Chief of Mission of Expertise France, TELEMA Project
Hokenstad International Lecture—Saturday, November 6
From Principle to Action: Promoting Equality in Drastically Unequal Societies
One of the pillars of the social work profession is the principle of equality. Thus, social workers and social work educators are firmly engaged in the reduction, if not eradication, of inequalities, frequently at the micro level. However, this work most often occurs in the context of societies in which disparities between groups and communities are structurally supported and maintained. This hard reality limits the effectiveness of efforts to make the principle of equality a reality. This lecture will present a novel approach that seeks to overcome these challenges through sustained action at multiple levels within a society, including the public and private sectors, community leaders, and key actors in the national and international arenas. The presentation will include transformative experiences currently underway to empower individuals and communities and build capacity on a large scale in the Republic of Congo.
About the Speaker
Dr. Abye Tasse is chief of mission of expertise France for the TELEMA Project in the Republic of Congo. He has more than 30 years of experience in social work education and practice, primarily in Europe and Africa. He has conducted research and published extensively in the areas of migration and social work, transformative social work education, practices to achieve the eradication of poverty, and the empowerment and capacity building of social work education programs. For two decades Dr. Tasse has been engaged in the design and implementation of innovation programs to structure and promote social work education in France, Ethiopia, Mauritania, Cameroon, Comoros, and the Republic of Congo. He is the first person of non-Western origin to hold the position of president of the International Association of Schools of Social Work (2004–2008). He presently serves as coordinator of the development of the Global Agenda 2020–2030 for Social Work and Social Development.