On March 31, 2015, the National Conference was organized with the title: "Promotion of human dignity and values” within the scientific activities of the Department of Labor and Social Policy for the academic year 2014-2015.
In the framework of the reforms that have involved Albania, but not only, as challenges of the European integration process, new perspectives on the profession and work practices in the field constitute an immediate need that encourages the treatment of problems, but also the evaluation of the best models. benefits of work and cooperation, as well as the sharing of experiences and critical views with professionals and actors of social work practice.
The conference served as an open forum where professionals and scientific researchers shared their experiences in the various fields of practice where they work.
The main goal of the conference was to promote the Social Work profession in the field of respecting human dignity and values. Social workers help people overcome problems and gain control over their lives. They support people to face problems such as isolation, poverty, disease, disadvantage and various forms of discrimination. Their role is that of a professional who leads, advocates and negotiates on behalf of and for service users and people in need. However, they often work with people who are in a crisis situation; they must make difficult decisions and intervene to prevent harm to vulnerable people. Social work is difficult and challenging: it requires maturity and a high level of personal commitment.
The activity took place in the premises of the Faculty of Social Sciences and aimed to create a forum where professionals, researchers, policy makers exchanged the results of their experience, during the efforts for the development of social work, as well as shared opinions, presented philosophies and methodologies of professional practices, as challenges of social workers in the different fields of practice where they work. The conference was realized in partnership with the National Association of Social Workers.
The main topics of the conference were:
- Challenges of Social Work professionals in providing services.
- Promotion of the Social Work profession within the framework of respect for human values and dignity.
During the activity, presentations were made by professionals in the field, researchers, policy makers, representatives of state institutions or other organizations in the field of social services and presentations of doctoral studies. The conference included 150 participants: academics in the field of social work and similar fields related to the issue and focus of the conference, professionals in the field, policy makers in the field of social policies and other policies, students of the third cycle of studies at the Faculty of Social Sciences, interested actors from the civil society sector, NGOs, social service institutions, etc.