{"id":52958,"date":"2026-11-04T09:49:46","date_gmt":"2026-11-04T08:49:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thh-friedensau.de\/online-international-colloquium-on-social-transformation-strengthens-interdisciplinary-dialogue\/"},"modified":"2026-11-04T10:13:08","modified_gmt":"2026-11-04T09:13:08","slug":"online-international-colloquium-on-social-transformation-strengthens-interdisciplinary-dialogue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thh-friedensau.de\/en\/online-international-colloquium-on-social-transformation-strengthens-interdisciplinary-dialogue\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Online International Colloquium"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column width=\"2\/3\"][vc_column_text]On 19 October 2026 the Faculty of Social Sciences at Friedensau Adventist University successfully hosted a one-day online international colloquium on the topic: \u201cSocial Transformation: Interdisciplinary Dialogues in Social Work and Development Studies.\u201d The colloquium was organized in cooperation with the Department of Social Work at Babcock University, Nigeria, as well as the Faculty of Social Sciences at Bugema University, Uganda. The event attracted over 240 participants from the sister institutions and their networks across Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and the Caribbean.<\/p>\n

The leadership of the three organizing institutions graced the event with opening remarks by Prof. Dr. Masiko Israel Kafeero Vice Chancellor, Bugema University, Prof. Gerald A. Klingbeil, Rector, Friedensau Adventist University, and Prof. Afolarin Olatunde Ojewole President\/Vice Chancellor, Babcock University. The University leaders expressed appreciation for the collaboration and advocated for more of such collaborative initiatives.<\/p>\n

After the short, warm opening addresses, Dr Annette Witherspoon of Friedensau Adventist University set the tone of the event with a keynote: Interdisciplinary Dialogues for Social Transformation. Dr Witherspoon posited, \u201cThe relationship between social work and development studies is not simply an institutional arrangement, a curricular innovation, or a research strategy. It is an intellectual necessity. And perhaps even more fundamentally, it is an ethical practice of dialogue.\u201d<\/p>\n

Emphasizing the need for the disciplines to remain in dialogue, \u201cnot for social work to become development studies, nor for development studies to become social work\u201d, but that they cultivate the capacity to remain intellectually hospitable to one another, appreciating the unique contributions of each field to the attainment of social transformation. This invitation framed the discussion throughout the day.<\/p>\n

What followed was an insightful series of presentations that flowed back and forth between micro- and structural-level concerns. Researchers from presented insights into citizen journalism and how it is shaping household livelihoods in Kampala; Nigerian Social Workers confronting climate change as a core professional challenge; the reality of immobility inside Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya; and the existing gaps between development programmes and social work practice in Nigeria.<\/p>\n

The afternoon\u2019s contributions delved into the strengths of qualitative research as a useful tool for redirecting focus on people\u2019s lived realities and everyday encounters with structural forces that impede or promote social transformation. The presentations highlighted the diverse socio-cultural landscape in which Nigerian social work operates and framed that diversity as a resource; a discussion on the long-term human cost of a hydroelectric dam project in Ghana focused on the hidden cost of development and where social work could support.<\/p>\n

The final research paper presented, \u201cCOVID-19 in a Foreign Country\u201d, explored the challenges and opportunities for international students at the University of Ghana during lockdown.<\/p>\n

The final research paper presented, \u201cCOVID-19 in a Foreign Country\u201d, explored the challenges and opportunities for international students at the University of Ghana during lockdown.<\/p>\n

The discussion repeatedly returned to the practical question: How can looking beyond disciplinary boundaries enrich our research and practice for social transformation? The open floor and exchange between colleagues from Germany, Nigeria, Uganda, and beyond created a true sense of shared purpose rather than just academic formality.<\/p>\n

Friedensau Adventist University is proud to have hosted this fruitful online gathering, and looks forward to deepening the partnership and exchange with Babcock University and Bugema University through future academic exchanges, joint research and soon, sending our first cohort of BA International Social Work students for an exchange semester.<\/p>\n

Text: Daniel Mihajlovic.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=\"1\/3\"][vc_customSingleimage ct_image=\"52962\"]Screenshot: FAU | Daniel Mihajlovic[\/vc_customSingleimage][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column width=”2\/3″][vc_column_text]On 19 October 2026 the Faculty of Social Sciences at Friedensau Adventist University successfully hosted a one-day online international colloquium on the topic: \u201cSocial Transformation: Interdisciplinary Dialogues in Social Work and Development Studies.\u201d The colloquium was organized in cooperation with the Department of Social Work at Babcock University, Nigeria, as well as the Faculty […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":52962,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[165,167,3],"tags":[],"coauthors":[20],"class_list":["post-52958","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-events-en","category-sozialwesen-en","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thh-friedensau.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52958","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thh-friedensau.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thh-friedensau.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thh-friedensau.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thh-friedensau.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52958"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.thh-friedensau.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52958\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":52964,"href":"https:\/\/www.thh-friedensau.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52958\/revisions\/52964"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thh-friedensau.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/52962"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thh-friedensau.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52958"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thh-friedensau.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52958"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thh-friedensau.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52958"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thh-friedensau.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=52958"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}