Theme: SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT AND SOCIAL WORK PROFESSION: ISSUES AND CHALLENGES
22-24 October, 2016
at
Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapith, Varanasi
Jointly Organised By ||
National Association of Professional Social Workers in India (NAPSWI)
and
Department of Social Work, Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapith,Varanasi
Thematic Engagement of 4th ISWC 2016:
The theme of 4th ISWC 2016 “Social Development and Social Work Profession: Issues and Challenges” has emerged from the contemporary concerns of local to global community in the present democratic society and in consonance with social work values. The emergence of new economies in Asia, newer paradigm of information technology and significant dominance of the market economy has impacted the life and living of common people and marginalized groups, governance, services, civility and civil society, the ethics and social responsibility. This has also increased the roles and responsibility of the profession to a major extent.
One of the compelling and contemporary concerns is sustainable development. The international community achieved a new global compact last September, which binds 196 countries of the world to rethink, redefine and redeem development for the people and the planet. This has immense implications for social development. The UN document entitled Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development contains 17 goals and 169 targets. It is for the first time that all nations adopted the same set of goals regardless of their relative positions on the development continuum. There is now a remarkable convergence of vision underlying the priorities for the proposed SDGs and those of the newly elected Government in India. Building on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the SDGs propose to end poverty and deprivation in all forms, leaving no one behind, as well as to make progress on other different indicators of social development. While we all agree that development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs, the new framework of sustainable development is to include three elements: economic growth, social inclusion and environmental protection. In the present times, it is a challenge to achieve the stated goals of social development. It is quite natural that 4th ISWC should make its contribution towards understanding, analyzing and interpreting the sustainable development goals amidst the challenges of neo-liberal economy. While the global frameworks of the SDGs are well intended; they also remain challenged by certain constraints underpinning new transformation paradigms as well as neo-liberal economic framework. The greater task that awaits us is to make this work to remove poverty and chart development pathways, which are planet and people friendly. The 4th Indian Social Work Congress will provide a platform to discuss and deliberate on how the profession of social work can engage itself in achieving the above objectives. At this juncture, where social work profession is undergoing major transformation from local to global level, 4th ISWC 2016 shall pave the way to explore newer dimensions and directions.
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Day 2
Day 3
