Join Us In Person for the Racial Equity in Social Work Conference on 8th March
LESS TALK, MORE ACTION
The Racial Equity in Social Work The NELTP Conference
8th march 2023
The North East London Social Work Teaching Partnership (NELTP) is excited to invite social work professionals from across the partnership to a full-day conference focusing on collaboratively eliminating inequality in social work career advancement.
LOCATION: University of East London, Docklands Campus, University Way, London, E16 2RD
DATE AND TIME: Wed, 8 March 2023, 10:30 am – 16:15 pm (registration begins at 10am)
REGISTRATION: Please ask your workforce lead or manager for more details. The event is free, but prior booking is essential to secure entry.
Aims of the Event:
- MAIN AIM: To collaboratively develop actions as part of a common framework local authorities can utilize to address the identified issues.
- To disseminate the research findings. Attendees will be provided opportunities to ask questions of the researchers.
- To update about the status and outcomes of relevant initiatives undertaken by local authorities and universities.
- To deliver workshops in association with particular progression barriers emerging from the research.
- To build capacity to collaboratively resolve complex issues and initiate dialogue on how follow-up steps should be embedded in broader planning.
Participate, Collaborate, Co-design
One ongoing issue pointed out by research participants was the lack of apparent and sustainable action. Therefore, it appears all the more important to place the development of meaningful actions at the heart of the event and not be limited to having open-ended conversations to interpret the causes or create a temporary, quick-fix solution.
Drawing on the results of the focus groups held by the research team, part of the conference will involve group workshops that capture the expertise and local knowledge in co-creation, co-ownership and co-evolution of recommendations for partner local authorities and universities.
The workshop will serve as a confidential space where people will be encouraged to share their ideas. Workshop participation will remain anonymous and no names of workshop participants will be shared with the local authorities.
Each workshop will run simultaneously and be repeated, allowing everyone to attend two workshops. Prior to the conference, you will be asked to choose two workshops.
1st Workshop: Notion of Troublemaker
In this workshop, we will explore the troublesome aspects of securing racial equity in career progression for professional members of minoritised communities. In particular, we will identify who are labelled “troublemakers” in Local Authorities, by whom, how, and why and consider what must be done about such career limiting labels.
2nd Workshop: Emotional Impact
This workshop will explore the unspoken burden of racialised emotional labour among minoritised social workers as they negotiate and navigate career progression. We will discuss the ways in which every day racialised workplace practices render minoritised social workers as exploited, underappreciated and invisible. The implications this has for people of colour will be considered.
3rd Workshop: Fork/End of the Road
The Fork/End of the Road workshop will explore the concept of ‘I have survived’. Narratives from ‘minoritised social workers’ accounts on how they have survived in their organisations against a backdrop of lack of recognition, consequently no career progression. Join us to address how these voices can be heard and actioned.
4th Workshop: Notion of Change
In this workshop, the group will discuss and work to establish what form ‘allyship’ can take to provide authentic support and lead to practice that cultivates belonging. Most importantly, it will involve listening, self-reflection and addressing how the responsibility for change is often placed on individuals rather than held collectively.