Learn about the SWU Campaign Fund
The General Secretary of the Social Workers Union (SWU), John McGowan, will visit BASW NI on Thursday 27th April 2023 to discuss the work of the Union and how the SWU Campaign Fund could help social workers raise awareness of issues which they see in their work and among the vulnerable people they support.
The SWU Campaign Fund currently supports a range of activities from campaigning for more part-time social work roles through to improving bursaries for social work students. A key example of work supported by the SWU Campaign Fund is the successful campaign for the creation of guidelines on media reporting of social workers.
Speaking about the event, John McGowan commented, “Our Campaign Fund is there for social workers to help get their voice heard. No matter how big or small the challenge, if social work professionals think that having a campaign will help address the challenges that they see everyday, we are happy to receive applications for support from them.”
Simon Francis, founder member of Campaign Collective which has partnered with SWU to deliver the Campaign Fund, explains, “We have now helped over ten groups of social workers through the Fund, but there is room for more and we would urge social workers in Northern Ireland to get in touch.”
SWU NI Rep Gerry Madden said, “SWU is looking forward to meeting online with NI members who are interested in joining the SWU and BASW NI together.”
This Community of Practice will be hosted online on Zoom from 12:30pm – 1:30pm on Thursday 27 April and will feature a Q&A session with John McGowan, Gerry Madden, and BASW NI Chair Orlaith McGibbon.
SWU and BASW NI members can book their free tickets here: https://www.basw.co.uk/events/special-basw-ni-community-practice
The event is also an opportunity to find out more about the SWU Assignment Competition for Social Work Students and Social Work Apprentices which is currently open for entries. Up to four of the most compelling arguments will win a grant of £500 each.
Members who are unable to attend are welcome to get in touch with SWU to discuss campaign ideas by emailing campaigns@swu-union.org.uk. More information is available at: https://swu-union.org.uk/swu-campaign-fund