This June marks the 5th year that Fordham GSS has held classes in our London Center at Heythrop College in Kensington Square in the heart of London.
Twenty-five masters and doctoral students are currently studying in either Clinical or Policy classes with a focus on trauma and the Human Rights of Immigrants and Refugees. In conjunction with these two classes our third Annual International Symposium on Interdisciplinary Human Rights was held on June 9. This was a practice and policy based conference intended to raise awareness about issues of statelessness and immigration. It was attended by our students as well as Fordham undergrad students studying Urban Psychology, and students from the University of London School of Advanced Study.
The speakers were from the United National High Commission for Refugees, Human Rights Law at the School of Advanced Study at the University of London, the head of a multi-agency multidisciplinary project, and faculty from Anglia Ruskin University and Fordham GSS. They addressed topics such as what is means to be stateless, issues that displaced persons are currently facing in Europe, and perhaps most importantly what social workers can do from both a practice and policy perspective to apply a rights-based approach to practice. Speakers from GSS included: Dr. Greg Acevedo, Dr. Robert Chazin, Dr. Shirley Gatenio-Gabel, Dr. Manoj Pardasani, and Dr. Sandy Turner.
Students participated in groups after the lectures and discussed how they believe their practice will change and be enhanced after their experience at the conference.
Several students said that the conference was both life changing and career changing for them, as they learned about human rights and social justice issues facing refugees and immigrants!
Sandra Turner, PhD Associate Professor Fordham University Graduate School of Social Service 113 West 60th Street New York, NY 10023 sturner@fordham.edu
