Mark Baldwin delivers keynote speech at the Annual conference of the Irish Association of Social Workers 2013.
30 May 2013
Mark Baldwin (Senior Lecturer in Social Work)
delivered the keynote speech at the Annual conference of the Irish Association of Social Workers
2013.
The conference, titled 'Putting Ethics into Practice Post-Registration practice - what are the implications for social work?' took place in Dublin on the 24th May, at which Dr Baldwin delivered his talk 'Social Work values in a time of austerity: a luxury we can no longer afford?'
Noting that social work takes place in professional, organisational and political contexts and that these do not necessarily sit comfortably together, Mark explored the problems of upholding Social Work identity and values in times of austerity such as those being experienced in Ireland.
Outlining some of the contemporary context for social work; increased poverty, mental ill-health, family tensions, child abuse and marginalisation of disabled people, Mark listed some of the opportunities for promoting the Social Work profession in the current climate. These included:
- making political nature of social work explicit
- developing a critically reflective approach to organisation and practice
- making alliances with service users
- offering advocacy for service user needs
- making community a focus for SW practice
- developing a practice based on social justice not market forces
- acting collectively to protect the profession and its values of human rights and social justice.
