10 “If not now, when?”: Reclaiming activism into social work education – the case of an intercultural student-academic project with refugees in the UK and Greece
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Sofia Dedotsi
Abstract
During the refugee crisis (2015–today), social workers have been in the frontline of a contradictory context of repressive migration policies and their value quest for anti-oppressive practice. This chapter will focus on social work education, discussing the need to undertake a more political and activist approach based on the critical and anti-oppressive values of the profession. The discussion is informed by a collaborative intercultural project between students and staff on migration, everyday bordering and (anti-)oppressive social work practices. The project involved MA social work students from a university in the North East of England, organising a series of events aimed at raising awareness and crowdfunding in relation to the refugee crisis. In addition to this a group of students and two lecturers went on a study trip to Athens, Greece, where they debated the concepts of human rights and social justice with frontline professionals, refugee activists and social work students to develop understandings of social work across international boundaries and contexts of practice. This experience was used as an opportunity for reflection, co-learning and anti-oppressive praxis by students and staff, revealing the thriving opportunity for social work education to be the space for activism and critical consciousness at local and (inter)national contexts.
Abstract
During the refugee crisis (2015–today), social workers have been in the frontline of a contradictory context of repressive migration policies and their value quest for anti-oppressive practice. This chapter will focus on social work education, discussing the need to undertake a more political and activist approach based on the critical and anti-oppressive values of the profession. The discussion is informed by a collaborative intercultural project between students and staff on migration, everyday bordering and (anti-)oppressive social work practices. The project involved MA social work students from a university in the North East of England, organising a series of events aimed at raising awareness and crowdfunding in relation to the refugee crisis. In addition to this a group of students and two lecturers went on a study trip to Athens, Greece, where they debated the concepts of human rights and social justice with frontline professionals, refugee activists and social work students to develop understandings of social work across international boundaries and contexts of practice. This experience was used as an opportunity for reflection, co-learning and anti-oppressive praxis by students and staff, revealing the thriving opportunity for social work education to be the space for activism and critical consciousness at local and (inter)national contexts.
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Front Matter i
- Contents vii
- List of figures ix
- Notes on contributors x
- Introduction 1
- The contribution of social work research to promote migration and asylum policies in Europe 5
- Participatory art in social work: from humanitarianism to humanisation of people on the move 25
- Grasping at straws: social work in reception and identification centres in Greece 47
- Migrant girls’ experiences of integration and social care in Sweden 64
- “Come to my house!”: Homing practices of children in Swiss asylum camps 80
- Transnational dynamics of family reunification: reassembling social work with refugees in Belgium 95
- Open or closed doors? Accessibility of Italian social work organisations towards ethnic minorities 112
- Refugee children and families in the Republic of Ireland: the response of social work 126
- Sense of place, migrant integration and social work 146
- “If not now, when?”: Reclaiming activism into social work education – the case of an intercultural student-academic project with refugees in the UK and Greece 161
- EU border migration policy and unaccompanied refugee minors in Greece: the example of Lesvos and Samos hotspots 177
- Epilogue: Time to listen, time to learn, time to challenge … because there is hope 198
- Index 201
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Front Matter i
- Contents vii
- List of figures ix
- Notes on contributors x
- Introduction 1
- The contribution of social work research to promote migration and asylum policies in Europe 5
- Participatory art in social work: from humanitarianism to humanisation of people on the move 25
- Grasping at straws: social work in reception and identification centres in Greece 47
- Migrant girls’ experiences of integration and social care in Sweden 64
- “Come to my house!”: Homing practices of children in Swiss asylum camps 80
- Transnational dynamics of family reunification: reassembling social work with refugees in Belgium 95
- Open or closed doors? Accessibility of Italian social work organisations towards ethnic minorities 112
- Refugee children and families in the Republic of Ireland: the response of social work 126
- Sense of place, migrant integration and social work 146
- “If not now, when?”: Reclaiming activism into social work education – the case of an intercultural student-academic project with refugees in the UK and Greece 161
- EU border migration policy and unaccompanied refugee minors in Greece: the example of Lesvos and Samos hotspots 177
- Epilogue: Time to listen, time to learn, time to challenge … because there is hope 198
- Index 201
