04- June - 2013

Final Report - IASSW International ProjectInternational Social Work Week Conference – 10-15 March 2013
On behalf of the participants and as the PI of the project, let me first thank you
for the International Association of the Schools of Social Work financial contribution
and for encouraging us to implement this worldwide collaboration and to implement
International social work week.

Title of the project:"What and How Do We Teach, and How Do We Learn? A Reciprocal Research
Project for Social Work Faculty from Asia, the Middle East, and European Countries"- IASSW International Project - PI: Prof. Orit Nuttman Shwartz, School of Social
Work, Sapir College. Email: orits@sapir.ac.il.

1The conference was held at the Sapir School of Social Work. Participants included
active partners in the reciprocal ISW project from Ethiopia, India, Germany, and theUS, with Prof. Lynne Healy as the distinguished guest of honor. Participating faculty
members were hosted for a three-day workshop, which included lectures and activities
presented to the students and faculty members of Sapir College.

Participants in the Workshop:
Israel:School of Social Work, Sapir College - Prof. Orit Nuttman-Shwartz, Dr. Rebecca
Ranz, Dr. Nora Korin-Langer, Dr. Yochay Nadan; Dr. Michal Komem, Dr. Julia
Chaitin, Dr. Eitan Shachar and Dr. Yitzhak Lander.
India:The Matru Sewa Sangh Institute of Social Work, Nagpur, Maharashtra - Dr. John
Antony Manchary and Dr. Geetha Mary Thachil.
Germany:
The Department of Social Work and Health at the University of Applied SciencesFrankfurt - Prof. Dr. Michaela Koettig and Prof. Dr. Ute Straub.
Ethiopia:
School of Social work, Addis Ababa University - Dr. Wassie Kebed and Dr. Mengistu
Legesse.
USA:
The Center for International Social Work Studies, University of Connecticut Prof. Lynne Healy.
2Summary of the activities held throughout the week:
The conference included workshops, lectures, and panel sessions for collaborative
exploration of issues related to international social work. In addition, all theparticipants meat students and faculty members from our school and had a tour of theregion.

The professional workshops:
During this workshop, which included 15 hours of presentations and discussions, we
succeeded in exploring the similarities and the differences in our social work curriculain general and our ISW curricula in particular. Mainly, we reexamined the definitionof ISW which was presented by Prof. Healy. We also attempted to explore the natureof the process and educational activities that we as educators need to develop in order
to transform ISW from an academic concept to practical knowledge and skills, andvice versa. More specifically, during the workshop we dealt with the definition ofInternational Social Work and how it is (or is not) reflected in each country.
Afterwards, we explored whether we have universal curricula, or whether eachcountry has its own curricula that reflect the local context of the social work
profession. At the end of the workshop, participants presented research findings andfuture ideas relating to methods, education, and collaboration.

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Analysis of the narratives of the participants in the International Social Work Week
conference revealed four main themes: the nature of ISW social work; human rights;
Northern versus southern countries; and "exposure or change". The first theme, which
related to the nature of the field of social work, focused the "what" and "how" oftraining in the field. The questions raised in the Conference included:
What knowledge is required? Who determines that knowledge? How is ISW
defined? Is there a need to cross borders and countries in order to learn about
the field of ISW?

Another question related to the definition of the field, including terms such as"indigenization" and "globalization", global social work, etc. Is this a matter ofsemantics and structure, or does it reflect substantive differences?



Another question concerned the relationship between social work in generaland international social work in particular. For example, what aspects ofgeneral social work and ISW are parallel, shared, and complementary (at the
global, cross-cultural, and local levels).

With regard to the field of knowledge, several examples of participants'
comments can be cited, as follows:This event raised an issue that I have been very concerned with: What isinternational social work? What knowledge is required in order to train
students and professionals in this field? What professionals will participate indeveloping and expanding knowledge, and what professionals will not? Whowill receive funding for research and development in this field, and who will
stay behind, without being able to progress and develop? Will countries /regions that can't afford the broad programs included in [the ISW] curriculum
be unable to take part in international social work programs? Who's "in" andwho's "out".

We wrestled with the definitions and elements of international social work.
For example, a question was raised [us] hosting visitors from other countries
is “international social work?” When one of the presenters from India said
yes, a colleague from Ethiopia contested this. This brought us to a discussion4

of border crossing—do we have to cross borders physically to be engaged ininternational social work?

As mentioned, another question focused on the relationship between local Social
work and international/global/cross-cultural social work. The narratives reflect thetension that exists between the local and global fields, as well as their mutual impact
on one another, and points of convergence.

The issue is, what is international and what is local? What does one need toknow? I believe that more needs to be clarified and there are still morequestions. For example, are immigrants part of this field? What about
populations without any status? Or does it only include refugees, etc? Is fieldwork training abroad essential? If so, why? And are we teaching the students
what they need to know.

What position should we take? Every country has its own atmosphere. How
does international social work deal with the dilemma of global versus local?
India is very large, and even we are not familiar with the whole country. It's
not like Israel .

Another area of debate involved the global and the local. To what extent are
there tensions between internationalization and indigenization? We agreed
that understanding the local reality is essential. Yet, the global agenda
certainly requires international knowledge. One member talked about
indigenization within an international context as a useful framing of the issue.

How is international social work distinguished from global social work? Is theessence of practice in each of these fields really different, or do theirperspectives and theoretical bases derive from different bodies of knowledge?
Is all practice that combines work in different nation states internationalsocial work? IF so, what distinguishes between international social work andcross-cultural social work or cross-cultural practice? Is it possible todistinguish between these concepts in theory and practice?
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In this context, the second main theme was raised, which relates to the relationships
between Northern and Southern countries. The participants, who were from different
countries that represented the encounter between North and South, often found it
difficult to talk about this issue openly and freely. This theme became part of the
dialogue toward the end of the sessions in the conference, and included three main
topics:Power relations between the North and South: There was a feeling that thiswas an implicit topic in the various workshops, and there was a question as tohow much international social work replicates Western colonialism andimperialism.

An emotional and dynamic dimension that accompanies the encounter
between people from Northern and Southern countries – feelings of guilt andshame, as well as competition, excellence, and trust were the main issues that
affected the dynamics between the participants from the different sides of the
globe. The dynamics fluctuated between replication, correction, change, andacceptance.



The importance of collaborative learning among participants from Northernand Southern countries in an attempt to create a joint, authentic, equal
dialogue.

An example of the power relationships between the Northern and Southern parts of
the world in the International Social Work Week Conference is found in the following
statements:

I thought about the meaning of encounter; about replicating the main themes:
Northern versus Southern countries, colonialism, glorifying the UnitedStates… I didn't bring it up in public, because I thought it only concerned me.
Maybe it concerned others, but I didn't feel comfortable… As time went on,
there was an atmosphere that broke down barriers. I was surprised by Wassie,
who succeeded in bringing up the issue of Northern-Southern relations, power
differences… I felt that even though time had passed, the topic was not yet
ready for discussion. Nevertheless it was mentioned. We still have a way to go.
6[Regarding] the power relations that are involved in international social
work, including the history and relationships between Northern and Southern
global contexts: In the sessions I attended, I felt that the discussion about
power relations was primarily implicit. This leads to the fundamental
question: Is international social work really international, or is it mainly
based on ideas that were developed and conceptualized in the West, which areapplied (or adapted) to other areas of the world? Does the knowledge flow in
only one direction [from North to South], or is there a possibility that theknowledge will also flow in the opposite direction? What is the role of power
relations in developing a concept of international social work, and how is thereflection of power relations (in the conceptualization, in the development ofprograms, and in practice) present and discussed?

The participants noted the important role of this theme in institutionalizing andestablishing the relationships between the participants in the workshop, which
concerned the dynamics between North and South.

Regarding the statement made by Wassie: In my view, this was a pivotal
moment. I had the feeling that Wassie dared to upset the status quo and breakthe idyllic atmosphere in the room and shatter the illusion that all of us are thesame… Going back to the pivotal moment, we can say that trust on the one
hand and the exposure of guilt, shame, competition, and excellence [on theother] are issues that need to be addressed. The need to express trust thatallows for learning was clearly evident, but there was also a need to recognize
the guilt that quite a few of the participants felt – whether the guilt feeling wasdue to their activities (e.g., those who came as tourists with cameras … ),whether it was a feeling of shame and fear that "they will discover what I don'tknow", "they will discover that I'm not developed, and that I don't interpret
Western knowledge correctly"… [there is also] the need for globalization,transparency, and public disclosure that accompany current measures inacademic scholarship and society… i.e., the need for forms of excellence.

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One meaningful word echoed in my mind: "trust". There is a need to build
trust as a basis for reciprocal work, but the question is how. When we
returned to the full forum, Prof. Healy opened the discussion and said: "Weneed to stop feeling guilty and move on". She meant that Northern countries
can't continue living with guilt feelings about past imperialism and constantfear of oppression. That doesn't mean that there's no need to be aware of what
happened and make efforts to avoid that situation but it should be without
those restrictive feelings, which lead to extreme caution that doesn't always
allow for genuine dialogue. So how do you release guilt feelings? When I told
Prof. Nuttman-Shwartz about the events and their meaning, she mentioned athird concept – "shame". I think this term complements my idea – shame waspart of the dynamics between the two parts of the globe [the "North" and the"South"]. [People from the] North are often ashamed that they havepaternalistic feelings, and they replicate oppressive relationships. [People
from the] South are often ashamed of the situation in their country.

In this open atmosphere, and in light of the desire to get to know each other andbecome closer, the participants highlighted the importance of the encounter between
the North and South.

To me, the main strength of the working seminar was the cross-national
discussion of the theme. Most scholarship on international social work andinternational social work education is Western or Northern in origin. Bringing
scholars/teachers from India and Ethiopia into the dialogue was one of themost important elements of the seminar. It would be fruitful if the group cancontinue the dialogue by electronic communications for further reflections on
the areas of universality and divergence of perspectives.

Another important theme raised in the Conference was human rights. Most of theparticipants believed that human rights is a major aspect of international social work,and even expressed a desire to continue exploring the topic. Beyond that, theparticipants indicated that human rights is a critical issue that should be dealt with not8only on the basis of theoretical knowledge but also in terms of practicalimplementation at a time when it is easy to stick to responses based on traditional
attitudes and replicate existing patterns of power relations and behaviors that are
accepted in North-South relations.
I was most struck – and encouraged – by the emphasis that all participants put
on human rights, regardless of their home institution and country. The themeof the centrality of working for human rights within social work – for womenand children, for refugees, and for marginalized and minority populations was reiterated throughout the week .

Beyond that, participants commented:

Protection of human rights is a supreme goal. How can we do this without
political action? Social work needs to be more political .

Personally, I am interested in doing research in the field of human rights. [Iwant to] try to see how one can understand and teach students about humanrights in a historical and political context, and in terms of the local economic
situation .

In the context of collaborative learning and exposure to others, the importance of
involving Israeli students in the International Social Work Week was highlighted.
This was done through lectures that the visiting faculty members delivered to thestudents at the Sapir Social Work School. In addition, the guests observed the Israeli
students in various classes and participated in them.

I found that the experience of working with the students on this rather delicate
topic was very fruitful. The students took an active part, they were openminded and interested and their reflections reached a very high level…

Especially the level of the ability to reflect I [that] observed in the reflectiongroups I attended is something I will take home with me…
9We also each had opportunities for interchange with Sapir College social
work students in their classes. The students’ discussions evidenced their
wisdom and some of their comments deserve special attention. As one of thestudents put it when describing her international exchange experience, “weexpand the boundaries of the profession and change our way of thinking.”
Another commented that “it is important for all social workers to learn tothink more deeply about how we get to know about people.” These comments
were meaningful to me and I wanted to include them in my own reflections, as
they also describe the outcomes of our working seminar .

The exposure to people from another culture, as well as the encounter with thefaculty, students, and residents of the region and the opportunity to understand theIsraeli context enabled participants in the Conference to recognize the importance ofstrengthening existing and new partnerships in order to develop knowledge in thisfield. The participants expressed the desire to strengthen and develop partnerships asfollows:
Small groups spending several days together is qualitatively different than aninternational conference and offers much more opportunity for advancing
knowledge in a specific arena, as well as for creating linkages toward new orstrengthened partnership.
Those directly involved in partnership exchanges with Sapir also seemed tolearn from each other. I wrote down in my own notes how one of the Ethiopian
partners indicated that he gained new insights into the possibilities formutuality and exchange through the presentation by the faculty from India.
Mengistu wants to be a partner [in this process], and would like to know what
to do so that students from Ethiopia will have an experience similar to that ofthe Indian students… I was so pleased, and I saw this as an opportunity .
Participants also expressed a desire to develop a model in India that will promotereciprocal work, a deeper experience, and exchange.
10This was an opportunity for reflection, and for defining where we stand in thisrelationship. Training for Israeli students is provided in Ethiopia, and thisrestricts my perspective of the picture as a whole. What is missing is the part
where our voice is heard. Why didn't we conduct a similar study together with
Nora? Are we supposed to engage in a similar process of rewriting andreflection? Where are the boundaries of our cooperation? Maybe we should
vary things and add more partners besides Israel? I hope this Conference will
be a starting point, and that next year we'll take one more step forward.

You think this kind of experience (hosting Israeli students in another country)
enhances sensitivity, and is it necessary? We want you to see our reality evenwhen we know that we are unable to send our students to you .
The first part for everyone is knowing yourself – strong points and weak
points. You always need to aspire to improve and support. That's a central
question: What can I do to improve things? It was difficult for me to hearsome of the things that were said, and out of a desire to understand, I hope wewill be able to have a mutual dialogue when things are happening and notlater, so that we'll be able to deal with them.

To summarize, as a result of the encounter, the participants expressed a desire for
future cooperation and saw that the experience was not as bad as they had imagined,
and they had been enriched by the encounter. The participants had also developed
relationships that went beyond the Israeli school that initiated the program, and thatinvolved each participant as an individual. Without a doubt, the encounter createddiverse opportunities for cooperation, and allowed for exchange among participantsfrom different parts of the world that transcended the definition of Northern versus
Southern countries.

11Lectures to all Social Work students from Sapir College:

In addition, the participants attended 17 different lectures with our students. This
enabled them to learn about our generation of social workers. In addition, they had an
opportunity to meet students and graduates from the ISW track.
More specifically, the meeting with the ISW track students enabled the guest faculty
to hear the students' point of view about the definition of ISW and the relationships
between global and local social work, as well as to learn more about the Israeli
experience in their fieldwork abroad. This joint session enabled the students to sharewith their guests, and to hear from them how the exchange period looks from the"other side". All of the students and faculty members of the Sapir School agreed that
this was an important, effective, and enriching learning experience.

Comments by Students after the Encounter"It was a very meaningful encounter…. [it was] different]… it opened up [anew] world… In particular, I had a meaningful experience with the lecturers
from Germany. I was surprised to see how much the past is still here… howcomplex history is… The guests were so excited, and we became so
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nationalistic…. I didn't think we would talk about the army so much… about
the meaning of being young in Israel… about the country…"
After the meeting with research students, one participant expressed the following
thought:"It was fascinating to see how the discussion about rights is an integral part ofevery area, including research... As researchers in the field of trauma, weprefer to conduct studies at the time of traumatic events.. [or] afterwards, andwe're not so aware of the human rights issues involved… It's not just a matterof confidentiality and ethics… It's much more… There's a need to explore thisissue more extensively in Israel too, and to teach more about human rights inthe context of social work…""I wanted to really thank you for the organization of the internatinal week.The
experience of seeing social work on an internatinal level was learning andenriching. The uniqe interpetation of every country to what is social work andthe different issues that interest social workers in different places in the world
inabled me to see the different cultures and colors that are in our proffesion.
But inspite of all the diffrences there is one thing that unites all Social workers
and that is the desire to make the world a better place. This has made me
proud of being part of a big family the "Social Work family".

Following the meeting with faculty members from India, another issue was raised inregard to the status of women and the upheaval in attitudes toward women that istaking place in India as a country and society. The issue also came up following theinteraction between the men and women students in the classroom – the discussion
included topics such as equality, open dialogue, and getting to know each other.
Regarding the encounter with students from Israel, faculty members from Ethiopia
were amazed by the open dialogue that took place between the teachers and students,
and by the teaching methods (work in small groups in comfortably furnished rooms),
where students were able to express criticism. These dynamics fostered a sense offamiliarity and comfort among the students and faculty members participating in thesessions.

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It was interesting to see the relationship that developed with the faculty members
from Ethiopia, which was reflected in a familiar personal interaction that developed
rapidly. (This might be because a large community of Ethiopian immigrants lives in
Israel, or because of cultural similarities.) In contrast, with regard to the guests from
Germany, the dynamics focused on retraumatization, conflict, nationalism,
forgiveness, and reconciliation. In this context, as mentioned, the dialogue wasaffected by the complex history of relations between the Israeli hosts and the German
guests.

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