The Social Work in Crisis: Solution or Part of the Problem?

On 20 and 21 October 2023, the ERIS International Conference took place in Würzburg, Germany. The topic was The Social Work in Crisis: Solution or Part of the Problem?. The conference was attended by more than 60 academics and students from all over the world. To name a few participating countries, we can mention Germany, Great Britain, Poland, Slovakia, and Austria. A transnational perspective of social work was provided particularly by speakers from Oman, Lebanon, and India. The conference brought not only interesting contributions and inspirations from abroad, but also the opportunity to network with partners with a common interest from all over the world.

During his welcome speech, Professor Oldřich Chytil handed over the position of ERIS Director to Kateřina Mikulcová and received from her, to stormy applause of the whole auditorium, big thank you for the ERIS foundation and execution role of the ERIS Director for the last 15 years.

The keynote speaker, Timo Toikko from the University of Eastern Finland, gave a speech on Social Policy in Challenging Times, where, among other things, the conference participants had the opportunity to learn how state social policy is related to the citizen happiness index.

During the conference, we could hear contributions specialising in topics such as resistance in social work, life stories of women from rural India, developing empathy in social work students through simulation dolls, the refugee crisis, the role of codes of conduct in social work decision-making processes, etc.

The conference also offered thematic walks around the city focused, for example, on homeless service networks and street work.

Updated: 25. 10. 2023