IFSW Newsletter
ASIA & PACIFIC REGION

This issue includes:
Editorial
News from round-about
Filipino Social Work Educators Unite to Advance a
More Responsive Social Work Education
Social Work Education in Bangladesh
Note from Phnom Penh
Yemeni General Union of Sociologists, Social
Workers and Psychologists
Proposal for Development of ‘Social Workers Sans
Frontieres’Commonwealth Grants Programme – is thissomething you and/or your organisation could
apply for?
Book Note – 2nd Edition is out…

Upcoming Events
Regional Conferences
International Conferences

Editorial
The ending of a year never fails to make one reflect,and 2012 has given us much to reflect on. There were
unfortunately too many natural disasters fromtornadoes and cyclones, typhoons and hurricanes,
earthquakes and avalanches, floods and droughts,
blizzards and wildfires, and too many lives lost ortraumatised. Social workers were challenged in areasof political, economic and social upheavals, andtowards December people had to deal with all thehype about the world ending! The thought musthave occurred in some social workers’ minds that theend of the world would probably be the only answer
to Earth’s problems, and social workers would bejobless but at peace in heaven!
To go on a more positive note, we have had some
professionally gratifying events and activities andachievements in 2012. IFSW, IASSW, ICSW, APASWE
and the many national associations have been busy
and working hard towards meeting their respective
goals and objectives. There was the Joint World
Conference in Stockholm, the UNIMAS Conference inSarawak, the ASSWA Conference in South Africa, theIssue 2, December 2012

Strengths-Based Conference in Nepal, the Child
Protection Conference in Kuala Lumpur, the NASW
Conference in Washington, the OASW Conference inToronto, and the USM-ISM Conference in Penang, toname a few. Out of these professional gatherings, wehave attracted more members into our internationaland national organisations.
IFSW-AP welcomes the inclusion of social work
associations from Indonesia, Iran, Macau and Yemen,
and hopes to have their active participation in future
activities. Their membership will strengthen theprofessional learning, exchanges, partnerships andcollaboration in social work issues within the Asia
Pacific and East Asia region.
In this issue, the Yemeni Association has contributed
some news of their activities. So has the social work
educators from the Philippines and Bangladesh, andan Australian social worker posted to work in
Vietnam who shares her perspectives on working in
a foreign country. Social workers may be interested
to respond to Suzanne’s proposal to develop a newgroup she calls ‘Social Workers Sans Frontieres’ andalso to Naomi’s call to apply for Commonwealth
Grants. Read all about these in the following pages.
We are certainly looking forward to the 22nd Asia
Pacific Social Work Regional Conference on “Social
Work in Climate Change, Disaster Risk Reduction andResponse: Building Capacity and Global Partnership”
to be hosted by the Philippines Association of Social
Workers in Manila from 4-6 June 2013. This is part of
the IFSW-Asia Pacific Regional Development Projecton Disaster Management which was launched inJapan in 2009 following a regional symposium on
disaster management in Malaysia in 2007. It is
tentatively planned to hold the next regional
conference on disaster management in Indonesia in
2014.
So, let’s see the old year out
with gratitude and relief andbring in 2013 with hope andenthusiasm!
Wishing everyone a Blessed
Christmas and New Year,and Happy Holidays!
IFSW-AP Newsletter – December 2012- 2

Filipino Social Work Educators Unite to
Advance a More Responsive Social Work
Education
Social work educators and schools of social work in
the Philippines once again gathered for the 44th
National Biennial Convention of the National
Association for Social Work Education, Inc. (NASWEI),
the national umbrella organization of social workschools and educators in the Philippines, on
November 16-19, 2012 in Subic, Olongapo, Zambales,
Philippines. This year’s theme is Social Work
Protection Amidst Climate Change and Disasters:
Challenges to Social Work Education. Central to theConvention is a discussion of social protection andsocial justice as frameworks to disaster risk
management (DRM) made by Prof. Rosalinda Ofreneo
and Prof. Emmanuel Luna from the University of thePhilippines Diliman. Presentations on subtopics on
DRM were made specifically on Creating Child
Friendly Spaces for Children During Disasters by a
UNICEF representative, Making DRM Gender
Responsive by a representative from OXFAM-UK, andA Good Community- based Practice in DRM by a local
government unit in Olongapo, Zambales. These
discussions intensified interests of the participants in
DRM in relation to social work education. The
Convention facilitated identification of social work
subjects which discuss DRM while also trying todevelop ways to mainstream DRM and social
protection and social justice in DRM in Philippinesocial work education.

The Convention also became a venue to increase thecompetencies of social work educators in teaching
Social Welfare Project/Program Development andManagement as Prof. Rainier V. Almazan, a social
work professor from the University of the Philippines
Diliman facilitated discussion of the said topic. After
which, the social work educators held a businessmeeting to assess the organization’s accomplishments
and plan for its succeeding directions and activities.
Newly elected officers of the NASWEI are as follows:

Top, from left to right: Grace Castigon, Mindanao cluster
President; Kareen Jay D. Lozada, Western Visayas cluster
President;
Lolita Pablo, Auditor; Nathalie C. Ranin, Secretary; Anita
Leyson, President; Finaflor F. Taylan, South Luzon cluster
President;
Mary Lou Alcid, Immediate Past President/Ex Officio.
Bottom, from left to right:
Justin Nicolas, National Capital Region/ Central Luzon
cluster President; Agustin Guinid, Northern Luzon cluster
President; Joel Cam, Treasurer; Rainier V. Almazan, Vice
President;
Hubert Zanoria, Eastern/Central Visayas cluster President.

Prior to this Convention, the Technical Committee on
Social Work of the Commission on Higher Education(CHED), the national government’s arm for policy
formulation and regulation of higher education in thePhilippines, called for a consultation among social
work practitioners and schools offering graduate
programs in social work in the Philippines. The said
consultation, held last October 1-2, 2012, opened
venues for social work practitioners to discuss several
topics such as the challenges in developing andsupervising social workers, the needed competencies
of social workers, and gaps between the current
realities and existing Master of Social Work educationin the Philippines. Inclusion of local governance andsocial protection in the Philippines in the social work
curriculum, developing unified curriculum and withspecialization on different settings, enhancing social
work administration course/subject, and enhancing
competency from model building to practice wereamong the recommendations from the social work
practitioners in order for Social work education in thegraduate level to meet the need of the practicerealities. The educators on the other hand looked into
the similarities and differences of their current Masterof Social Work programs in terms of the program
objectives, competencies being developed, curricular
content, and concerns in the program implementation.
These results of the consultation will be considered in
the development of the draft guidelines for Master ofSocial Work program and will be out in the early partof 2013.
The guidelines will hopefully facilitate
IFSW-AP Newsletter – December 2012- 2

standardization of the minimum requirements for the
Master of Social Work education in the Philippinesand respond to the needs of the social work
practitioners and the clientele individuals, groups andcommunities in the long run.
Social work education has become borderless throughonline distance e-learning (ODeL) education provided
by the University of the Philippines-Open University(UPOU). The Diploma and Master of Social Workprograms are designed for professionals engaged insocial welfare and social development work who wish
to pursue a graduate degree that would equip themwith a higher level of competence for direct practiceand leadership in their field of practice. These
programs have facilitated access to graduate level
education to countless social workers anddevelopment workers in almost all corners of thePhilippines and even across the globe to become morecompetent in serving individuals, groups, andcommunities towards human rights and social justice.
Finaflor F. Taylan
National Board Member, National Association forSocial Work Education, Inc. (Philippines),
Program Chair, Diploma in/Master of Social Work,
University of the Philippines-Open University.

*************************

Social Work Education in Bangladesh
The Birth of Social Work Education in Bangladesh
Social work education in Bangladesh originated in the
Pakistan regime having two key objectives: a) to build
professional leadership in solution of acute and largescale social problems and b) to criticize the operationof existing social welfare structure in response tovarious human needs and guide future development
programs (Moore, 1958). An introductory course insocial work of three months’ duration was first started
in Bangladesh (then known as East Pakistan) in 1953.
Following that, in 1955-56 professional education insocial work was introduced with a nine-monthtraining course on Community Development andMedical Social Work at Dhaka University. With thecompletion of the nine-month on-the-job training
course under the country’s first Urban Community
Development Project, the establishment of a School ofSocial Work under Dhaka University was proposed.
All the above initiatives were undertaken under the
auspices of UN Technical Assistance Program in social
service sector and guided by the UN experts namely
Dr. J. J. D Moore, Mr. Shawty, Ms. Anana Tooll, Ms.
Lucky and Mr. Dumpson (Ahmed, n. d.).
Schools and Levels of Social Work Education
In response to the proposal for establishment of aschool of social work, the Government established theCollege of Social Welfare and Research Center in 1958,

and it commenced its educational program in theacademic year 1958-59 with 15 students registered
for an MA degree in social welfare at the University of
Dhaka (Ahmadullah, 1986). The College of Social
Welfare and Research Center, the first social workschool of Bangladesh, was merged with Dhaka
University (DU) as the Institute of Social Welfare andResearch (ISWR) in 1973.
Currently the four social work schools namely ISWR of
Dhaka University, and departments of social work in
Rajshahi University (RU), Shahjalal University of
Science and Technology (SUST), Jagannath University(JU) and National University have been offeringcourses at four levels such as i) four year graduation
with honors, ii) one year master’s, iii) Master ofPhilosophy, and iv) Ph.D. It should be mentioned thatout of 1415, 194 and 91 colleges under the National
University (NU) have been offering bachelor andmasters level courses. It is important to note thatthousands of students who are enrolled for a threeyear graduation program (BA Pass course) in morethan one hundred colleges under National Universityof Bangladesh also take-up social work as one of thesocial science optional subjects having 300 marks.
Besides that, a 200 marks optional course of social
work is also offered at Higher Secondary Certificate(HSC) level, i. e. junior college level in Bangladesh.
Four levels of degrees such as Bachelor of Social
Sciences (BSS) Honors, Master of Social Sciences(MSS), Masters of Philosophy (MPhil) and doctorate(PhD) degrees are currently offered by the social workschools of five public universities in Bangladesh. A
two-year evening master’s program (EMP) in Social
Work has been introduced at the Institute of Social
Welfare and Research since 2004.
After completing 12 grades from junior colleges, thestudents are eligible for admission at BSS level and it
is a four year bachelor degree course with honors.
MSS is one year degree course after successful
completion of BSS level. On the other hand, two year
MPhil and three year PhD degrees are offered by theuniversities of Bangladesh. The scholars can enroll in
MPhil program after completion of four year bachelor
degree with honors under the supervision of a faculty.
On the other hand, requirements for PhD enrolment
include completion of MSS with a four year graduationand two years’ research or teaching experience in anyof the social work schools in Bangladesh.
Course Structure of Social Work Education
Of note in the development of social work education in
Bangladesh is that courses were originally preparedby the UN experts whose experiences were
overwhelmingly western in approach and content.
Besides, the National Conference of Social Educationin 1964 was a landmark in the history of developmentof social work education in Bangladesh with regard to
IFSW-AP Newsletter – December 2012- 2

development of courses based on local needs, study
materials and indigenous literature; selection,
admission and evaluation of students, and staff
development. However, over time all the social workschools of Bangladesh have been trying to incorporate
indigenous content as well as approaches appropriate
for developing countries like Bangladesh.

Like many social workers, I feel I have seen and heard
many surprising, fascinating and sometimes very sadthings, and I feel privileged to be a part of theseexperiences with people. To help cope with this, I have
had many discussions about ethics, values, the social
work role, and personal reflections with supervisors,colleagues and friends.

In Bangladesh, social work education broadly covers
the study of social administration and policy, social
work methods, social research, social development
and service disciplines, including family-child-youth
and women welfare, labor welfare, corrections andcorrectional services and field practice at master’slevel. On the other hand, about 40 courses having 120
credits are being offered at bachelor level including
field practice.

Here in Phnom Penh, it is hard to explain to friends
and family at home exactly how different working in
the Cambodian context is, and how confronting someof the issues are.

Dr. Muhammad Samad is Professor at the Instituteof Social Work & Research, University of Dhaka,Bangladesh. Currently Dr. Muhammad Samad isserving the Vice Chancellor of the University ofInformation Technology & Sciences (UITS) Dhaka.
He is also the President of Bangladesh Council for
Social Work Education (BCSWE).
e-mail: samadswidu@yahoo.com************************

Note from Phnom Penh
I moved to Phnom Penh, Cambodia from Canberra,
Australia 5 months ago with the Australian Youth
Ambassador for Development (AYAD) Program, an
Australian government, AusAID initiative. I’mvolunteering at the Reproductive Health Associationof Cambodia, working with staff to evaluate programson HIV/AIDS prevention, support and treatment; andbuilding good health governance in rural Cambodia.
My introduction to working across cultures was brief– a two week unit (elected, not compulsory) atuniversity, and some hands-on experience, mainly inthe areas of child protection and hospital social work.
But I was in the dominant culture helping others tounderstand the ‘Australian way’, and bending or
navigating Australian systems and customs to bettersupport others.
Since coming to Cambodia I have been the ‘fish out ofwater’. And just how much Cambodian history andculture impacts on the workings of NGOs,
communication styles of people, and the way socialand health programs are delivered, has meant that I
have been on a constant and steep learning curve.
My social justice and feminist sensibilities have beenchallenged every step of the way, particularly when
faced with the deeply engrained culture of sex workand gender inequality more broadly.

Of great help has been a network of my fellow
Australian volunteers who are posted in a variety of
Cambodian organisations – a debrief at the end of the
day with someone who truly understands isinvaluable. I have also tapped into monthly gatheringsof social workers in Phnom Penh – mostly expatriates,as the first graduating class of Social Work in
Cambodia was in June of this year. Recently attending
the International Social Work Conference in Penang
also helped to provide me with further context andinspiration for my time here.
I have always been interested in International Social
Work, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region which isso close and important to Australia. I hope that more
universities, students and social workers can continue
to take and build opportunities to develop it into the
future. I know that my work here will benefit me andmy social work practice equally, if not much more,than the contribution I am able to make while inPhnom Penh. This two-way exchange is why theexperience of being an Australian ‘fish out of water’social worker in Cambodia is shaping up to be aninvaluable one.
Laura Pound is a 26 year old Social Worker andSociologist who graduated from the ACU and ANU in
Canberra in 2009. She has worked across clinical,
community development and social research andpolicy areas, and hopes to continue experiencing thevariety that social work has to offer!
e-mail: laurapound@hotmail.com
The AYAD Program is the youth stream of Australian
Volunteers for International Development, an
Australian Government, AusAID initiative which
deploys skilled Australians to live and work indeveloping countries.

*************************

Yemeni General Union of Sociologists,
Social Workers and Psychologists!
The General Union for Sociologists, Social Workers
and Psychologists was established in 2011 according
to a ministerial decree No. 223 issued by the Ministryof Social Affairs in the Republic of Yemen. The idea of
forming this syndicate was initiated by a distinguished
IFSW-AP Newsletter – December 2012- 2

group of Yemeni sociologists, social workers andpsychologists. The Union is an independent NGO andconsidered as the professional cadre. It stands for
defending and protecting professional rights andachievements of its members; finding ways towards
improving members’ skills and experiences related totheir career; helping its members with job
opportunities fitting their qualifications and expertise,
and working towards serving local community. The
membership approval in the Union is subject tofulfilling required conditions in accordance with theUnion’s charter that was approved by the Union’s
founders. The applicant should have a university
degree in the following fields: sociology, social workand psychology. There are more than 1500 membersin the Union. The YGUSSWP joined the International
Federation of Social Workers (IFSW) on 11th April
2012, and became an official member in the General
Meeting of IFSW members in Stockholm from 7-8 July,
2012.

4. On Saturday May 5th, 2012 the YGUSSWP
organized a General Introductory Program tointroduce the YGUSSWP to society. The program went
through the following topics related to YGUSSWP
establishment, Constitution, objectives, values,
principles, membership, activities and the importanceof creating a Union for social workers in Yemen. The
program was designed for the Department of Social
Work students, Sana'a University.

YGUSSWP Activities
1. YGUSSWP organized a workshop titled ‘The ClinicalInterview in the Psychological Guidance Offices’. It
was held on 20 November 2011 at the Department ofSocial Work, Sana'a University. More than 50 students
from the psychological department were trained inthis workshop.
2. On 30th November 2011, the YGUSSWP paid anofficial visit to the Orphan's House in Sana'a toinvestigate the humanitarian conditions of theorphans. Afterward, the Union issued a general reportbased on this visit unfolding the humanitarian
conditions of the orphans; some Yemeni weekly
newspaper published the report.
3. On 20thMarch 2012 the Union celebrated theWorld Social Work Day for the first time in Yemen.
The aim of the ceremony was to emphasize theimportance of social work in the country.

5. YGUSSWP in coordination with the Department ofSocial Work-Sana'a University organized a Training
Workshop for social workers in public schools from 78 May 2012 titled (Individual Service and the Social
Worker’s Study of Individual Cases). There were morethan 40 social workers from public schools
representing the Educational District of Alsafih,
Sana'a. The objectives of the workshop were: toactivate the role of social work in schools; to train theparticipants on how to study individual cases and how
they could deal with difficulties they will face during
their work with school students.
6. On 23rd May 2012, the YGUSSWP, in coordination
with the Yemeni Association for Thallium Patients andthe Department of Social Work, organized a campaign
to raise society’s awareness of the dangers of thisillness. The campaign was aimed at the students of theFaculty of Arts, Sana'a University. Another event
coinciding with the mentioned campaign took placeand its objective was raising supportive campaign
calling for the issuing of a law emphasizing theimportance of medical examinations before marriage.
More than 500 students participated in all theactivities of the Campaign.

The Union also held a meeting with some educators
and university professors from the Social Work
Department at Sana'a University to discuss the role ofsocial workers in social development and their role inpromoting better live for Yemeni citizens. They agreed
that the Union should be the development tool for thesociety through applying the methods and goals ofSocial Work.

YGUSSWP Information and Public Relations Office
IFSW-AP Newsletter – December 2012- 2

Forwarded from Naomi Spencer…
The International Social Work Committee’s purpose is
to be a link for Australian Association Social Work(AASW) members to international social work. Thereis so much we can achieve when we collaborate. I
invite you to read Suzanne’s proposal. I hope that you
are as excited as I am when you enter in to her dreams
for international social work. Please be in contact with
us if you have ideas to offer.

Proposal for Development of ‘Social
Workers Sans Frontieres’I am envisioning the establishment of ‘Social Workers
Sans Frontieres’. The idea or concept for this proposal
is to set up the Social Workers Sans Frontieres(SWSF), to spread and promote the idea, to gauge theneed for SWSF and the level of support available.
Basically to help the idea ‘grow legs’ and gain somemomentum while enlisting the support of the ‘experts’and professional bodies to become involved in its
formulation. I have had this idea for some time andhave wondered at how to proceed. I have mentioned it
at numerous venues, and have received positive
feedback and encouragement to progress with thisidea.
I am now in the process of completing the initial steps
in progressing ‘Social Workers Sans Frontieres’(Australian Branch) from a conceptual idea into a‘real’ tangible entity. The next steps will be to design
the web page and contact the various Schools of Social
Work and Aid Organisations around Australia, toinvite their contributions. I am envisioning that the
web page ‘Social Workers Sans Frontieres’ willcontain stories and photos of social workers working
in the field, and links to universities and organisations
which are running such international programs. The
idea of the web page is to illustrate and document theextensive breadth of work social workers are
currently involved in with their work in developing
countries and disaster zones; to inspire other social
workers who may also be interested in working indeveloping countries; to operate as a focal point andnexus site, providing links to other sites that social
workers can identify with; and to promote social work
as an active and vibrant profession.
The overall aim in producing the web site is so thatwhen people google ‘Social Work Sans Frontieres’, awhole range of interesting, exciting, inspiring
information, stories, photos and international issues
are readily available all on the one site. It is a way of
documenting and recognising social workers’ roles
and the great work they are already doing indeveloping countries and disaster zones, and how
other social workers can get involved.

It would be great to see the web site up and runningwithin the next 6-12 months. This would require
volunteer help from those with IT and graphic design
skills, who could form a working party to work
collaboratively on this project. A second working
group could be tasked to come up with appropriate
wordingforthegoals/aims/purpose/value
statements and possibly a ‘logo’. Other tasks would beto write to the numerous Schools of Social Work topromote the web site and ask for their input.
The reality is that the web site will be initially a ‘workin progress’, However, the dream is that it will be fluid
enough to grow from a fledgling ‘grass roots’
beginning into an ongoing concern that involves at thecore an active and committed affiliation, to take it to
the next level, which may include forming an‘organisation’. This would involve: researching NonGovernment Organisations (NGOs) and what isrequired to set up an Australian NGO; surveying which
agencies/associations would be interested in having
representatives on a Board of Directors; surveying
university social work schools within Australia, forinterest and support; and finally surveying forpossible sources of funding which could be used tosponsor some projects. It would be necessary to send
emails and questionnaires to aid organisations, asking
if they would be interested to avail themselves of theservices of SWSF - if one was available.
A
questionnaire could ask what projects they would likeassistance with and provide a list of possible projects.
It would also be useful to research other aid
organisations as well as AUSAID and Medecins Sans
Frontieres, and look at the role social workers
currently play and look at what projects social
workers have been involved in. It may be possible for
SWSF to work collaboratively with such organisations
on some projects.
I would also like to canvas for support from my fellow
social workers, and ask them to contact me or AASW
with their expressions of interest and support for theestablishment of ‘Social Workers Sans Frontieres’(Australian Branch).
I would also be especially interested to hear fromsocial work associations in other countries who may
also be interested in formulating ‘Social Workers Sans
Frontieres’ branches in their own countries who could
be affiliated as ‘sister’ SWSF bodies. Links andcollaboration would be supported and would give
SWSF a truly international focus. Please contact me:
suzanne@SWSF.com.au
orNaomi
Spencer:
Naomi.Spencer@sesiahs.health.nsw.gov.au.
Suzanne Jackson
Project Manager
Social Workers Sans Frontieres
Start-up Committee
suzanne@SWSF.com.au
IFSW-AP Newsletter – December 2012- 2

Commonwealth Grants Programme – is thissomething you and/or your organisation
could apply for?
The Commonwealth Grants Programme disperses a
million pounds in grant funding each year. This grants
programme contributes to sustainable development in
the context of effective, responsive and accountable
governance with civil society (CSOs) participation.
The programme brokers knowledge and ideas. It
supports innovation, sharing of replicable andsustainable models and promotes good practiceacross the participatory governance sector.
We award two types of grants, Participatory
Governance Grants and Commonwealth Theme
Grants. The Commonwealth Organisation of Social
Workers (COSW) plans to apply for a grant which
includes carers across many countries of theCommonwealth. If you are interested in joining thisinitiative, please let the author know.
Participatory Governance Grants
Call for applications now open: deadline 31 January
2013 (5pm GMT)
At a glance:• The Foundation will give grants to fund activities or
projects of registered CSOs;• Beneficiaries will be from a CommonwealthFoundation member country;• Grants will be up to £30,000 per year;• Grants are available for multi-year funding (up to
three years);• Grant applicants are encouraged to show clear
evidence of counterpart resourcing;• Up to 10% of the total grant will fund a monitoring,evaluation and learning element;• Up to 15% of the total grant will fund indirect andoverhead costs.
Participatory governance is about how the state, themarket and civil society interact to effect change.
These interactions involve the inclusion of civil society
in decision-making processes, enabling citizens toexercise voice and vote and engaging in policy
formation among others. “Citizens are engaged inpublic venues at a variety of times…thus allowing
them to be involved in policy formation, selection andoversight”.
For the announcement of our new grants programme,
we are inviting CSOs to submit an application
addressing either Dialogue or Collaboration within the
broader theme of Participatory Governance or a
combination of the two areas.
1. Dialogue: One of the cornerstones of participatory
governance is dialogue. Dialogue requires facilitation
so that people listen, learn and discuss to foster anenvironment of active, inclusive participation. It
enables community members to constructively

address issues that affect them in their daily lives. At
the same time, public dialogue offers an effectivemeans for policy makers to be informed aboutcommunity concerns, needs and priorities. It also
serves to find ways in which community demands canbe addressed meaningfully. Subsumed in participatory
governance is participatory communication which
promotes a bottom up approach and includes
communication for social change and development
strategies. It gives importance to “resurrecting”
voices, particularly of those who are marginalised, andfacilitates processes that are inclusive, build
consensus and promote social cohesion.
2. Collaboration: The participation of CSOs ingovernance processes such as in enhancing service
delivery, participatory budgeting,performance
management systems of government and peacebuilding/reconciliation processes among others
contribute to more effective, responsive andaccountable governance. CSOs bring innovative ideas
and solutions as well as participatory approaches, tosolving local problems. Inclusion of citizens ingovernance forums and consultations bring about newforms of interaction between citizens andgovernment, including other stakeholders ingovernance.
The grants programme will be particularly supportiveof proposals that mainstream the Foundation's crosscutting outcome areas in their project design:• Gender equality• Environmental sustainability• Cultural respect and understanding.
Commonwealth Theme Grants
The Commonwealth Theme unifies celebrations
taking place on Commonwealth Day (Monday 11
March 2013), and provides a focus for further
Commonwealth activities during CommonwealthWeek and the coming year. The Commonwealth
Theme for 2013 is “Opportunity through Enterprise”.
As we emerge from the Global Financial Crisis, it istimely to examine how initiatives such as social
entrepreneurship,sustainable
enterpriseandinnovation can have a positive impact on economic
development in the Commonwealth.
The Theme will explore specific methods andpractices in the context of opportunities available to
key groups including women, young people andpeople with disabilities.
We will announce details of a call for grantapplications in support of the 2013 Commonwealth
Theme in early 2013.
For further information, please see theCommonwealth Foundation website:www.commonwealthfoundation.com
or contact Naomi Spencer at nspencer@csu.edu.au.
IFSW-AP Newsletter – December 2012- 2

Book Note – 2nd Edition is out…
International Social Work: Issues, Strategies, andPrograms, Second Edition
International Social Work: Issues, Strategies, andPrograms, Second Edition, draws together the practice
wisdom emerging within the broad scope ofinternational social work practice and its role incontributing to the international community's efforts
in combating the major global social problems ofpoverty, conflict and post conflict reconstruction, thedevelopment of countries and disadvantaged
populations, migration and displacement, and theneeds of specific populations such as child soldiersand AIDS orphans. Utilizing an integrated perspectives
approach incorporating global, human rights,
ecological and social development perspectives, theInternational Social Work, 2e is designed to preparesocial workers, human services professionals,
development practitioners who desire to playsignificant roles in responding to modern global
challenges that are critical to the well-being of people,
communities, nations and ultimately of us all.
David Cox
http://www.uk.sagepub.com/authorDetails.nav?contr
ibId=531945 La Trobe University, Victoria, Australia
Manohar Pawar
http://www.uk.sagepub.com/authorDetails.nav?contr
ibId=531946 Charles Sturt University, New South
Wales, Australia
February 2013 640 pages SAGE Publications, Inc.
Lecturers
Inspection Copy
Individual Purchasers
PaperbackISBN: 9781452217482£44.99Weblink:
http://www.uk.sagepub.com/books/Book237281*************************

Upcoming Events…

XXXI Annual National Conference of Indian Societyof Professional Social Work Conference
3-5 January 2013 Manipal, Karnataka, India
The Indian Society of Professional Social Work(ISPSW), oldest Association of Professional Social
Workers in India, has been geared towards meetingthe challenges of present day social work practice andto create a platform for information exchange.
Organized by: Indian Society of Professional Social
Work
Website: http://conference.manipal.edu/ispsw2013
Contact person: Dr. E. Aravind Raj, Joint Organizing
Secretary.
First Indian Social Work Congress
23-25 February 2013 Delhi, India
Theme: "Social Work Profession in India: Bridging Gaps
and Building Bridges"
Organized by: NAPSWI and Department of Social
Work, University of Delhi, India
Deadline for abstracts/proposals: 10th January 2013
Website: http://www.napswionline.org
Contact person: Prof Sanjai Bhatt

International Conferences

International Conference on Social Work andSpirituality: Enhancing Commitment for Just,
Inclusive and Sustainable Societies
3-5 January 2013 Ahmednagar, Maharashtra, India
This Conference will be a platform for academicians
and research scholars from various disciplines toexchange views and ideas.
Organized by: BPHE Society's Centre for Studies in
Rural Development
Website: http://spiritualitysocialworkconference.org
Contact person: Prof. Suresh Pathare.

Regional Conferences
IFSW-APASWE 22nd Asia Pacific Social Work
Regional Conference, 2013 Manila, Philippines
4-6 June 2013
Theme: “Social Work in Climate Change, Disaster Risk
Reduction and Response: Building Capacity and Global
Partnership”
Organising Host: Philippines Association of Social
Workers, Inc.
Tel/Fax: (63-2) 453-8250
Website: http://www.paswi-national.org

International Conference on Social Work
Education in the Contemporary World: Issues andChallenges
14-16 January 2013 Pune, Maharashtra State, India
In conjunction with the Golden Jubilee Year of the
Karve Institute of Social Service
Organized by: Karve Institute of Social Service
Website: http://www.karve-institute.org
Contact person: Anjali Maydeo.

IFSW-AP Newsletter – December 2012- 2

7th International Conference on Social Work in
Health and Mental Health, Los Angeles, California
23rd – 27th June 2013
Theme: ‘Research to Practice: Completing the Circle’
Hosted by the USC School of Social Work and Los
Angeles County Department of Mental Health, Southern
California, USA.
Website: http://pathways2013.com

Joint World Conference on Social Work, Educationand Social Development 20149-12 July 2014 Melbourne Convention & Exhibition
Centre, Melbourne, Australia
Organised by the International Association of Schoolsof Social Work (IASSW), the International Council on
Social Welfare (ICSW), the International Federation ofSocial Workers (IFSW) and the local Organising
Committee.
This Conference will bring together practitioners,
researchers and educators from around the world
who are engaged in Social Work and Social
Development. The Conference will continue the workof the Global Agenda, first set in Hong Kong in 2010
and then continued in Stockholm in 2012. Together
with the Australian Association of Social Work, theAustralian Council of Heads of Schools of Social Work,and the Australian Council of Social Service, we areplanning an inspirational program in true Australian
tradition.
Conference Organisers:
Waldron Smith Management
119 Buckhurst Street
South Melbourne VIC 3205 Australia
T: +61 3 9645 6311
F: +61 3 9645 6322
E: swsd2014@wsm.com.au
W: www.waldronsmith.com.au‘The Voices for Development’ Conference
25-27 September 2013
The National Association of Social Workers South
Africa, in association with the International
Federation for Social Workers will be hosting The
Voices for Development Conference. This conference
will enable countries targeted by development policy,
their communities and on-the- ground social workers

to voice their practical experiences and makerecommendations on the Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs) that will succeed the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGS) when they expire in 2015.
For more information, contact the conference
secretariat on at info@naswsa.co.za.

IFSW Asia Pacific Regional
Working Group
President:
John Ang (Singapore)Member-at-Large: Mariko Kimura (Japan)
Secretary:
Rose Henderson (New
Zealand)Treasurer:
Michiko Hirata (Japan)
Members:
Irene Leung Pui Yiu(Hong Kong)
Sung-Kyung Kang
(Korea)Elsie Lee (Publications
Secretary, Malaysia)
Ex-Officios:
Ng Shui Lai (Human
Rights, Hong Kong)
Richard Hugman (Ethics
Representative,
Australia)
Regional Advisor: Justina Leung(Immediate Past
President, Hong Kong)
Co-opted Members: Eva Ponce de Leon (ThePhilippines)
Munther Amira (Palestine)

Editor: Elsie Lee (Malaysia)
Layout: Jodi Johnstone (Australia)
Publisher: Griffith University for IFSW Asia
Pacific Region (Australia)
Note to Contributors:
Please send items, stori es and articles preferably
in MS word format as well as photos to the
Editor, Elsie Lee at elsilee@gmail.com

IFSW-AP Newsletter – December 2012- 2