Social Work Global Conference Report 2020

Facilitating Difficult Social Justice Conversations: Adopting and Utilizing African Concepts of Restorative Dialogue Drs. Wanja Ogongi, Ph.D., Mary Gitau, Ph.D., E. Kerubo Orwenyo, Ph.D., Millersville University School of Social Work Racial injustice conversations are often characterized by strong and powerful emotions and are approached ambivalently by most. Facilitating difficult social justice oriented conversations requires more than adopting politically correct “ woke ” terminology. The African concepts of restorative dialogue have been utilized to promote healing on the African continent for thousands of years, in situations that involve engaging in difficult conversations with a goal of healing and bringing reconciliation. This session will focus on a social justice healing circle the presenters have facilitated that is grounded on the African concepts of respect for humanness and worth of the person ( Ubuntu ), interconnectedness, interdependence, storytelling and importance of dialogue in facilitating healing and restoration. Presentation Overviews The Dilemma of Migration: Experiences of Independent Adolescent Migrants from Selected West African Countries Drs. Mavis Dako - Gyeke, Ph.D., Ernestina Korleki Dankyi, Ph.D., Richard Baffo Kodom, MPhil, Social Work & Alhassan Sulemana, University of Ghana, Department of Social Work While independent migration among adolescents is common in West Africa, it has not received much attention in research and policy. Guided by the neoclassical economics, new economics of labor and social networks theoretical perspectives, the study investigated the experiences of independent adolescent migrants from selected West African countries. Health inequities and their causes There is ample evidence that social factors, including education, employment status, income level, gender and ethnicity have a marked influence on how healthy a person is. In all countries – whether low - , middle - or high - income – there are wide disparities in the health status of different social groups. The lower an individual ’ s socio - economic position, the higher their risk of poor health. Health inequities are systematic differences in the health status of different population groups. These inequities have significant social and economic costs both to individuals and societies. This fact file looks at what health inequities are, provides examples and shows their cost to society. https://www.who.int/news - room/facts - in - pictures/detail/health - inequities - and - their - causes