EZA seminar “Social Dialogue as a Precondition for Social Work Professionalization in the Baltic States”.

In May 26-27, 2016, an annual international EZA Seminar “Social Dialogue as a Precondition for Social Work Professionalization in the Baltic States” was held at Latvian Christian academy (supported by EC). The goal of the Seminar – in times when the paradigm of social work undergoes changes it is necessary to sketch more precisely borders of social work professional identity and to interface tasks of social work with guidelines of strategy “Europe-2020” in innovative way. Among participants there were well-known experts, key people from EZA – H.Metzger, Vice-president of EZA; experts J.Herudek and B.Machiels; former President of EZA Leo Pauwels, former Secretary General of EZA Roswitha Gottbehut; also participants from other Baltic States – prof. Elvyra Aciene and prof. Indre Dirgeliene (Klaipeda University, Lithuania), Egge Kulbok-Lattik (Tartu University, Estonia), specialists from Latvia – Aija Barča, Chairperson of Social and Employment Affairs Committee of National Parliament; Pēteris Krīgers, President of LBAS; Baiba Rivža, Academician of Latvian Academy of Sciences; Mārtiņš Moors, Head of Social administration, dep. director of Welfare dept. of Riga Council; Ilze Skrodele-Dubrovska. Dep. director of Dept. of Social inclusion and social work policy of the Ministry of Welfare; Ivars Indāns, Latvian Seconded National expert at the EC European External Action Service. Participants also visited NGO “Riga city Child of Care“.