On February 28, 2011, the Georgian Association of Social Workers held a conference in the Ambassadori Hotel to summarize the project – ‘Improving Civil Dialogue for the Development of Social Work’. The project aimed to increase the efficiency of the public policy through increased envolvement of civil society. The conference, which was held with the support from the Open Society Georgia Foundation (OSGF), brought together social workers, representatives of public and non-governmental sector working in the the field and representatives of higher educational institutions. Irakli Nadareishvili, the Deputy Minister of Labor, Health and Social Affairs, Giorgi Tughushi, the Public Defender, and Andro Gigauri, head of the administration of the Justice Ministry, talked about the importance of a social worker’s role.
Salome Namicheishvili and Nino Shatberashvili, representatives of the Georgian Association of Social Workers, unveiled the situational analysis of social work and a handbook – ‘Social Work and Social Advocacy’ – prepared as part of the project.
The Georgian Association of Social Workers is a professional association, which has most of social workers working in Georgia among its members. One of the key aims of the organization is to foster the development of the profession of a social worker in different fields and sectors in order to ensure citizens’ welfare, said Salome Namicheishvili, head of the association.
The network set up at the initiative of the association provides platform for the discussion of various social issues between the public and non-governmental sector. The network is represented by 22 non-governmental organizations working in the following fields: child protection, harm reduction, protection of women against violence, mental health and limited abilities, torture and human rights, protection of elderly people, social protection and professional development.
As part of the project, around 190 social workers both from the public and non-governmental sectors were trained in social advocacy issues.
Working meetings dedicated to the following topics were also held during the conference: the protection of rights of people with limited abilities and social workers; the protection of the rights of elderly people and social workers. Moreover, the draft document of social work ethics was considered.
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