UNICEF Sponsors First National Seminar on Social WorkSeminar “first step” in strengthening social work services in Myanmar YANGON, 08 November 2005 – Today UNICEF and the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement launched the first-ever National Seminar on Social Work and Child Protection held in Myanmar. Participants include staff from government ministries, community-based organisations, national and international NGOs and UN Agencies. This seminar will provide an opportunity for attendees to learn more about the field of social work, and explore means of developing social work education and strengthening social work as a profession in Myanmar. “As in other countries around the world, there are children in Myanmar who are particularly vulnerable to abuse or exploitation because they live without adequate parental care or have been separated from their families,” said UNICEF Representative in Myanmar Carroll C. Long. “Social welfare systems staffed with qualified social workers can play a crucial role in protecting these children from abuse and exploitation. This week’s seminar is an important first step in our collective work to develop more comprehensive social work services in Myanmar in the future,” she added. Ten international experts and resource persons will provide global and regional perspectives on social work, and participants will explore the current situation of social work in Myanmar. The seminar will also result in a set of recommended strategies to strengthen community-based social work responses to protect vulnerable children. “The protection of children from abuse, exploitation and neglect starts with families, but also involves children themselves, their communities, society and the State,” said UNICEF Representative Carroll C. Long. “Social workers, along with health workers, teachers, correctional officers and community-based organizations, all have important roles to play in protecting children in their homes and communities.” Following the seminar, UNICEF will be supporting the development of a university-level curriculum in social work, and providing technical and financial support for community-based social work and child protection networks. ************* The Convention on the Rights of the Child provides that all children have the right to be protected from abuse, exploitation and neglect. Myanmar ratified the CRC in 1991. *************
UNICEF Sponsors First National Seminar on Social Work |
