Spotlight- World Social Work Day at the UN Conference |
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Every year, social workers around the world come together to celebrate International Day of Social Work.
HETS-Geneva is teaming up again with the University of Social Work of Friborg (HETS-FR), the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD), the International Association of Schools of Social Work (AIETS), and the International Federation of Social Workers (FITS) to organize the 2021 edition of the International Day of Social Work at UN-Geneva, on March 17 and 18.
The Covid-19 pandemic has exposed the weaknesses of our global system. The most vulnerable in our societies struggle to meet their basic needs. Communities around the world are responding to these challenges, claiming the right to participate in decisions that affect them, and demanding the care and services to which they are entitled. The active and varied commitment of social work in favor of these communities is at the heart of the discussions that will be carried out during these two days.
The program for Wednesday, March 17 consists of plenary lectures - during which you will have the opportunity to hear Yvonne Riaño, a specialist in geographies of inequalities, and Aruna Roy, co-founder of the Union for the strength of workers and peasants, one of the largest civil rights organizations in India - and a choice of interactive workshops. As for Thursday, March 18, it offers presentations and a round table welcoming representatives from different regions of the world who will discuss the lessons learned from the pandemic in terms of support to communities.
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Date: Wednesday, March 10, 5:30 - 7:00 pm EST
Brief Description: This virtual webinar will feature Returned Peace Corps Volunteers sharing their experiences participating in the Peace Corps as a BIPOC volunteer. By attending this webinar, you'll learn more about Peace Corps service and how identities can play a role in being abroad and serving in the Peace Corps.
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Date: Various
Brief Description: The Black+Abroad Virtual Series is in collaboration with Virginia higher education institutions to promote candid conversation and equity among Black students to encourage travel and study abroad. This series connects students with study abroad alumni, expats and nomads of color to engage in conversation around blackness perception, funding, travel tips, lessons learned and opportunities for international experiences. This event is intended for all students and advisors.
You can register for individual sessions or to receive recordings. A list of resources is also available.
- How My Blackness Informs My Travel: Stories from Black Expats and Nomads, Thursday, March 11, at 12:00 pm EST
- “Here’s Why I Don’t go Abroad”: A Candid Conversation, Tuesday, March 16, at 6:00 pm EST
- First-Time Travelers: What to Expect When Going Abroad, Monday March 22, at 12::00 pm EST
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Date: Thursday, March 11, 7 - 8:30 pm EST
Brief Description: Disasters have been known to exacerbate pre-disaster inequalities, with greater impact on vulnerable populations. In 2011, the “3.11 Great East Japan Disaster” — a cascade of a M9.0 earthquake, massive tsunamis, and a nuclear accident — struck Japan, which at that time ranked just 98th of the 135 countries on the Gender Gap Index (121th of the 153 countries in 2020). Now on the 10th year of 3.11, panelists will discuss the disaster’s effects on women through their own experience and long years of grassroots activism, illuminating ways in which structures and norms of Japanese society contributed to women’s increased vulnerability in this time of crisis and proposing visions for more effective disaster response. They will provide invaluable first-hand accounts of how women in Japan organized and exposed post-disaster gender-based violence, advocated for more gender-informed disaster policies and response, shattered societal indifference and denial, and created change.
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Date: Friday, March 12, 3 pm - 4:15 pm EST
Brief Description: The International Center's Intercultural Leadership Seminar (ILS) is designed for international and U.S. students who want to learn how to be more effective in a global environment. ILS includes brief lectures, discussion, experiential activities, and small group work. You can attend as many sessions as you are interested in. In this session on Intercultural Communication, attendees will dive deeper into the impact of culture on communication styles and gain skills necessary for communicating across cultures. Apply by Monday, March 8th to attend
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Date: Monday, March 15, 5 - 6:30 pm EST
Brief Description: The Program in International and Comparative Studies (PICS) will host its fifth annual International Studies Virtual Alumni Career Panel virtually on Monday, March 15, 2021. This virtual alumni panel will showcase and celebrate the university’s rich history of contributions made by International Studies alumni, while providing valuable insight for current students as they start to develop their own career paths. The panel will include a student Q&A portion.
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Date: Tuesday, March 16, 5 - 6 pm EST
Brief Description: Applying to the Peace Corps? During this session, you will:
- Hear more about the application process
- Learn tips and tricks for your resume and motivation statement to ensure you stand out as strong applicant
- Meet with your campus Peace Corps Recruiters
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Date: Wednesday, March 17, 6:00 - 7:30 pm EST
Brief Description: To launch this year's Asian American & Pacific Islander (AA&PI) Heritage Month, the Opening Ceremony will feature the hosts of the Continental Shifts Podcast, Gabriel Tanglao and Estella Owoimaha-Church! Gabriel and Estella describe themselves as “dope educators wayfinding the past, present, and future,” and their podcast centers around how the AA&PI community can organize, educate, and support one another as we learn from our cultures and work through current issues. Dinner will be available for pick up for those on/near campus who register for this event.
AA&PI Heritage Month which is celebrated mid-March to mid-April at the University of Michigan. All events this year will be held *virtually.* A full list events will be coming soon on MESA's website.
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Date: Wednesday, March 17, 8:30-9:30 pm EST
Brief Description: ELI Student to Student events are fun, interactive virtual offerings planned and led by U-M students to help you meet people and make connections, whether you are physically on campus or somewhere else. You can relieve stress, increase social connectedness, and learn about U.S. and Michigan culture—while practicing English! Specifically, come learn about the history of Michigan basketball, March Madness, and create a bracket to follow the action throughout March and April!
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Date: Tuesday, March 23, at 6:00 pm EST
Brief Description: Join the Asian American Writers’ Workshop for a lecture with Tamara K. Nopper. This lecture will last 2 hours and is free to the public. Nopper’s lecture will examine the alarm and growing discourse regarding “anti-Asian violence,” currently circulating in mainstream and social media among pundits, celebrities, and Asian American community organizers across the country. The lecture will examine the merging of fighting “anti-Asian violence” with the promotion of “Black-Asian solidarity” in the context of COVID-19. This lecture calls for defunding the police and for abolition. We will examine the intertwined narratives of “anti-Asian violence” and “Black-Asian solidarity,” considering the work the narratives are doing and if they challenge or promote carceral logic. What might these narratives reveal or conceal about Asian Americans and racial politics. We will also look at how this replicates or departs from discourse and programs promoting Black-Asian solidarity in the wake of the 1992 LA Rebellion.
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Professional Opportunities |
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Brief Description: The Student Community of Progressive Empowerment (SCOPE) is the undocumented students organization on campus and this semester they are piloting a mentorship program. Graduate students who identify as undocumented or DACAmented can apply to be mentees and/or mentors. Folks who consider themselves allies can support undergraduate students who identify as undocumented or DACAmented. The goal of the program is to build a close-knit community among students and community members in a personal and professional sense. Mentor and mentee pairing will be prioritized based on majors and future career plans. The tentative time commitment is 60 minutes a month with your student or mentor: two 30 minute meetings or one hour meeting per month.
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Application Deadline: Friday, March 12
Brief Description: The Education Abroad Coordinator supports UM-Flint internationalization strategy, led and facilitated by the Center for Global Engagement (CGE), by providing innovative leadership to develop, implement, manage, and market a diverse range of all UM-Flint education abroad programs, including faculty-led, embedded, exchange, research, internship and direct enroll programs that increase UM-Flint students’ access to global learning opportunities. Please forward to your contacts!
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Application Deadline: Tuesday, March 16
Brief Description: The second annual virtual Global Mental Health: Today and Tomorrow conference is being held by the Generation Mental Health campus chapter at the University of Michigan in November 2021. If you're looking to learn more about mental health in a global context, gain experience in planning a global event and managing speaker, recruitment, logistics, marketing, and adding strong leadership experience to your resume, be sure to apply!
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Registration Deadline: Monday, March 22, 2021
Submission Deadline: Monday, July 12, 2021
Brief Description: The Geneva Challenge, hosted by the Graduate Institute of International & Development Studies, is a project funded by Swiss Ambassador Jenö Staehelin and aims to encourage interdisciplinary problem-solving analysis among master students on advancing human development within the scope of a relevant topic. This year, students are invited to develop analysis-based proposals on "The Challenges of Crisis Management". As the key to this issue is an interdisciplinary solution, crossing traditional boundaries between academic disciplines, we are inviting Master students from all academic programmes and from anywhere in the world to provide helpful strategic recommendations. Five prizes, one per continent, will be distributed.
The Geneva Challenge 2021 will distribute 25’000 CHF in monetary prizes and the five finalist teams will be invited (travel and accommodation expenses covered) to publicly present their work in Geneva before a panel of high-level experts. Networking opportunities are also envisioned as part of the prize package.
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Deadline: Rolling
Brief Description: Anti-racism grants are available to support student organization activities and projects by student groups for anti-racism work, with a specific focus on confronting anti-Blackness, racism against Indigenous peoples, and confronting white supremacy. The goal is to inclusively support the work of student groups seeking to confront racism to the greatest degree possible. Such funding could be for projects, events, services, programming, or partnerships with external organizations.
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Deadline: Rolling
Brief Description: This fund is intended to help departments and student organizations recognize the diversity of the international student population through special events and programming. We are looking to fund creative and collaborative programming that will address the following goals:
- To elevate the voices of the international student population at the University of Michigan.
- To provide programming to support international students.
- To hold events or offer initiatives of particular interest to the international student population, at large or subsets of it (cultural, vocational, etc).
The application process is currently rolling. Departments and organizations are encouraged to apply at least 14 days in advance of their planned event.
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Deadline: Extended to Wednesday, March 10
Brief Description: The Africa Studies Center has extended the application deadline for ASC funding to Wednesday, March 10! U-M students at all levels & all Colleges who are interested in doing research and/or internships in/on Africa *including virtual projects and costs associated w/collecting research data from afar* can apply for ASC student funding, as described in more detail on the ASC website (link in title). Applications are to be submitted using the II Student Fellowships (IISF) common application.
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"This document was initially directed at ways for how to turn fieldwork that was initially planned as using face-to-face methods into a more ‘hands-off’ mode. However, people have added useful material about ‘born digital’ research (content already generated on the internet by online interactions), which provides an alternative source of social research materials if researchers decide to go down that path."
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Qualitative Social Work: Research and Practice just published a special double issue entitled, “Reflections on a Pandemic: Disruptions, Distractions, and Discoveries.”. It was co-edited by Karen Staller, Håvard Aaslund (VID Specialized University, Norway), and Briana Starks (UMSSW Social Work and Sociology). The double issue contains 86 reflexive essays submitted by authors from 35 different countries (and every continent except Antarctica). The articles are grouped in 11 topical categories. Taken together they paint a stunning portrait of the breadth and depth of social work during the earliest months of the historic pandemic from every corner of the globe. UM contributors include current doctoral students (Finn Bell, Angela Perone), UM faculty (Dr. Odessa Gonzalez Benson) as well as UM alumni (Drs. Alexandra Crampton, Jean Balestrery, and Mary Kate Dennis).
Håvard Aaslund and Alexandra Crampton have both been visiting scholars in the Office of Global Activities.
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School of Social Work Professor, Dr. Odessa Gonzalez Benson's work with the Missing Migrants (of the Mediterranean) project was featured in Forced Migration Review, a global academic magazine of the University of Oxford.
With an on-campus exhibit and online platform and in partnership with a Tunisia-based migrant advocacy organization, this project presents the voice of missing migrants of the Mediterranean. Seeking safe and dignified lives, migrants crossed from Tunisia and other MENA countries into Italy and Europe via the Mediterranean Sea route in recent years. Many do not live to reach their destination. The Italian government and the international community manage rehousing, or burial, of migrants without due process; deaths are tallied as mere statistics, and bodies are not identified nor given due respect. Meanwhile, behind each missing person is family, friend, community.
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View this recording of Dr. Donna Nagata's, of the University of Michigan's Department of Psychology, presentation on her research into the long-term societal impacts of our country's incarceration of Japanese American citizens during World War II. Following the Japanese military attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, the U.S. government ordered 120,000 Japanese American men, women, and children into incarceration camps. This presentation addresses the intergenerational impacts of this World War II event. Framing the incarceration as a racial, historical, and cultural trauma, the talk describes psychosocial reverberations of unjust incarceration for Japanese Americans that extended long after the war ended, leading to a range of impacts on those who were incarcerated and their post-war offspring. |
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Recordings of all sessions are now available on the U-M Africa website. Africa Week brought together thought leaders in higher education, industry, and government for a series of discussions on the key issues and opportunities that will shape Africa in the coming decades. The conference consisted of various lectures and workshops focused on economics, technology, healthcare, education, reclaiming and repatriating African heritage, STEM collaborations, COVID-19 and more.
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Europe is a popular destination for LGBTQ people seeking to escape discrimination and persecution. Yet, while European institutions have done much to promote the legal equality of sexual minorities and a number of states pride themselves on their acceptance of sexual diversity, the image of European tolerance and the reality faced by LGBTQ migrants and asylum seekers are often quite different. To engage with these conflicting discourses, Queer Migration and Asylum in Europe brings together scholars from politics, sociology, urban studies, anthropology and law to analyse how and why queer individuals migrate to or seek asylum in Europe, as well as the legal, social and political frameworks they are forced to navigate to feel at home or to regularise their status in the destination societies.
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This three session video workshop will focus on understanding anxiety, learning strategies to manage anxiety, and developing a plan to apply the strategies on a daily basis wherever you are during the Pandemic. |
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SSW has listed resources and information on this web page related to tuition costs, financial aid, employment, health insurance and general questions and support. |
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Global Impact: News Story of the Week |
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*All news stories presented are likely to include bias. Please be aware of this as you read the article. If interested, we encourage you to read further about the topic at your own discretion. |
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"More than 20 international organizations representing the global health and social work workforces have formed a coalition to advocate for the worldwide equitable access to vaccines, to increase the health care, public health, social protection workforces and to engage civil societies, patient organizations, and the broader public in the decision-making processes.
IFSW Secretary-General, Rory Truell, commented: ‘This is the first time that the worldwide workforces of health and social work have bound together to take a stand on equality of health and social protection. This action will have significant implications for the World Health Assembly, the G20, and every government. IFSW and the coalition of partners are committed to continuing its advocacy until these goals are met.’..."
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Email ssw.oga@umich.edu if you have any questions.
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