Social justice has no language barrier
Daniel Jerez
Issue date: 9/24/07 Section: Features
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Media Credit: Daniel JerezThe delegation of Mexican social workers, organizers and their UIC hosts ? including Dean Finney Hairston ? posed to document their discussion.
The National Association of Social Work, as one of the highlights to their social worker exchange program, selected the Jane Adams College of Social Work as a point of interest on Tuesday.
The NASW program invites social workers from various Latin American countries and South Africa to come to Chicago while sending Chicagoan social workers to other countries. The goal of the program is to allow both parties to see what are the successful practices in the various programs throughout the world in order to form a collective effort, the result of which will be to provide the best possible social services.
Javen Owens, who organized the visit, stressed the importance of programs like the social worker exchange which help agencies do a better job of serving their communities. He is also proud of the Illinois chapter.
"It's very unique. It's the only chapter that has a program like this," said Owen. Owen mentioned that it was because of the reputation the JACSW has that it was selected.
The delegation Owens invited was from various agencies and professions in Mexico City. The delegation included several professors from The National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), a psychologist, two federal social workers, a state social worker and a private sector worker.
The Jane Adams College of Social Work took the opportunity to host the event to share with the delegation what it is that separates this program from the rest of the country.
Dean Creasie Finney Hairston tried to make the delegation feel as comfortable as possible, "I've been working on my Spanish. While I am not good enough to conduct the entire presentation in Spanish, I do have some slides that I want to read in Spanish."
While the delegation members all understood English, the gesture was well received and appreciated.
After Dean Finney Hairston highlighted the various components of the college of social work, Associate Dean Faith Johnson Bonecutter provided the delegation with specifics.
While most of the dialogue occurred through the help of a translator, the two parties were able to share a meaningful discussion.
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The NASW program invites social workers from various Latin American countries and South Africa to come to Chicago while sending Chicagoan social workers to other countries. The goal of the program is to allow both parties to see what are the successful practices in the various programs throughout the world in order to form a collective effort, the result of which will be to provide the best possible social services.
Javen Owens, who organized the visit, stressed the importance of programs like the social worker exchange which help agencies do a better job of serving their communities. He is also proud of the Illinois chapter.
"It's very unique. It's the only chapter that has a program like this," said Owen. Owen mentioned that it was because of the reputation the JACSW has that it was selected.
The delegation Owens invited was from various agencies and professions in Mexico City. The delegation included several professors from The National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), a psychologist, two federal social workers, a state social worker and a private sector worker.
The Jane Adams College of Social Work took the opportunity to host the event to share with the delegation what it is that separates this program from the rest of the country.
Dean Creasie Finney Hairston tried to make the delegation feel as comfortable as possible, "I've been working on my Spanish. While I am not good enough to conduct the entire presentation in Spanish, I do have some slides that I want to read in Spanish."
While the delegation members all understood English, the gesture was well received and appreciated.
After Dean Finney Hairston highlighted the various components of the college of social work, Associate Dean Faith Johnson Bonecutter provided the delegation with specifics.
While most of the dialogue occurred through the help of a translator, the two parties were able to share a meaningful discussion.
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