Author: Hong Lumin Time: June 5, 2024

The 2024 Asian & Pacific Islander Social Work Educators Association International Annual Conference (APISWEA IAC) was held in Chengdu, from May 31 to June 3 2024. With the theme of “Translating Evidence into Practice”, the conference aims to bring together experts and scholars in the field of social work from all over the world to discuss and research on social work development, professional growth, educational advancement, and research cooperation in the Asian & Pacific islander region, especially in China, and to further promote the innovation of knowledge and the development of social work in the Asia-Pacific region through cross-cultural and interdisciplinary exchanges and cooperation.

The conference was hosted by the Asian & Pacific Islander Social Work Educators Association (APSWE), organized by Chengdu Co-Interest Social Enterprise Certification Center, and co-sponsored by six journals, including China Social Work, Social Work, Social Construction, and more than ten organizations. The conference attracted the participation of more than 100 organizations from 17 countries, more than 80 universities and more than 20 social work organizations. The conference had 21 thematic forums , on topics ranging from professionalization of social work, social work education, social work practice and internship teaching in Asia Pacific, community development and social governance, aging, children and youth, health and mental health, social welfare and social policy, to corporate social policy, financial social work, judicial social work, school social work, social work cooperation and exchange under the Belt and Road Initiative, international dialogue on social work in the Asia-Pacific Region, international forum for young social workers. More than 400 participants attended the conference, sharing research results and exchanging practical experiences. JUFE was one of the sponsors of the conference, and sent three teachers, i.e. Associate Prof. Hong Lumin, Dr. Wu Yang and Dr. He Jiaolong, to participate in this event.

▲Main Conference Hall

▲JUFE was one of the sponsors for the conference

At the beginning of the conference, Prof. Xiong Yuegen, the Distinguished Professor of JUFE school of Humanities and Professor of the Department of Sociology of Peking University, acted as the moderator of the Keynote Speaking 1 session. Under his wonderful hosting, Prof. Halaevalu Vakalahi, the President of the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE), firstly made an opening speech. Prof. Elizabeth Lightfoot, Director and Distinguished Professor of Social Policy at the Arizona State University (ASU) School of Social Work, the Fellow of the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare (AASW), and Prof. Evaon Wong, the Dean of College of Health Sciences at Samuel Merritt University (SMU) , the immediate Past President of Asian Pacific Islander Social Work Educators Council, and Prof. Philip Hong, the Dean of University of Georgia School of Social Work, delivered the keynote speeches.

▲Moderated by Prof. Xiong Yuegen

In the Oral Presentation Session, Dr. Wu Yang and Dr. He Jiaolong's paper“Cross-district Spread Pattern of COVID-19 and Increased Confirmed Cases in the United States”, and Associate Professor Hong Lumin's paper “Practice Dilemma and Way Forward for Corporate Social Work in the Pearl River Delta”were fully exchanged in the sub-forum.

▲Sub-forum Reports

At the same time, Dr. Hong Lumin also introduced in detail the history and achievements of our social work program in the Corporate Social Work sub-forum to expand the good reputation and positive influence of the social work program of JUFE in the academic community.

▲Dr. Hong Lumin's lecture on the social work program of JUFE

During the Exhitition Session, our faculty members also actively introduced the characteristics of Social Work, Sociology and other disciplines and specialties, teaching and research achievements as well as social services of School of Humanities of JUFE to the participants, and presented them with accompanying gifts printed with the Logo of JUFE School of Humanities, which further deepened the participants' understanding and impression of our school.

▲Our faculty members and the conference chairman, Dr. Wu Shiyou, promoted JUFE School of Humanities to the participants (from left to right: Hong Lumin, He Jiaolong, Wu Yang, Wu Shiyou)

The conference also arranged a special study tour and research on community governance and social work in Chengdu City, and our teacher Hong Lumin participated in the activities to learn the governance practices experiences of Chengdu City, which are guiding social organizations and community social enterprises to participate in embedded services in the community, establishing and improving the coordination mechanism of grassroots governance led by the Party, and focusing on cracking the outstanding grass-roots governance “small horse-drawn carts” problems, effectively reducing the burden for the grassroots, and promoting new progress in Party building-led grassroots governance.

▲Participants visited Chengdu Qingbo Community

Overall, this conference not only provided a platform for the teachers in JUFE School of Humanities to show their achievements in schooling and scientific research, but also promoted their in-depth exchanges with the international social work community, strengthened their understanding of the international frontiers of the social work profession, broadened their international horizons, and accelerated the pace of the internationalization of our university. In the future, the School of Humanities will continue to strengthen communication and cooperation with domestic and foreign counterparts, promote the innovation and development of social work education, and contribute to the cultivation of more and better social work professionals.