2018 IASWG Symposium in South AfricaIASWG Gedig - Below is a poem written and read by the student volunteer, Christele Stacey Lloyd, describing the strong message of group bonding among the student volunteers during the symposium. Ubuntu means... Kindered hearts strung together Dialects that are spoken through glances Encouragments poured out in high spirits without consideration of language or colour. This is what Ubuntu means to me. Ubuntu means Social worker to me.
-Christele Stacey Lloyd (South African Student Volunteer)
For the full symposium programme, including the educational presentation offerings, please click here. To view photos from the symposium, click here.As the members of the IASWG organization celebrate their 40th international symposium in South Africa, it is our view that our 2018 symposium theme of “Bridging the Divide: Group Work for Social Justice” is an appropriate and relevant theme in our current global environment. At the core of social group work is the need to bridge the divide to develop mutual aid to foster a socially just society where all members have the same opportunities to attain material goods, income and wealth. The valuing of diverse perspectives and experiences is a heartfelt call to understanding the meaning of Ubuntu in South Africa and all of Africa. Ubuntu is about humaneness, and it embraces values of respect, solidarity, community development, social responsibility, justice, and equality. That said, bridging the divide, in our view, suggests more than just an appreciation of diversity. It is a real recognition of being part of humanity. Bridging the divide for social justice is about people living and working in a globalized society brought together with a common group purpose.
Programme at a Glance Thursday, June 7th:
Friday, June 8th:
Saturday, June 9th:
Sunday, June 10th
Recommended AttireThe atmosphere in Kruger is very relaxed - safari and wildlife relaxed. Day temperatures in Skukuza currently range from 30-35 degrees Celsius. This means that you can wear short sleeve shirts during the day with slacks/denims. A light jacket or jersey can be kept handy as it is winter and may cool down at times. In the evening after 16:00 and at night, is can become quite cold. South Africa is even diverse in its daily temperatures: 25-35 degrees Celsius during the day and 6-10 degrees Celsius at night.
Final clothing and packing reminders:
Pre-Symposium Outstitue: Thursday Community VisitThe Community Visit, on Thursday 7 June, will be to the communities adjacent to the national park. We plan to take attendees with two buses to two different child care centres where children go every weekday after school to receive a meal and play in a safe area for two hours. We will each paint a t-shirt with a child that the child can keep. If in any way possible, attendees will eat with the children – the prescribed government meal for the day on the menu. Through music and art (therapy) attendees will spend time with the children. The organisation running these centres is Sizabantwana (sizabantwana.org). The two centres are:
Excursion Fee $50, includes:
About the Symposium BagsLocal women's groups are making bags for symposium attendees. Your registration fee is helping to support the efforts of local organizations near Kruger National Park, contributing to both social and economic development. Group 1: The Schaumbag group. This group is made up of unemployed women in the community of Schaumburg in North West Province. Every Tuesday and Thursday they meet to build up their sewing, knitting and crocheting skills. They converse about the social ills and dream of working their way out through these skills. Their names are Miriam, Jerida, Sarah and Elizabeth.  Group 2: The Church group in Xawela block 23, Giyani. The group is comprised of members of the New Life Apostolic Church who are unemployed, and many have no external sources of income except child grants. Learning to use a sewing machine is a skill that they find worthy and discussions about their social affairs forms part of the group. The leader of the church, Pastor MS Valoyi is the mentor and teacher in the group, developing the ladies' skills and knowledge of sewing.
 Group 3: The Sizabantwana group - the women in this group, Brenda, Agrinet, Polutio and Doris are all unemployed and have never before done sewing. They now learn the skill in the group and are making bags for the symposium. They have learned very quickly and are very excited about the opportunity.
Plenary SpeakersSumner Gill Memorial PlenaryBuild the Social Justice Bridge: A Photovoice Project for International Social Work Education Presenters: Lorrie Greenhouse Gardella, Southern Connecticut State University, New Haven, CT (USA) and Reineth (CE) Prinsloo, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa This interactive session will explore how social work students from around the world understand the concepts of “social divide” and “social justice” and the role of group work in “bridging the divide” to promote social justice. Based on Photovoice research, symposium participants will use photographs submitted by students to build an art installation, the Social Justice Bridge; to analyze common themes; and to reflect critically on social justice content in group work education.
Beulah G. Rothman Memorial PlenarySizabantwana: A Story about Doing the Right Thing because the Time is Always Right! Presenters: Frank Mashego, Manager; Minky Makhubedu-Mashego, Coordinator of projects; Rita Wasserman, IASWG Member, Volunteer and Social Worker; Jaco Lubbe, Chairperson; Japie Lubbe, Treasurer and Marketing The story of Sizabantwana is an exemplary illustration of compassion, care, collaboration and dedication to bridge the divide for social justice. In 1999, when a group of young farmers in Hazyview in Mpumalanga in South Africa got to know about the fate of children in their neighboring town, Mariti, they went to action to address the needs of vulnerable children and orphans despite the social, economic, and political turmoil in the country. Group work, with all its dynamics and components came into operation. The farmers, community leaders and volunteers from diverse levels came together with the aim to make a difference and this resulted in the birth of an NGO called Sizabantwana. Sizabantwana care for over 800 children in the Mariti area on a daily basis in a rural area where water and electricity and tar roads are not a given, but a luxury. With a strong and diverse team that give time, resources and passion, they ensure that the children receive a healthy and balanced meal per day and in addition, provide love and tender care through numerous programs. A strong marketing focus ensures donations to assist in running the services. In this presentation, team members and children who are beneficiaries of Sizabantwana will narrate the story of change and working toward social justice and will illustrate action with the words of the famous Madiba Nelson Mandela: "The time is always right to do the right thing!” Joan K. Parry Memorial PlenaryGains and Pitfalls of Contact Theory through Arts within an Arab-Jewish Conflict Group in Israel Presenter: Ephrat Huss, Professor of Social Work at Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheba, Israel. She is a licensed social worker and art therapist in Israel. Fostering positive interaction between two groups of youth, Arab and Jewish, that is based on joint activity, can reduce hostility, prejudice and separateness such that over time these destructive emotions are replaced with cooperation, friendship and good neighboring. Favorable intergroup contact leads to psychological processes that reduce dissonance and produce more favorable attitudes toward individuals from the other group and toward the group as a whole in order for these perceptions to be consistent with the positive nature of the interaction. The arts are an action based method that focus on 'doing' rather than on verbal interaction. The arts are suited to the creativity and need for control characteristic of youth, and help to bridge different cultures through focusing on the visual elements of global youth culture. This presentation will outline the successes and failures of a funded project that involved 10 groups of Arab-Jewish youth living in proximity in Israel, for a set of 13 meetings, based on joint art work. The group work was researched and evaluated using qualitative methods including recording of the group meetings, photographing the art products, and interviewing the leaders and some participants retrospectively.
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