ulrika Järkestig Berggren - Privatization in Child Protection
* June 16, 10am CST, Julie Selwyn - 10,000 Voices: What Matters to Children in Care and Care-Leavers' Well-Being

ZOOM LINK
https://cuwaa.zoom.us/j/2622432191
Meeting ID: 262 243 2191

WHO SHOULD ATTEND
- Concordia Students
- Concordia Faculty/Staff
- Concordia Alumni
- Industry Leaders or Professionals
- Community Members
- Graduate family members

REGISTRATION
There is no registration required for this FREE event

SPEAKER BIOS
Donald Forrester
Donald Forrester is Professor of Child and Family Social Work at the University of Cardiff, where he is Director of the CASCADE Centre for Children’s Social Care. He also helped set-up the Tilda Goldberg Centre, the Frontline programme, the What Works Centre for Children's Social Care (now Foundations) and is currently Research Director for a major new Centre in Denmark called the Best Childhoods Centre and Deputy Director of the SCALE Centre for Social Care and AI Learning.

Donald was a child and family social worker in London, and his research interests still relate strongly to his experiences as a practitioner. Donald has researched extensively on the links between practice skills, outcomes for children and families and the organizational factors that influence practice quality. He is a leading researcher on social work communication skills, Motivational Interviewing in child and family work and what works in child welfare. His latest book The Enlightened Social Worker: An Introduction to Rights Focused Practice tries to understand why social work is so often full of tension and conflict and how we can best work with these challenges. It argues that practice informed by respect, love and wisdom is essential not only for those we work with but in creating a humane and civilized society, and in his latest book he tries to describe what such practice involves.

Emilia Żyłkiewicz-Płońska, PhD
Dr. Emilia Żyłkiewicz-Płońska has a PhD in social science and works at the Department of Intercultural Education at the Faculty of Education, University of Białystok, Poland. Fields of research include youth identity, positive prevention, youth empowerment, and higher education. She has participated in several international research and educational projects in the field of empowering youth and educating professionals, such as “A Better Tomorrow”, LLP-Erasmus Programme (IP), No. 2008-LT-0216, (2008-2009), “Special Programme International Capacity Building Youth Work”, LLP-Erasmus Intensive Programme (IP), No: ERA/IP/11/39, (2011-2014), ”Social Professions for Supporting Youth in a European Solidarity Context”, EU Erasmus + Strategic Partnership for Higher Education Programme, No. 2019-1-PL01-KA203-065091, (2019-2022). In 2018 she did a postdoctoral internship in the field of socio-cultural context of youth resilience at the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Porto, Portugal.

Dr. Żyłkiewicz-Płońska cooperates with psychotherapy centers, NGOs, as a social and psychological skills trainer where she mainly works with children, youth, parents, teachers, and educators. She was responsible for training educators in the project funded by the City Council in Białystok, “Development of positive prevention in secondary schools in Białystok” (2017). She is a member of scientific organizations at the Polish Academy of Science (Youth Studies Unit and Pedagogy of Culture and Intercultural Education Unit) and a member of Editorial Board at two scientific journals: „Kultura i Edukacja” [Culture and Education] (ERIH Plus, BazHum, ICI Journals Master List / ICI World of Journals) and “Tiltai” (EBSCO, Ulrich Periodical Directory, Index Copernicus).

Ulrika Järkestig Berggren
Ulrika Järkestig Berggren is associate professor in the Faculty of Health, Social Work and Behavioural Sciences, School of Social Work at Linnaeus University, Sweden, with research experience in child protection and disability studies. She has published articles for journals including European Journal of Social Work, British Journal of Social Work, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Child & Family Social Work, Nordic Social Work Research, International Journal of Social Welfare, and Child Care in Practice.

Julie Selwyn
 Julie Selwyn is a Professor of Education and Adoption at the Rees Centre, Department of Education, University of Oxford. She is a qualified social worker who worked in residential, child protection, fostering and adoption teams before becoming an academic. She has led many studies on adoption and kinship care as well as the Bright Spots research on the wellbeing of children in care and care leavers. Julie has worked as a special advisor to the House of Lords, given expert advice in the courts in the UK and Australia, and has contributed to the Family Justice Board modernising adoption report. She was awarded a CBE for services to adopted children and children in care in 2015. Julie has led the work on measuring children in care’s wellbeing since 2013.