Silver School of Social Work Announces Three-Day Conference, "Global Health and Well-Being: The Social Work Response" - June 17-19

Bringing together many experts on issues of pressing global importance, the Silver School of Social Work at New York University will convene a three-day conference called “Global Health and Well-Being: The Social Work Response,” June 17-19 at the Kimmel Center for University Life (60 Washington Square South, New York, N.Y.) and the Global Center for Academic and Spiritual Life (238 Thompson Street).

The conference will illuminate the social work profession’s contributions to multidisciplinary efforts to improve human well-being around the world. Speakers and panelists will discuss the latest work on issues of poverty, reproductive health, adolescence, mental health, human rights, evidence-based interventions, health care access, and other issues.

Admission begins at 1:00 p.m. on day one, Monday, June 17 at the Global Center for Academic and Spiritual Life’s Grand Hall. Welcoming remarks by the Silver School’s dean, Lynn Videka, and by Silver School graduate and benefactor Constance M. Silver begin at 1:45 p.m. Then, in the conference opening address, Cheryl Healton, NYU dean of global public health, will discuss the pivotal role of social determinants of health with special attention to poverty, lack of education, inadequate housing, and health services. She will be followed by Ethan Nadelmann of the Drug Policy Alliance, whose 2:30 p.m. talk will focus on new directions in global drug control policy.

Additional speakers for day one include: Linda G. Mills (“Peacemaking and Healing Circles for Domestic Violence: A Global Perspective on Practice”) and Vincent Guilamo-Ramos (“Rethinking Adolescence as a Critical Developmental Period for Global Health”), both of NYU’s Silver School; Anita Raj of the University of California, San Diego (“Gender Inequities and their Global Health Impact – An Analysis of Reproductive and Child Health in South Asia”); David A. Patterson of Washington University, St. Louis (“Substance Abuse in American Indian/Alaskan Native Populations: Implementing a Screening and Brief Educational Intervention as Standard Care”); Theresa Kaijage of Kaijage Consultants in African Family Health (“Home Care in Resource-Poor Communities); and many others.

NYU President John Sexton will open day two at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, June 18, with remarks about the global context of the University. José Alfredo Miranda, president of Universidad Popular Autonoma del Estado de Puebla, will present “Collaboration and Cooperation Between Institutions of Higher Education Across Borders and Its Impact on Global Health and Well-Being.” Panels throughout the day will focus on issues of global poverty and global mental health, respectively, delving into such issues as: “Microfinance: A Tool for Alleviating Poverty?” (Gina Harmon, Accion USA); “Grand Challenges in Global Mental Health” (Beverly Pringle, National Institute of Mental Health); “Understanding the Experience of Trauma Globally” (Sarah Kahn of International Rescue Committee, April Naturale of IFC International, and Dina Rosenfeld of the Silver School), and “The Micro-Consignment Model: From Uncertainty to Risk to Opportunity (Greg Van Kirk, The New Development Solutions Group and Ashoka Lemelson Fellow). The NYU Silver School’s Mary McKay will speak about mental health of South African youth, and Columbia University’s Fred Ssewamala will discuss findings from his studies in sub-Saharan Africa evaluating an innovate family-based economic empowerment intervention.

Day three, Wednesday, June 19, begins at 8:45 a.m. with Sreerupa Mitra Chaudhury of the Women’s Federation for World Peace–India talking about the brutal assassination of Damini and other young girls, breach of promise of justice in South Asia, and the recent community outrage against rape, trafficking, and sexual violence in India. The address will be followed by a panel of experts discussing other human rights issues. Additional symposia will include discussions about human rights and social policy; human rights and service delivery; and the development of more-effective health systems. Among the speakers: Holly Wong of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Susan E. Mason of Yeshiva University, and Lamia Moghnieh of the University of Michigan, and others.

“Global Health and Well-Being” is jointly sponsored by the Silver School of Social Work, the National Association of Deans and Directors of Schools of Social Work (NADD), and New York State Association of Deans of Schools of Social Work.

Media coverage is invited – please contact NYU public affairs officer Robert Polner at 212.998.2337, robert.polner@nyu.edu. View a complete agenda for the conference.