In the fall of 2017, the College successfully ran its eighth series of Educational Forums in Sudbury and Kitchener.
The Educational Forums included a College update, keynote address and buffet lunch. The events provided learning and networking opportunities for members as well as local social work and social service work students.
Part of the Glenda McDonald Educational Series, the Educational Forums began in response to members who wanted to stay connected to the College but were unable to attend the Annual Meeting and Education Day (AMED) in Toronto. The objectives of the forums are to give members an opportunity to:
- Touch base with the College.
- Learn valuable skills to help them in their practice.
- Network with colleagues and make new contacts.
The Educational Forums increase the College’s visibility with, and connection to, its membership.
Sudbury Educational Forum
On October 19th, approximately 70 members and students came to participate in the Sudbury Education Forum.
Keynote speaker Steven Solomon, MSW, PhD, RSW presented on the prevalence of homophobic name calling in middle schools and its interlocking relationship to sexist language. In his presentation, entitled “As Common as Saying Hello” – Middle School Students’ Perceptions of Homophobic Language – What I know so far…, Steven offered insights and strategies for addressing anti-gay language among children and youth.
Steven’s presentation in Sudbury was beneficial to attendees and extremely well-received. An attendee had the following to say about Steven’s presentation:
“I found his research – and his personal life experience – to be quite interesting and informative!”
Kitchener Educational Forum
The Kitchener Educational Forum was held on October 26th, 2017. The event was very popular for both members and students, with a total of 102 attendees.
David Burnes, MSW, PhD, RSW gave the keynote address. His presentation, Elder Mistreatment: What Does It Mean? How Should I Respond To It?, provided current knowledge about elder mistreatment, including an understanding of its meaning, prevalence and risk factors.
David presented a conceptual practice model to help social workers and social service workers think about how to assist victims of elder mistreatment. Those who responded to the post-event survey agreed that David’s presentation was extremely valuable.
Educational Forums helpful in fulfilling CCP learning goals
The post-event survey results showed that almost 70% of members found the forums to be helpful in fulfilling their Continuing Competence Program (CCP) learning goals.
A member wrote: “It gives me great pleasure to attend these events and recognize more deeply the value of social work and the need for lifelong education in the field. I appreciate learning about broad problems/populations/solutions etc. and sometimes things can be generalized. I value learning for learning as well as practical application.”
Thank you
The College would like to thank all those who participated in the Sudbury and Kitchener events. We extend a special thank you to our keynote speakers, Steven Solomon, MSW, PhD, RSW and David Burnes, MSW, PhD, RSW.
We look forward to connecting with members at new locations in 2018.