KNOXVILLE –- Poverty, war, migration, human rights violations, homelessness, natural and man-made disasters, HIV-AIDS and war.
There’s a long list of problems facing children and adolescents today, and human service workers now must be prepared to deal with more than ever before.
Recognizing this, the Office of the Chancellor, the College of Social Work, the Department of Child and Family Studies and the Center for the International Study of Youth and Political Violence of the University of Tennessee is hosting a workshop called “Promoting International Work Initiatives Targeting Children and Adolescents: Populations at Risk,” from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on April 24 at the University Club, 2705 Kingston Pike.
Open to faculty of all disciplines, as well as the public on a space-available basis, workshop sessions will focus on international relationship building, values and ethics for international practice, culturally relevant practice skills, technology transfer to diverse cultures, and overcoming obstacles to implement projects in diverse cultures/countries.
The workshop will give participants the chance to interact with international child welfare experts:
* Robert Blum of Johns Hopkins University will share insights he gathered from working with the World Health Organization (WHO). Blum is now studying children in Vietnam. Blum has served as the U.S. WHO representative on adolescent health and also has served as a consultant to the Pan American Health Organization, World Bank and UNICEF. He has chaired the Alan Guttmacher Institute board of directors and was president of the Society for Adolescent Medicine. He also chaired the National Academy of Sciences’ Committee on Adolescent Health and Development from 2001-2005.
* Neil Boothby of Columbia University will talk about working with Save the Children Federation on behalf of youth affected by violence in Africa and elsewhere. Boothby’s work has focused on the impact of war and political violence on the development of children and the subsequent humanitarian response, as well as
international human rights and protection measures. Currently director of Children in Crisis: High Impact Programs, a partnership between Save the Children and Columbia, Boothby previously led programs at Duke University and Johns Hopkins University.
* William Rowe, director of the School of Social Work at the University of South Florida, will discuss developing education, peace, welfare and child care initiatives in Canada, Indonesia, Israel and Palestine. Currently the principal investigator for a large-scale project with at-risk adolescents in inner-city Tampa, Rowe specializes in the effects of war, deprivation and disaster on children and adolescents.
The workshop is being funded as part of UT’s Quality Enhancement Plan, a goal to turn out more globally educated students.
Registration is free, but space is limited. Register by calling Karla Edwards at 974-6693 or e-mailing kedwards@utk.edu
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Amy Blakely, (865) 974-5034, amy.blakely@tennessee.edu