This intensive seminar is one of three focusing on the relationships between social work and political conflict in Cyprus, Northern Ireland and Bosnia Herzogovina, funded by the European Association of Schools of Social Work. It seeks to explore emergent themes from the literature 'International Perspectives on Social Work and Political Conflict' Edited by Prof Joe Duffy, Prof Jim Campbell and Prof Carol Tosone and published by Routledge, which reveals the impact of political conflict on victims and survivors, social work practice and social work education. The seminar will include contributions by social work academics from each of the three case studies, as well as presentations by professionals, NGOs involved in working with victims and survivors in Northern Ireland.

Speakers

Vasilios Ioakimidis

Dr Vasilios Ioakimidis is a Professor of Social Work at the University of Essex and the University of West Attica, Greece. He also serves as the Global Education Commissioner in the International Federation of Social Workers.  Vasilios Ioakimidis co-edits the British Journal of Social Work. Most of his publications focus on the broad theme of social work theory and practice under extreme socio-political circumstances.

Reima Ana Maglajlic

Dr Reima Ana Maglajilic is a Reader in Social Work and Head of Department of Social Work and Social Care, University of Sussex. Together with Professor. Ioakimidis, she is also the Co-Editor for the British Journal of Social Work. Her research and practice experiences focus on co-producing new knowledge and facilitating mutual support for people who experience distress during and after political conflict. This work draws on experiences in her countries of origin, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia.

Gregory Neocleous

Dr Gregory Neocleous is an Associate Professor of social work at the University of Nicosia. He is the author of two monographs and book chapters on social policy for older people, labour movement, and social work in political conflict. He has also produced several peer-reviewed articles, including bicommunal social work in Cyprus.

For the past seven years, he has been a co-founder and active member of the bi-communal group United Cyprus Social Work Platform which aims to reconnect social workers from the two communities in Cyprus,  Greek-speaking Cypriots and Turkish-speaking Cypriots, through various activities, such as research, seminars, workshops and conferences.

Jim Campbell

Dr Jim Campbell is Emeritus Professor of Social Work in the School of Social Policy, Social Work and Social Justice, University College Dublin. Previously he taught and researched in Goldsmiths University of London, and Queens University Belfast. He was co-editor of the British Journal of Social Work from 2010-15. Jim has several teaching and research interests including mental health social work and the law, and social work and political conflict. He co-edited a recent text in this second area of interest: Duffy, J., Campbell, J., & Tosone, C. (Eds.). (2021). International Perspectives on Social Work and Political Conflict. London: Routledge.

Joe Duffy

Dr Joe Duffy is a Professor of Social Work and Inclusion at Queen’s and a 2018-19 US-UK Fulbright Scholar. Joe’s research focuses primarily on service user involvement with a particular focus on the involvement of trauma survivors and those affected by political conflict in social work education. Joe led the first research study examining the experiences of social workers during ‘the Troubles’ in Northern Ireland (Duffy, Campbell & Tosone, 2019), and the subsequent edited collection International Perspectives on Social Work and Political Conflict. London: Routledge. 

Hanife Serin

The seminar will be held on 15 and 16 November 2023 from 10.00am to 4.00pm each day.

15.11.2023 - Venue: Riddel Hall, 185 Stranmillis Road, Belfast, BT9 5EE

16.11.2023 - Venue: Wellcome-Wolfson Institute for Experimental Medicine, 97 Lisburn Road, Belfast, BT9 7BL.