European Social Network Conference 2023: Advancing social services: The
role of technology in promoting autonomy and inclusion
Mairead Harkin, Workforce Development Officer (Digital Learning) from the Social Care
Council delivered a presentation focusing on the Grief and Bereavement digital learning
resource. This resource is hosted on the Social Care Council's open source Learning Zone
website, providing a multi-responsive digital learning solution to support registrants'
continuous learning and development and to build workforce capacity in this area of practice.
The resource aims to support social care workers and social workers to understand and
recognise normal and appropriate grief responses, know how to support and communicate
with dying and bereaved people and know the importance of self-care and personal
resilience. It can also be used by other allied health professionals, families and carers.
Elisabet Hogg presented on a digital platform to increase communication and support for
their social workers called a "Digital Colleague - an innovation in collaboration" where the key
objectives were to bridge distances, share knowledge, level competence, strengthen quality
and create confidence and coherence.
Alfred Grixti talked about their case management system, reducing the need for traditional
paper files and enabling caseworkers and professionals from across various agencies to
record and share data in a timely and secure manner.
All presentations were very positively received by attendees, with one individual commenting
on the Grief and Bereavement digital resource that "It allows you to better understand grief
and bereavement and feel you can talk about a very sensitive topic".
14-16 June 2023 - Malmo, Sweden
The Northern Ireland Social Care Council participated in a
thematic panel - Digital Innovation Supporting the Workforce,
alongside two other panellists from Sweden (Elisabet Hoog,
Research Manager, Research and Development for Social
Work) and Malta (Alfred Grixti, Chief Executive Officer,
Foundation for Social Welfare Services). Moderator was
Emmanuel Gagneux, Vice President of the National
Association of Social Services' Director, France (right).