STRENGTHS BASED
MANAGEMENT OF SOCIAL
CHANGE
WITH SPECIAL FOCUS ON
TRANSITION COUNTRIES
Sarajevo Conversations
2011
Sarajevo 16-18 SEPTEMBER
2011
Sarajevo the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina
shares a common heritage and a common history of
change within this European region that has affected
the lives of the people in many ways. Coping with
change has never been easy for individuals, groups,
communities and nations. The societies and nations
are expected to become resilient and meet the ever
going needs, aspirations, expectations of its people
while continuing to develop a future that is
peaceful and hope fulfilling.
This conference for the first time pilots and urges
the use of the metaphor of ‘the solution societies’
rather than ‘problem societies’ and offers a rather
modest but robust agenda around which a number of
papers, ideas and narratives from across the world
are invited. What would be known as the ‘Sarajevo
Conversations- 2011 will be the precursor for a
progressive conversation of positive people,
positive change and positive societies within the
region and elsewhere in the world.
We invite you to take part and
shape this event - This first International
Conference on Strengths Based Management of Social
Change to be held in Sarajevo, Bosnia and
Herzegovina, envisions productive discourse and
conversations around
·
Role of youth in national development
·
Entrepreneurship development
·
Corporate Social Responsibility
·
Governance and people strengthening practices
·
Volunteers for development
We are hoping that experts from around the world
would consider this as an opportunity to talk about
their work and participants would have opportunity
to learn and network for future development. The
Conference is set for transformational dialogue and
metalogue and to build a truly learning society. The
road that societies need to take to reach the ever
growing demands of its people for peaceful and hope
fulfilling, designs, structures, governance and
institutions is bound to be a phenomenal challenge.
Cutting the ties with processes of central control
in institutional politics, economics and people
governance and to move into empowering of
individuals, groups, communities, smaller
organizations and businesses, the conference
believes, is ripe with surmountable contests.
Successes stories and narrative accounts from around
the world, how some societies fared well and
continue to build supportive ethos to bring about
attitudinal change in the context of massive
changes that they have gone through, would be of
great interest to this conference. We believe such
accounts, papers academic and practiotioner
perspectives will generate parallel thinking and
assist in building a parallel processes for
collaborative working around the world.
How has the world responded so far?
How has the region responded so far?
The world of Transition Societies:
What strengths baaed accounts exist of transitions
around the world?
To understand best practice in transition, the
conference invites case studies from countries that
have transformed from previously distinctive
political orientations.
For example Nepal, Sri Lanka and Malaysia in Asia,
Turkey Middle East and parts of Africa have a
boutique of ideas to showcase some important strides
amidst the political changes and continuing social
impacts. Similarly countries like India, Australia,
to name a few have demonstrated experience of how
they fared the global recession at individual and
group levels as businesses did not give up but
flourished even during the global recession. How do
they do it?
The Conference believes that central to the process
of development in all societies is its youth that
takes pride in their nations and their immediate
environment. A culture that allows for enterprising
young adults to partake in the economic processes
and a country and its leadership interested in
empowering these processes.
Conference Sub themes
Given a variety of approaches to management of
social change and nation building, papers around
transformational change at the level of individuals,
groups, and the collective psyche; moving from
resilience to hope building and reviewing practicing
skills to enhance in each of these areas are central
to the themes of this conference.
This conference clearly is an opportunity for
addressing them from a number of perspectives.
Viewed from a Strengths based practices SbPs,
presentations at the conference will focus on the
inherent strengths of individuals, groups and
organizations. We are looking for empowering
alternatives to traditional methods with
individuals, group or organizational work. We wish
to see strategies that facilitate change by
assisting to look at / what has worked? What does
not work? And what might work presently making it
important for those who facilitate and those
desiring change to be integral to this process of
change.
Some of the illustrative topics are listed below:
-
Cross-cultural patterns of transformational
change management building and working with
resilience;
-
Dealing trends and changes in demographics
within regions due to transmigration; skilled
migration; Alternate developments;
consolidation of Human Resources for national
development
-
Entrepreneurship development; small and medium
business leadership development
-
Mentoring the youth; building tomorrows
leadership in all spheres of nation building;
-
Interventions in the youth sector human services
sector, social care, the soft sector vulnerable
sections, marginalized populations; children;
gender issues; youth and frail aged in adverse
circumstances
-
Best practices in helping individuals in
crisis; in empowering communities facing crisis
and disasters; Asset-based community development
-
Evidence based management of Public and
Corporate services; creating efficient user pay
systems
Indigenous people and heritage enterprises;
strengthening resilience through e-communities and
use of information technology
Who will be at the conference?
The range of applied, clinical, scientific, legal,
social, managerial and practice and policy issues
that will be addressed in the conference program
make it directly relevant to a whole range of people
that include managers, project managers, CEOs in the
corporate and the government on one hand and the
Management academies, Universities, management
students, managers, psychologists, psychiatrists,
social workers, rehabilitation consultants, and
psychotherapists, Health and medical specialists;
cultural anthropologists, youth workers, NGO
activists, community and humanitarian workers;
spiritual leaders; emergency service and disaster
workers, defense, police; justice and legal
professionals, policy makers and finally media of
Television and Print that as high potential for
bringing about attitudinal change in the society.
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Brisbane Institute is supported in this endeavour by
Ausaid under its ISSS scheme.
www.ausaid.gov.au |
Conference Patron
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The Bosnia and Herzegovina
Presidency member Zeljko Komsic is the
patron of the Sarajevo Conversation 2011 Conference, and
has expressed his pleasure and keenness to have this
Conference in the Capital City of B&H, Sarajevo. |
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Endorsements
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UNSA - University of Sarajevo
endorses the conference.
The Conference will be held in the
premises of the Rectorate of the University of
Sarajevo |
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"The regional mental health non-governmental
organization Society for Psychological Assistance
(SPA), based in Zagreb, Croatia endorses the
conference".
http://www.dpp.hr |
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Carers Australia is the national peak
body representing carers in Australia.
Carers Northern Territory |
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Municipality Centar -
http://www.centar.ba/?jezik=bos |
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"The pivotal resilience and hope
building non-governmental organisation that works
with indigenous communities - particularly the
stolen generation of the Australian Aboriginal
Communities endorses the conference"
www.stolengenerationsvictoria.org.au |
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The Bosnian
Community Center for Resource Development
(BCCRD, Inc.)
A nonprofit agency created in 1998 by
a group of former -Yugoslavs and Americans to
provide culturally and linguistically appropriate
services to the 7,000 to 8,000 refugees from the
former Yugoslavia who have resettled in the greater
Boston metropolitan area.
http://www.bccrd.org/
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The support provided by the team at
the Brisbane Institute of Strengths Based Practice
has been invaluable and we hope to maintain a
positive relationship with them into the future.
Kamal Touma MD FACPsyMed, FAChSHM. Chief Editor
–
www.PsycheVisual.com |
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The Nepal School of Social Work -
nurturing social workers to create a just society -
in Nepal (a joint venture of Kadambari Memorial
College, Nepal College of Development Studies and
Tulsi Mehar Memorial College), Shankamul, Ganesh
Marg, Kathmandu, Nepal.
www.nepalschoolofsocialwork.org |
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International Advisory Committee
(Program and Organisation)
Dr. Piotr Salustowicz,
Professor at the University of
Applied Sciences, Bielefeld, Germany
and Professor at the Warsaw School
of Social Sciences and Humanities,
University of Warsaw.
Goran
Bubalo,
Project Director at Catholic
Relief Services (CRS), Bosnia and
Herzegovina.
Aunty Lorraine Peeters,
Indigenous elder, Australia,
Managing Director, Marumali
Dr Dora Marinova,
Professor of Sustainability Curtin
University Sustainability Policy
(CUSP) Institute, WA
Dr. Margaret McKenzie,
Head of Department -
Department of Social Work and
Community Development
University of Otago, New Zealand
Dr Dean Ajdukovic,
Professor of Psychology, Department
of Psychology and Head of the Chair
of Social Psychology, University of
Zagreb, Croatia
Dr Susan Young,
Discipline Chair,
Social Work and Social Policy,
University of Western Australia
Mrs. Senada Softic Telalovic,
World Congress of Bosnian Diaspora
Dr Michael Clark,
Director, Center for Strength-Based
Strategies, USA
Pamela Trotman, Member AASW
Northern Territory, Australia
John Dommett,
CEO, Connecting Home Organisation,
Victoria, Australia
Dr Bala Raju Nikku,
Director, Nepal School of Social
Work, Nepal
Jasna Zecevic,
Director, Vive Žene, Tuzla, BiH
Prof. Ranaweera Amaravamsa,
Head of Department of Social Work,
National Institute of Social
Development, Colombo, Sri Lanka
Dr Marina Ajdukovic,
Professor, Department of Social
Work, Faculty of Law University of
Zagreb
Richard Hill,
Director, MindScience Institute.,
Australia
Prof Lesley Chenoweth,
School of Human Services & Social
Work ,
Griffith University, Australia
Dr Mercuito. M. Motshedi,
School of Social Sciences
North West University (Mafikeng
Campus), South Africa
Dr. Sarah Buila,
Program Director and Assistant
Professor, School of Social Work,
Southern Illinois University
Carbondale, USA
Dr Dinka Corkalo,
Professor of Psychology, Department
of Psychology, Faculty of Humanities
and Social Sciences, University of
Zagreb,
Croatia
Carol
Tosone,
Associate Professor of Social Work,
New York University
carol.tosone@nyu.edu
Peter Binyon,
President, Brisbane Institute of
Strengths Based Practice
Stefan
Bakaj, Member, Brisbane
Institute of Strengths Based
Practice
advisory committee
s.bakaj@strengthsbasedpractice.com.au
Dr Venkat Pulla,
Director of the Conference
conference@strengthsbasedpractice.com.au
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Youth Advisory Committee!
Nensi Hadzic -
Faculty of Psychology, University of
Sarajevo
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Local Organising Committee
and
Logistics
Prim.
Dr. Narcisa Kamberovic,
Psychiatrist -
Chairperson Local Organisation
Asim
Sahinpasic and Dubravko Jeremic -
NGO
Bukovina i Hrastovina Inc -
Deputy
Chairpersons Local
Organisation
Dragan
Bombek -
Brisbane Institute of
Strengths Based Practice - Logistics
Coordination
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