World Social Work Day

World Social Work Day Dr. Miguel Goede Dean SSBS 12 March 2010

Table of Content • School of Social and Behavioral Sciences • Five Years Ago • 2009 • Some Trends • Social Work Programs

LBHAM • “De Nederlandse Antillen en Curaçao in het bijzonder zijn ingrijpend aan het veranderen. Diverse maatschappelijke transformatieprocessen maken dat institutionele verbanden losser en minder verplichtend zijn geworden, zoals het geval is bij families, verenigingen, kerk en overheid. De legitimiteit van traditie en instituties nemen af, de individualisering en subjectivering nemen toe en dat leidt o.a. tot sociale fragmentatie. In een dergelijke samenleving die zich ingrijpend aan het veranderen is, strijden inhoudelijk tradities en modernisering om de voorrang.”

“The opening statement of the conference referred to a similar exercise in 1976 and mentioned the Werkgroep Intergarle Ontwikkeling. It was stated that too little has happened with the results of this former conference.”

“ Het toenemend aantal gezinnen in marginale situatie die wij als welzijnswerkers in onze dagelijkse praktijk tegenkomen baart ons zorgen” (Juliet-Pablo, 2005)

Research • “The University of the Netherlands Antilles must play a key role in the reflection part. There is a great need for research: not only quantitative, but also qualitative research, especially in the behavioral sciences.”

“Ik denk dat de universiteit als onderdeel van de 'civil society’ een voortrekkersrol is weggelegd. Onderzoek naar reele mogelijkheden voor integrale ontwikkeling levert kennis op waarmee vele leerprocessen in de samenleving op gang kunnen worden gebracht.” (L. Narain, 2005)

Juliette-Pablo • “Awe nos sa ku un intervenshon isola no ta yuda solushona un problema kompleho manera pobresa. E tempu aya akshon di karidat tabata e forma di yudansa. Debi na e kompleksidat di e problema no por tapa e herida aki ku un pleister mas. • E sra. no a logra kibra e kadena di dependensia, e ta depende di e onderstant i su estilo di biba ta basa riba su sirkunstansia di bida.”

“Redusi pobresa na Korsou ta ensera analisis mas profundo di struktura i sistemanan i kustumbernan lokal i global.”

Prof. Dirk Kruijt • We may conclude that Curacao has a underclass of poor households, mainly compromised of female headed household, strongly concentrated in around ten marginalised neighbourhoods. Teenage pregnancy and single parenthood, followed by school drop out (both of men and women) account for most of the poverty of the legal inhabitants. A relatively large contingent of poor semi – legal immigrants are also living in these shanty towns. • In 1998/99 and 2003/04 Reda Sosial, a pro poor Antillean investment and development fund, carried out diagnostic studies about the incidence of poverty in the Netherlands Antilles, especially Curacao (published as Reda Sosial 1999 and 2004). We present here the most important findings. Although Reda Sosial and other social funds did considerably improve the physical infrastructure of poor neighbourhoods, the poverty structure as such does not show significant changes.

The researchers identified nine vulnerable groups: • (1) unemployed and people on social benefit; • (2) people working in the informal sector; • (3) people with housing problems; • (4) female headed households with younger children; • (5) elderly people; • (6) drop – outs from school without a diploma; • (7) teenage mothers; • (8) immigrants; and • (9) drug addicts and alcoholics. • The Netherlands Antilles do not qualify as a developing country. Nonetheless the Antilles and Curacao have a problem of persistent poverty. In particular, incomes in

Jaslin U. Salmon, Ph.D. • “The causes of poverty are multifaceted. Poverty is caused by conditions of, social, economic and structural weaknesses in a society. From a layperson’s perspective, poverty is often viewed merely as personal deficiencies.”

“As pointed out earlier, poverty levels in Caribbean countries are unacceptably high. If the nations of the Caribbean are to experience sustainable development, and if poverty in the Caribbean is to be reduced and ultimately eradicated, there must be changes in five key areas, namely: • Conceptual • Institutional • Structural • Cultural • Educational”

Some Trends in Curacao • Structure of poverty has not changed • The field • Seniority of the professionals • Fragmentation of the field • Stagnation of developments • We need to integrate efforts in three domains • NGO’s • Government • Private sector

Master Social Work • Bachelor Social Work • Accredited!!! • Most significant development in the last 20 years in the area of Social Work in the Netherlands Antilles

Future Developments • Master Social Work • Bachelor Public Administration • Bachelor Communication Media and Journalism • The L-zone • IFE • Camabi • Academic hospital

www.sidsgg.com • www.miguelgoede.com • Presentations

World Social Work Day