The Social Protection Ministry in collaboration with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the University of Guyana (UG), and the Association of Social Workers on Wednesday held a grand launch of a conference at the Arthur Chung Convention Centre, Liliendaal, Greater Georgetown, to promote and bring recognition to social workers, practitioners and educators in Guyana.
With the theme “Standards for Professional and Social Work Practices”, the initiative was launched with the aim of regularising and standardising social work practices in Guyana.
A section of the gathering of the Social workers conference at the Arthur Chung Convention Centre, Liliendaal, Greater Georgetown,
The conference is set to be held for two days and hopes to see a massive turn out, not only from the social workers but from the general public and those that have a keen interest in promoting the event.
The momentous activity has been in the works for the past year after the Social Protection Ministry collaborated with stakeholders to regularise and bring recognition to the body of social workers in Guyana who make up a substantive percentage of the Ministry’s work force.
At the conference, a clear list of all the standard operating procedures which are critical to the smooth running and success of any organisation will be provided.
In attendance at the affair was the Prime Minister’s wife, Sita Nagamootoo, Vice Chancellor of the UG, Dr Ivelaw Griffith, UNICEF representative Marianne Flach and the Social Protection Minister Volda Lawrence.
Delivering the feature address, the Minister said that social workers in Guyana are replete with a vast array of talents, however, all stakeholders have been operating for too long without any comprehensive model to guide and channel the services that they provide to their clients.
“Our world has been advancing by leaps and bounds, technologically, socially and otherwise and it is only fitting that we in Guyana make efforts to catch up and keep abreast with global standards and practices,” the Minister noted, adding that this is what the conference hopes to achieve such.
Lawrence revealed that the Social Protection Ministry has envisioned betterment for professional social workers and social work practice in Guyana, hence the timely hosting of the conference.
The Minister noted that social workers deserve to be duly recognised for the services that they provide and once standardisation is accomplished, the Ministry wants to direct their thoughts to the objective of the conference so that all can focus on a plan of action.
Also speaking at the conference, UG Vice Chancellor, Dr Griffith applauded the organisers of the conference for executing it successfully.
He noted that by hosting the conference, it will begin to build a platform for standards. “Any conversation about standards though needs to begin with values that will guide those standards,” he noted.
UNICEF representative, Marianne Flach revealed UNICEF’s delight in supporting the delivery of the conference as part of their continuous engagement with the Government of Guyana particularly the Social Protection Ministry.
The organisation commended all involved in making the conference a success. The second and final day of the conference kicks off today at the same venue.
