An Interactive DVD-ROM in Four Languages

 An interactive DVD-ROM in four languages (English, French, Spanish and German)

 Presented at the Golden Anniversary of the International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW) 2006 in Munich its origin and purpose its content and how it can be used THE BACKGROUND

The 18th International Congress of the IFSW was another important stepping stone in the development of the professionalisation of social work around the world. With the Fiftieth Jubilee we celebrated the foundation of the modern IFSW in 1956 in Munich, which was actually the continuation and further development of the Permanent International Secretariat of Social Workers that was founded in 1928 in Paris. But international conferences dealing with social work content date back as far as the 1850s.

Considering the wealth of international experience that led to the representation of nearly 500,000 social workers world-wide a group of six students and their retired teacher ventured out to document some of the historical developments with a modern information and teaching medium, an interactive DVD-ROM in four languages. A textbook in these languages is planned. They studied relevant literature, researched at the General Secretariat of IFSW in Bern, Switzerland, interviewed veterans and present VIPs of IFSW and of other international GOs and NGOs about their experiences and visions for the future.

THE CONTENT

1. „World History – Slightly Abridged“. A short introductory film about the causes and the reasons for social work, locally and globally.

2. The development of international social work, concerning  The public and private SOCIAL SERVICES, represented in the International Council on Social Welfare (ICSW),  TEACHING and TRAINING for social Work, represented in the International Association of Schools of Social Work (IASSW),  PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS of social work, represented in the International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW). 3. IFSW as on the Website www.ifsw.org  The founding phase (including interviews with witnesses)  The organisational structure of IFSW, goals and tasks  Activities (conferences and projects regional and global)  The partner organisations (United Nations, Amnesty International, European Union, ICSW, IASSW etc.)  Membership development since 1956 (including current addresses)  Publications, definitions and positions (i.e. Ethical Documents, Definition of Social Work, Policy Papers, Global Standards etc.)  Persons: Presidents, General Secretaries and other VIPs  Visions for the future

THE DVD-ROM IS...

 A gift to the IFSW for its fiftieth birthday  Especially dedicated to Lisbeth Mattsson (1952-2004), who – as Communications Officer – connected the IFSW with the global network of modern communication media  A general introduction into social work that always includes multi-cultural dimensions  A multilanguage and interactive DVD-ROM for individual use as well as with mixed language and multi-cultural groups  An introduction into the history and development of IFSW, its tasks and structure with moving pictures, facts and short film sequences  The result of a two year cooperation between social work practitioners, students and teachers as an ongoing venture  A co-production of the International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW), the German Assocation of Social Workers (DBSH) and the Dept. of Social Work of the University of Applied Sciences Erfurt  An ongoing “construction site“ regarding content and technology that can and should be added and revised as old and new information becomes available and change goes on  A a non-commercial medium that cannot be sold or presented for profit.

As this is a gift to IFSW, it is our wish that this DVD-ROM and all the background materials should eventually be turned over to the IFSW Headquarters in Switzerland.

SYSTEMS REQUIREMENTS TO USE THE PRESENT DVD-ROM

Pentium III, Windows 98/ME/2000/XP, 128 MB RAM, sound card, DVD-ROM, Mouse (or other pointing device). – The requirements can eventually be altered (i.e. also for Macintosh)

CONTACT

Your feedback ( ) will be highly appreciated.

On behalf of the entire project team - Joachim Wieler Joachim Wieler, Merketalstrasse 19, 99425 Weimar, Germany Tel/Fax: ++49-(0)3643-503217, Email: [email protected] or [email protected]