SWAN National Conference 2011 details and updated speakers

SWAN is a network of social work practitioners, academics, students and social welfare service users united in their concern that social work activity is being undermined by managerialism and marketisation, by the stigmatisation of service users and by welfare cuts and restrictions.

SWAN promotes a model of social work and social care practice which is rooted in the value of social justice. This model seeks to advocate alongside, and on behalf of, service users and carers. It values both individual relationship-based practice and collective approaches.

It works towards these objectives through regular conferences and campaigning activities, and to strengthen the radical voice within social work practice, education and wider social policy debates.

SWAN works alongside existing social care, service user and carer organisations, including UNISON, to promote strong collective organisation and, wherever possible, to campaign jointly.

SWAN National Conference 2011 details and updated speakers

SWAN National Conference 2011 in collaboration with In Defence of Youth Work

'Building Alliances, Defending Services'

Dates: Friday 15th April to Saturday 16th April 2011

Venue: Avon Rooms, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham

Conference Theme, Programme and Speakers

The Social Work Action Network (SWAN) will hold its next annual conference in Birmingham during April 2011. The theme of the conference will be building alliances in the struggle to defend services and challenge austerity measures. The conference will bring together social work practitioners, service users, students and educators to share experiences and further develop our networks of resistance.

Download the leaflet for the conference below.

Speakers include:

Professor Sue White (Critic of social work targets)

Bob Williams-Findlay (Disabled People Against Cuts)

Pat Stack (London Self-Directed support)

Helga Pile (Unison Social Care Lead)

Bob Holman (Community campaigner)

Kalbir Shukra (Youth worker activist)

John McArdle (Black Triangle campaign)

Karen Reissman (Unison / NHS anti-privitisation campaigner)

Speaker from the Education Activist Network

International speakers:

Linda Smith (South Africa)

Vassilis Ioakimides (Greece)

Kwok Kin Lai (Hong Kong)

Judith Orr (Eyewitness of Egyptian Revolution)

Sessions include:

Challenging Cameron’s Big Society and fighting welfare cuts

Building alliances defending services - a session led by young people

Social work and resistance across the globe

Workshops on:

Radical social work, challenging racism and oppression and other related topics

Please note the conference begins at 1pm on Friday 15th April and finishes at 5pm on Saturday 16th April 2011.

Online and postal booking for the Conference is available.

Attachments:
swan_conf_2011.pdf	[ ]	538 Kb

What is SWAN
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SWAN Conference 2012

SWAN is a democratic, grassroots organisation – policy making and elections take place at the AGM during the annual conference’

Social Work Manifesto.

Social work in Britain today has lost direction. We need to find more effective ways of resisting the dominant trends within social work and map ways forward for a new engaged practice…

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History.

SWAN developed from the Social Work Manifesto written in 2004. It launched a popular defence of social work in the aftermath of the Baby Peter tragedy in 2008. It continues to hold successful conferences and campaigns; the 7th national SWAN conference will be held in Liverpool in March 2012.

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Change the course of social work

The next SWAN national conference is the seventh. It takes place in Liverpool at Hope University on Friday 30th and Saturday 31st March 2012. We will regularly update the SWAN website with information about speakers and booking. You can find these pages in the Conference 2012 section. Please also see the Liverpool Hope University Website for further information about booking.

SWAN is proud to announce that the key note address will be given by Professor Danny Dorling from the University of Sheffield. Danny has recently written two books that look at the impact of the recession and the Government’s austerity measures on Britain’s poor communities. 'So you think you know about Britain?' and 'Bankrupt Britain: An Atlas of Social Change' both provide detailed analysis of growing levels of inequality across Britain and build on his earlier work 'Injustice' to argue that a different world and a different set of Government priorities are necessary.