A Training Course in Palermo, Sicily

This week three students from the CMV study programme went to Sicily for a training course under the title of Let's Bridge The Gap (or: LBTG for short). The programme was hosted and organised by CESIE, an international partner of our school of social work, under the Youth in Action programme which is funded by the EU.
One of the students was asked to act as guest blogger here.
Here's what Alex Adriana has written on her own blog, which was copied here:

Baida – getting to know each other

by ladyalexx

So, the first day here in Baida started off with a groupbuilding activity called Mission Impossible. We had to do all sorts of things within our group but we had limited time. We had to take the funniest group picture, interview 5 people about what identity means to them, find out the price of coca cola, a bus ticket and chocolate in different countries. We had to list 35 countries, sing happy birthday in as many languages as possible, make up a story of a few certain words and we had to make a sixties commercial for young people. After this we had a short break and then we wrote down our fears and expectations of this project. Not really sharing it, but putting it on post-it notes and hang them in the lecture hall. After lunch we did a game, called ‘Facebook’. We had an inner circle who were the models for the outer circle. The outer circle had to change seats every few seconds so everybody took part in drawing the person from the inner circle. It was very funny.

Then things really started. The concept of gender and sexuality was introduced and in pairs we had to answer questions and tell our findings to the group. I had to talk about what the difference is between sex and gender. For the rest of the day we worked on a big puzzle with all sorts of terms that can be divided into different groups. First we made the puzzle in small groups and then we made the puzzle with the whole group, so everybody could see what the level of knowledge of the group is. The exercise was also meant to have a common ground of the words we use and what they mean. 

We ended the first day with an aphrodisiac dinner where we presented our national food which is also kind of aphrodisiac. The other countries had many nice things as well. After dinner we went up to the roof with a few people and it was very nice, we socialized more than during the project I think.

In general, I really like being here. The people are very nice and open minded. All of the assignments really helped to get to know each other better and really make us a group."

Social Work Brugge visits Rotterdam with more than 100 students

A contribution in Dutch by guest blogger: Johan Bertels from Belgium

Het eerste jaar Sociaal Werk uit Brugge trok van 6 tot 8 mei naar de Hogeschool Rotterdam om er samen met Nederlandse studenten te werken rond Inter Cultural Learning (ICL).  Dit aan de hand van interactieve en ervaringsgerichte  Non Formal Education Methoden.  Zij werden vergezeld door 5 docenten en een collega van de University of South Wales (UK) .  Vlaamse en Nederlandse studenten die daarvoor kozen, konden de module dan ook in het Engels volgen.   De groep werd ook vergezeld door een onderzoeker  die participerend observeerde.  Daarnaast werden ook alle studenten bevraagd over hun ICL ervaring, dit in het kader van het onderzoek “Visies, concepten en drempels in het intercultureel leren” van het Thucydides fonds.

De opleiding Sociaal Werk koos voor Rotterdam als locatie om het ICL verhaal te brengen omwille van de meerwaarde van de grote diversiteit in de stad en aan de Hogeschool.  Voor toekomstige sociaal werkers is het zeer belangrijk om met diversiteit te kunnen omgaan.  Op de laatste dag namen de Nederlandse studenten de HOWEST studenten in kleine groepjes met het openbaar vervoer mee naar de multiculturele wijken en buurten.   Ook het verblijf in Maritime hotel – het vroegere zeemanshuis – droeg bij tot de ontmoeting met andere culturen.   Met deze  “massa-mobiliteit” proeven de eerste jaars voor het eerst van een korte, maar intense internationale ervaring.  De gemeenschappelijke taal zou hierbij een drempelverlagend effect moeten hebben, maar toch bleken we vaak een “anders soort”  Nederlands  te spreken, wat regelmatig tot grappige  misverstanden aanleiding gaf.      

Impressions from a Finn in Rotterdam

By special guest blogger: Juha Makkonen

I did my Erasmus teacher exchange at Hogeschool Rotterdam from April 10 to 16th, 2013. During the first two days of my visit I took part in the INVEST project meeting and had a possibility to participate in workshops and interesting visits. We had great discussions about how to encourage volunteer workers, what kind of funding possibilities there exist and how we can create more networks in Europe. It was also a really eye opening experience to see how much voluntary work is done in the Netherlands and what a large impact it has on the whole society.

On Thursday I also had my own lessons with two different student groups. The content of my first lesson was about the history of Finland and how it currently affects the social situation of Finland. I also I made a comparison of the situation of Finland and the Netherlands and heard several good points of view from the students. The other lesson I had was about youth policy and a specific youth guarantee in Finland. The students of both groups were very active and the civic knowledge of them appeared to be of a high level.

During the weekend I participated in the "10 KM LOOP" which was part of the Rotterdam Marathon event. The event itself was a good example of the huge number of arrangements which were made in a short time. And mostly done by volunteers.

On the last days of my visit there were professionalisation days for the staff. I was in the group which visited RadarUitvoering. We heard about the new concepts and plans they have concerning both the financing and managing the activities. We also met former students of the School of Social Work and realized how much they have managed to change their approaches and practices while working for RadarUitvoering.

Overall, I had a most pleasant visit in Rotterdam. I heard that several lecturers in the School of Social Work have been thinking about a visit to Finland during the next school year. I am looking forward to welcoming guests from Hogeschool Rotterdam and provide them as fruitful visit in Finland as possible.

Senior lecturer mr. Juha Makkonen

Humak University of Applied Sciences, Finland

Celebrating World Social Work Day 2013

Here's a 15-minute video showcasing how a number of social work departments have celebrated World Social Work Day around Europe and how their students benefited. This event usually takes place mid-March and it's an ideal opportunity to draw attention to the bigger social picture beyond our borders.
May this inspire you for the coming years !

the importance of an international perspective

 "Whether we like it or not the world is more globalised and we have to adapt to that." And: "seeing how things are done in a different country can really open your mind." Just two quotes taken from an article posted by the Guardian journalist Mary O'Hara in the Social Care section  here .
This week World Social Work day was celebrated around the globe. It also prompted a flurry of posts and articles on the web. This particular article caught my eye: it focused on the benefits of an exchange programme between social work students from Northern Ireland and their counterparts in India. Especially, the stress that was placed on global professional development struck a chord with me.
As a university of applied sciences educating the future workforce it is crucial that students are well prepared for a global society once they enter the labour market.
"Within social work, it is particularly important to try and understand other contexts as the social work project is one with a global vision. When we do not engage with others, we become trapped in our own ways of thinking." Another quote and how true !
Learning how issues and problems in social work can be tackled and resolved by different interventions around the world can open up new perspectives. "The reality is that [in social work] you can no longer work in your own little world," say academics Janet Carter Anand and Chaitali Das from Queens University, Belfast, the driving forces behind the exchange programme. "Social workers need to be comfortable with diversity and also be able to deal with uncertainty."
International exchanges where students observe everyday social work practices in other countries for one or two weeks have distinct benefits. "Once students are taken out of their own environment they begin to examine their assumptions about social work." This is an essential step, it is the start of true critical reflection. Naturally, there are other ways of attaining such a much-needed international outlook, but going on an international exchange is a particularly enriching and effective way: it provides hands-on experience, face-to-face contacts, opportunities for sharing thoughts and surprises, for developing international competences but above all an unforgettable experience."  There is such a lot to be learned from studying and discussing the various responses to different problems (or different degrees of problems in other countries). This practice (not yet fully integrated in the social work curriculum in Belfast) instills an "internationalist" view of social work that is going to be essential in the future, as one of the participants in the programme stated.