Bulletin

Issue: January/February 2004

News

Mindanao: links stay strong despite conflict

Recent conflict in the Southern Philippines has underscored the importance of a La Trobe initiative.

Five years ago La Trobe's School of Social Work and Social Policy signed an agreement with a Manila-based international humanitarian NGO, Community and Family Services International (CFSI), for La Trobe to contribute to its work - and provide learning opportunities for La Trobe social work students.

The partnership has resulted in 22 students undertaking their social work placements, making a valuable contribution to poor and displaced people. It has also involved La Trobe in a recent innovative project undertaken by CFSI and funded by the World Bank.

This focuses upon the consequences of armed conflict and displacement on the island of Mindanao where three decades of conflict have caused significant casualties and displacement of hundreds of thousands of civilians.

Two staff members of the School of Social Work, Margarita Frederico and Cliff Picton, have assisted CFSI in its work on Mindanao.

Ms Frederico was engaged to contribute to the design of the Mindanao project and undertake an evaluation of the project. The project sought ways to rebuild trust between communities with a long history of violence.

A key outcome was the establishment of a community school. Another was a publication written by Ms Frederico detailing the projects called You Listen: Promoting the Transition from Conflict to Peace and Development at the Community Level published by CFSI and the World Bank.

In addition to supervising students on placement in Manila, Mr Picton visited universities on Mindanao to assess the need for assistance with social work education. He found library facilities were particularly inadequate, so he gathered material which resulted in a consignment to Mindanao State University-Maguindanao in the middle of last year of 200 social work textbooks contributed by La Trobe academics.

'There are shortages in all discipline areas and I would welcome contributions of material in psychology, sociology, politics and economics,' Mr Picton said.

Contact: tel. 03 9479 2568 or email c.picton@latrobe.edu.au

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