Blog from the visit to Consejo General de Colegios Oficiales de Diplomados en Trabajo Social y Asistentes Sociales Professional Conference in Zaragoza

I had made a resolution that I would write a regular blog describing my IFSW activities, now that my doctoral dissertation is complete. However this proved easier said than done! I have taken up a temporary appointment as a senior manager in the inspection agency where I am employed and this has added new demands on my time. So my good intentions have not been fulfilled – so far. However flying back from my visit to the conference of the Spanish member organisation seems a good time to write a few thoughts!

After returning from the European conference in Dubrovnik, I had a short Monday May public holiday at home for one day (the UK May Day holiday is always on the first Monday in the month). I was then away from home again for two days at a residential meeting for senior managers in the agency where I am employed. On the Wednesday evening I went from the managers meeting direct to the airport to take the plane to Madrid, arriving in the evening. Early the next morning I took a taxi to the station and then the fast train to Zaragoza, half-way between Madrid and Barcelona in the north of Spain. Travelling at almost 300Km per hour was exciting, although the train was so smooth, one was not aware of the speed. As IFSW President, one has to be used to being on the move and changing roles all the time.

Mountains and castle from the express train Madrid – Zaragoza



I was in Zaragoza for the professional conference of the Spanish member organisation of IFSW. This is held every four years and the programme illustrates the wide range of practice in which Spanish social workers are involved. The conference theme was the use of the 5 human senses in social work – a creative approach which I had never heard before! The conference is held overy 4 years, so I was privileged to be able to attend (XI Congreso Estatal de Trabajo Social). I arrived at midday on the second day and was met at the station by Ana Isabel Lima Fernández, the President of the Spanish Council and Mónica Hernández Tabuenca, the staff member who had made all the practical arrangements for my visit. We also met the IFSW Policy and Communications Officer, René Schegg, who had travelled from Switzerland via Barcelona. René has been with IFSW since September and has greatly strengthened the Federation, not only with his technical IT skills (already evident on the IFSW website), but also, and even more significantly, with his skill in languages. René helped to translate for me, which was especially impressive because he was translating in two languages which are not his mother tongue!

David and Ana and David and René at the conference hall in
Zaragoza



I started to write about how IFSW is developing our translation capacity using web-based tools and computer-based technology, but it all became rather too long and was distracting from the account of the Spanish conference, so look out for my next blog when I will discuss working in different languages in IFSW.

The conference attracted more than 1,400 social workers, including practitioners, academics and administrators of social services. Walking into the large conference building, I could feel the enthusiasm and energy of the many social workers present. I joined a few seminar groups to hear their discussions. I do not speak Spanish but I do speak French and there are many similarities when listening, so it is possible to follow some debates with assistance from a translator.

As always, I was struck by the familiar themes being discussed. One session was examining a new Spanish law on the rights of people with disabilities. However the session also developed into a discussion about the lack of public recognition of social workers and the need for strategies to promote social work. Colleagues in Spain were surprised to hear that this is not a uniquely Spanish problem but rather something which is discussed by social workers all over the world.

In the afternoon I had a meeting with the President and members of the committee of the Spanish organisation. We shared information about the activities of the two organisations and how we could help each other. We also discussed the difficult issue of IFSW fees, which presents a particular challenge for Spain. Once again, we recognised the reality of global trends affecting social work at the local, national and regional levels.

David N Jones meets Ana Fernández and members of the Consejo
Executive

I was pleased to have a short tour of Zaragoza in the early evening. Like most European cities, it was possible to look at architecture and monuments covering more than 2,000 years of history. There are extensive Roman ruins, some remaining above ground, medieval churches and city buildings from the 18th century and afterwards.

Visiting Zaragoza


Then on to the conference dinner and party. In my experience, social workers at conferences do know how to have fun! There was dancing and singing and lots of laughter and a very strong spirit of community solidarity. A particularly memorable sequence involved reliving the Eurovision Song Contest. This annual television competition between European countries has been a part of the life of every European resident for the past forty years or more and has possibly done more to create a sense of a common European space than anything else. The party-goers joined in the singing of Eurovision favourites with gusto!!

On Friday morning I had to work in my hotel room dealing with work from home before going on to the conference to take part in the final sessions in the afternoon.

The first afternoon session presented a progress report on the implementation of the new Bologna higher education process in Spain and the implications for social work. This is a European-wide process aiming to bring all European universities to a similar standard and structure of academic study. This has not been welcomed by all, but does offer the opportunity for students to move between universities in Europe more easily. It also aims to ensure more consistency in academic standards between European universities.

The Spanish General Council (Consejo), universities and Ministry of Education are working to implement a new structure for graduate social worker status. This will involve a new graduate qualification and a new examination for qualified social worker status. There was a lot of concern in the debate that existing qualified social workers will not receive automatic recognition under the new system. Transitions to new systems are always difficult in every country. It is important to respect and protect the people with the existing qualifications whilst also setting higher standards for the new entrants.

Then it was time for the final plenary session of the conference. I was the first to speak and had around 10 minutes to bring the world to the Consejo members in the hall. This was a challenge, but I was able to do this better because my PowerPoint slides were presented in Spanish and English (see IFSW website for the presentation). I was also speaking with a consecutive translation from a professional translator. I have got used to speaking in clear, short sentences so that the translators can sustain the pace of the presentation and my meaning gets over. I am pleased to say that the speech was well received, especially when I said that social workers are people of action who want to get on with the job – as I took my jacket off!

David N Jones, IFSW President, speaking to the Spanish conference

Other speakers included the local director of social services and the mayor of Zaragoza who announced recruitment to a number of new positions, boosting the social work staff in the city. This was of course well received. There were also short speeches of thanks on behalf of the Consejo President from the local region (Aragon) and from the Consejo President herself.

We then retired for refreshments and returned for the final artistic presentation of traditional local dancing to live music of a more modern character. The skill of the dancers and musicians was recognised with enthusiastic applause and the conference members poured out of the hall with smiles and energy! The conference had gone well.

In the evening I was pleased to join a dinner for the regional presidents of Consejo prior to their business meeting the following day, Saturday.

The two Presidents exchange some final thoughts over dinner


The following day we said goodbyes over breakfast before I left for the train back to Madrid. I had to catch up with work from home during the journey, so did not have a lot of opportunity to look at the scenery flashing past the train window as we sped along at almost 300kms per hour. By the wonders of modern communications, I was able to e-mail my work back to colleagues in London from my laptop on the train!

I was soon back at the spectacular refurbished Atocha railway station in Madrid. It was difficult to imagine that this station had been the scene of real horror in 2004 when bombs went off on several trains killing 191 people and injuring 1,800. This brought back personal memories of the 2005 London bombs. I was very close to the bus bomb when it exploded and will never forget the dull thud of the explosion and the sight of the bus roof flying through the air! Now there are no obvious signs of those terrible moments in Atocha station in Madrid nor in Tavistock Square in London, but the memories will be cleaned away.

Tropical garden in Atocha station, Madrid

My plane did not leave until late evening so I had part of the morning and all afternoon to look around the impressive streets of Madrid, my first visit to the city. I enjoyed the peace and quiet of the botanical gardens right in the centre of the busy city. I walked past the Prado museum of art but did not go in this time. I walked on to the Plaza Mayor, the old central square where I sat and had lunch watching the crowds. I then walked back through the city, passing hundreds of people eating in street cafes and relaxing on Saturday afternoon.