Past news and events

Marge Reitsma-Street - 2009 winner of the National Dick Weiler Award

Marge Reitsma-Street - 2009 winner of the National Dick Weiler Award

Marge Reitsma-Street, MSW, PhD
Professor, Studies in Policy and Practice
University of Victoria

Social worker, professor, researcher, and activist academic Dr. Marge Reitsma-Street has brought the academy and community together since the 1970s to change juvenile justice policies; to put poverty on the agenda of the community, province and nation; to address change punitive welfare laws; and to envision models of affordable housing and ways to value women’s unpaid work. Marge has excelled in the usual credentials of a highly respected academic in funded research and visiting scholar positions in the U.K. and Australia. She has contributed over 200 publications and presentations to academic, professional, and popular venues, including case studies of successful social justice struggles and the development of alternative community organizations and research methodologies. Marge has reached local media, national and international audiences through her collaborative community research, her teaching, her writing, and her speaking. To quote from the nomination material, “Marge inspired not only the students she teaches, but also colleagues, students and others who read her work and see her lasting contribution to social justice and social development in each of the four cities where she has lived--Hamilton, North Bay, Sudbury, and Victoria.”

The award will be presented to Marge Reitsma-Street and to fellow award winner, Gilles Seguin, webmaster of the popular and influential weekly Canadian Social Research Newsletter, later this fall in Toronto. The Weiler Award is presented annually to acknowledge and honour exceptional contributions to community and social development in Canada. The award recognizes outstanding dedication by individuals, groups or organisations to social development/social justice causes through co-operative linkages and collaboration among individuals, groups, agencies and organisations. Previous award winners include: The Crime Prevention Committee of the Canadian Association of Police Chiefs, 2008, Vancouver Social and Research Planning Council Director Michael Goldberg, 2005, B.C. Judge Linton John Smith, 2001, and The Centre for Literacy of Quebec, 2000.

Marge as member of the Sudbury Better Beginnings, Better Futures Research Demonstration Project 1992

Marge and three graduates in Studies in Policy and Practice, University of Victoria, 2008

Office to Combat Trafficking in Persons - March 17, 2009 presentation

Office to Combat Trafficking in Persons - March 17, 2009 presentation

Human trafficking is a global problem and Canada is not immune. Canada has been identified as both a transit and a destination point for human trafficking, and Vancouver has been singled out by the U.S. state department as a port of major concern.

Due to the hidden nature of the crime, most human trafficking activities are undetected or unreported. Human trafficking is a serious violation of human rights. In British Columbia, human trafficking is recognized as a problem that cannot be ignored.

In 2007 British Columbia established the Office to Combat Trafficking in Persons (OCTIP). OCTIP is responsible for the development and overall coordination of British Columbia’s strategy to address human trafficking. OCTIP takes a human rights centered approach. This means that the rights and needs of trafficked persons are placed at the centre of all OCTIP work. In collaboration with other provincial ministries, federal departments, municipal governments, law enforcement agencies, and community organizations, OCTIP aims to eliminate human trafficking and build services for trafficked persons in British Columbia.

OCTIP is focused on the protection of trafficked persons and on the prevention of human trafficking. The Office will also assist law enforcement in the prosecution of human trafficking offenders.

The Office gave a presentation (PDF, 1.34 MB) at the UVic School of Social Work on March 17 in recognition of International Social Work Day.

Additional links to resources on human trafficking

The Office to Combat Trafficking in Persons may be contacted at:

PO Box 9235, Stn Prov Govt
Victoria, BC V8W 9J1
Main office phone: 250 953-4970 / after hours phone: 250 812-7974
Fax: 250 953-4756
Email: octip@gov.bc.ca

Launch of Grandparents Raising Grandchildren: A Legal Guide - April 1, 2009

Launch of Grandparents Raising Grandchildren: A Legal Guide - April 1, 2009

Grandparents raising grandchildren is a growing family phenomenon. The 2006 BC census reports almost 10,000 children under the age of 18 being raised by grandparents—more than the number of children currently in BC’s foster care system.

Members of the media are invited to join members from University of Victoria’s School of Social Work, Parent Support Services of BC and grandparent caregivers at the launch of Grandparents Raising Grandchildren: A Legal Guide, (PDF, 3.5 MB) at the Greater Victoria Central Library.

The legal guide, the first of its kind in Canada, is the result of a 20-month collaborative project between the School of Social Work and Parent Support Services of B.C. Developed with the input of grandparents, social workers, service providers, lawyers and judges and funded through the Law Foundation of BC and three provincial ministries, the guide will help grandparents navigate the complex legal issues involved in raising grandchildren.

What: Launch of Grandparents Raising Grandchildren: A Legal Guide
When: Wednesday, April 1, 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Where: Greater Victoria Central Public Library, Talking Books section meeting room, 735 Broughton Street

Media Contacts:
Barbara Whittington (School of Social Work) at 250-721-8044 or bwhittin@uvic.ca
Carrie Wright-Donaldson, (Parent Support Services of BC) at 250-384-8042 or grg@parentsupportbc.ca
Christine McLaren (Human and Social Development Communications) at 250-721-6467 or mclaren@uvic.ca

November 2007 Convocation

November 2007 Convocation

Congratulations to all the November 2007 MSW and BSW graduates! The School of Social Work was pleased to congratulate forty-five BSW and four MSW graduates at the November Convocation Ceremony. Eight students completed the Child Welfare Specialization and three students completed the First Nations Specialization within their BSW degrees.

The School hosted a social gathering for all graduates who were able to attend. Graduates and their families joined staff and faculty for a celebration prior to the convocation ceremony. For some distance education students, it was the first time for them to meet with fellow classmates and instructors in person. It was a wonderful gathering, followed by a professional photo shoot of the graduating class.

The School of Social Work wishes graduates all the best in their future endeavours and we encourage you to stay connected!

Photo: Dr. Patricia MacKenzie with MSW graduates, Helen Wong and Doug Ennals

School’s distance education program wins international award - 2006

School’s distance education program wins international award - 2006

The School of Social Work has been awarded the 2005-2006 Commonwealth of Learning Excellence in Distance Education Award for Distance Education Materials. The biennial award was presented by COL President and CEO Sir John Daniel to Prof. Maggie Kovach on November 2, 2006 at the 4th Pan-Commonwealth Forum on Distance and Open Learning (PCF4) in Ocho Rios, Jamaica.

The award-winning course, SOCW 391: Indigenous Approaches to Healing and Helping, is offered via distance education expressly for Indigenous students. It utilizes a combination of web-based group discussion and audio files, video/DVD materials, and a course manual. Students explore traditional and contemporary approaches used by Indigenous peoples to help and heal within their communities and interact with First Nations elders, political leaders and human service workers.

The School’s SOCW 391 curriculum project team included:
• Maggie Kovach, faculty member and course writer
• Kirsten Mikkelsen, Program Assistant for the School’s Indigenous programs and graduate student in the Indigenous Governance program, who produced the accompanying DVD: Indigenous Renewal: Time for Life Again
• Menno Hubregtse, Technical Support and WebCT site design
• Dora Leigh Bjornson, Distance BSW Program Director and project manager.
• UVic’s Distance Education Services, audio/video production and instructional design consultation

In their award citation, the Commonwealth of Learning adjudication panel noted that the materials developed by the School of Social Work used the Indigenous oral tradition effectively to “encourage and achieve learning,” and “embraced the culture of the target group by ensuring that the emotion and the intellect are closely aligned.”

The Commonwealth of Learning is the world’s only intergovernmental organization dedicated solely to promoting and delivering distance education and open learning. It was created by Commonwealth Heads of government to encourage the development and sharing of distance education knowledge, resources and technologies with a goal to increase the capacities of developing nations to improve access to quality education and training.

Left to right: Sir John Daniel of the COL, and Category B winners Theresa Schindel, University of Alberta, Maggie Kovach, UVic, and Ms. Frances Jerry Ferreira, Namibian College of Open Learning.

Prof. Monty Montgomery of the School of Social Work presenting a gift of thanks on behalf of UVic and the Coast Salish nations to Jamaican representative Ms. Vilma McCLenan. Ms. McClenan was Chairman for the PCF4 Conference Committee on Logistics, Protocol and Security, and the President of the Jamaican Association for Distance and Open Learning (JADOL).

Prof. Monty Montgomery of the School of Social Work presented a gift of thanks on behalf of UVic and the Coast Salish nations to Jamaican representative Ms. Vilma McCLenan. Ms. McClenan was Chairman for the PCF4 Conference Committee on Logistics, Protocol and Security, and the President of the Jamaican Association for Distance and Open Learning (JADOL). Pictured, left to right: Monty Montgomery, Maggie Kovach, Ms. Vilma McClenan, Dora Leigh Bjornson.

The School of Social Work invites you to visit our display of social justice mail art - 2006

The School of Social Work invites you to visit our display of social justice mail art - 2006

Social justice mail art