Closing Keynote Presentation: Social Work in Post-Normal Times: A Futures Lens for the Profession

4:15pm – 5:15pm

CLOSING KEYNOTE PRESENTATION

Social Work in Post-Normal Times:  A Futures Lens for the Profession

Laura Burney Nissen, PhD, MSW
Professor
School of Social Work
Portland State University

A futures lens and "foresight" practice is a globally recognized transdisciplinary set of ideas, tools and practices intended to help people use the idea of the future to make better decisions in the present.  This keynote will introduce a critical and participatory foresight perspective to assist social workers in making sense of the rapid changes around them, use imagination and foresight tools to better anticipate new challenges and opportunities - all in concert with upholding the values and ethics of the profession. What does the future most "need from social work?"  How can social workers care for themselves, each other and the communities we ally with to best meet the challenges ahead?  How will technology, climate, political fracturing, health advances and disparities - all charged by racism, sexism, ablism, homophobia and more - all evolve in the direction of human rights and liberation - or away from it? Let's wrestle with the idea of "future shock" for social work - and encourage our own positive evolution - individually and collectively to meet the call.   Participants will be invited to develop empathy for their future selves - and the future of our shared world - in the service of evolving our practice frameworks, strategies and toolkits to be more effective in the midst of change. 

5:15pm – 5:30PM

CLOSING REMARKS/ADJOURNMENT

Yvonne Chase, PhD, LCSW, ACSW
President-Elect
National Association of Social Workers
Associate Professor
University of Alaska