The conference will take place in Reykjavík, Iceland and will provide social work and social pedagogues, lectures, researchers, students and policy maker to engage in an exciting dialogue about welfare and professionalism in times of economic and social turbulence in the Nordic countries.

The conference is hosted by The Association of Icelandic Social Workers, The Association of Icelandic Social Pedagogues, ÍSForsa (The Icelandic Association on Research in Social Work), Department of Social Pedagogy at The University of Iceland and The Faculty of Social Work at The University of Iceland will jointly organize the conference in cooperation with Nordisk Forum for Social Pedagogues, Nordic Forum for Social Workers, FORSA-Norden and Nordisk Social Högskole committee.

We invite you to take part in this exciting journey and to participate in discussion about welfare policy and practice in the times of economical crises, reductions and new challenges of the Nordic welfare model.   

The focus will be on the welfare state in the Nordic countries and Europe, participation, empowering, poverty, social exclusion, user involvement, civil society, personal assistance,   new knowledge and skills of practioners and social equality.

Papers are welcome in the above mentioned areas.  We also accept abstracts of wider relevance, which may not fit the categories listed above. We are particularly interested in papers involving collaborations between practitioners, academics and researchers.

---

Keynote speakers will include:

Björn Hvinden, Professor, Head of Research & Deputy Director Norwegian Social Research (NOVA)

Jan Tøssebro, Professor, The Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Disability services in a decentralized welfare system – experiences from Nordic countries

Jorma Sipilä, Professor (emeritus), University of Tampere
Cold winds over the Nordic social care model

Rannveig Traustadóttir, Professor, University of Iceland

Sigrún Júlíusdóttir, Professor, University of Iceland
Professional knowledge-power - an ethical and political issue                           

---

The main conference themes:

1.   Immigrants
2.   Economic crisis
3.   Rehabilitation
4.   Theory / praxis
5.   Family
6.   Profession
7.   Child protection
8.   Community work
9.   Empowerment
10. Aging
11. Education
12. Policy / management
13. Marginalized groups
14. Ethic
15. HUSK (College and University Welfare Office)                   
 

---

 
Conference venue: Grand Hotel Reykjavik

---

Important dates