Social Work in Disasters Conference 2023

BASW England is pleased to announce our second Social Work in Disasters Conference, which will be taking place online on 16th November 2023. Coming together for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic saw more social workers than ever before working in disasters, the conference will highlight the importance of the social worker in responding to disasters and give insight to some of the work being done in the UK and globally in this area. 

Programme

Introduction (13:00 - 13:10) 

Professor Lena Dominelli, Janet Walker, and National Director of BASW England Maris Stratulis welcome attendees to the conference.

Session One - Disasters and Displacement: The social work response to Ukraine (13:10 - 14:00)

This session will share experiences of those impacted by the war in Ukraine and the resulting displacement of Ukrainians in the UK, focusing on the Homes for Ukraine scheme. Led by Janet Walker, chair of BASW's International Committee, the session will feature presentations from Kateryna Buchko, Gerry Nosowska, and Duc Tran. These presentations will be followed by a panel discussion and Q&A.

Session Two - The role of social workers in the context of climate change (14:10 - 15:00)

In this session, we will hear from two international social workers responding to climate-related crises in their area, Professor Manish Jha and Chisingalalo Ntonio. Their presentations will be followed by a panel discussion and Q&A chaired by Professor Lena Dominelli.

Session Three - Community Resilience: Disasters in a UK Context (15:10 - 16:00)

Led by Angie Bartoli, co-editor of Out of the Shadows: The Role of Social Workers in Disasters, this panel will explore how social workers in the UK have responded to recent domestic disasters. Angie is joined by social workers Janet Foulds, Jaison Musindo, and Enya Richards to discuss the impact of disasters on professional identity and working with communities.

Reflections and Conclusions (16:00 - 16:30) 

The conference will wrap up by sharing some of the ongoing work BASW is doing around social workers in disasters situations. Janet Walker will discuss the work of BASW's internation committee, followed by Joe Hanley from the Open University presenting on the Social Work in Disasters training modules developed with the BASW England Social Work in Disasters Group. Finally, Lena Dominelli will provide a conclusion to the conference. 

Free Fringe Event - Why we need a Hillsborough Law Now (18:00 - 19:30)

In addition to the conference, we have a free to all fringe event in the evening, hearing from campaign group Hillsborough Law Now. Click the link above to find out more and book onto this event.

Learning Objectives

• to raise awareness of the role of social workers in disasters globally and UK-wide 

• to engage with social workers in disaster practice  

• to explore the implications of current crises for social work

Costs 

BASW Members - £30
BASW Student Members - FREE
Non-members - £60 
Non-member students - £40 
Experts by Experience - FREE

BASW members who are unable to view a personalised message above are encouraged to log-in prior to booking for this event to ensure professional development is recorded within your membership record & to ensure you are able to recieve the member discounted rate.