25th April 2023
Front row: Aine Morrison, Marita Magennis, Colin Turbett, Rosemary Moreland, Fergal O’Brien
Back row: Darren Strawbridge, Karen Pedder, Mandy Cowden, Thomas Campbell, Anne Fitzpatrick, Daniel Quinn, Brenda Horgan
A major social work conference hosted by the Southern Trust was held at Craigavon Civic Centre recently.
The event, titled ‘Celebrating Community Development in Social Work – where to next?’ was a partnership between service users, community groups, the Department of Health, the Northern Ireland Social Care Council, Ulster University, Health Trusts and social workers from the community voluntary sector.
The conference was a celebration of community development in social work and was opened by Chief Social Worker Aine Morrison.
Guest speakers included Colin Turbett, a leading author on community social work and Karen Pedder and Anne Fitzpatrick from Community Social Work in Fife, Scotland. The latest in the Department of Health’s Reflections series on Social Work and Community Development in NI was also launched at the event.
Speaking at the conference, Assistant Director for Social Work Governance, Workforce Development and Training Marita Magennis said:
“This conference is an important opportunity to celebrate the growth of community development in social work, as evidenced through stories from people with lived experience and the community projects which have benefited from this approach.”
Chief Social Worker Aine Morrison opens the conference.