I start this album out with images from the end of the conference. This was the fourth plenary session, on Monday the 14th of June.

On the final day of the conference some leaders in the field and organizers of the conference presented the agenda of social work. It was a good agenda.

I think I can recognize David Jones, Christian Rollet, Angelina Yuen, Chhristine Fang, and Abye Tasse up on the stage with some others.

I thought the stage was well-designed. I liked the fact that rapporteurs and presenters for the action agenda weren't sitting behind a table.

In the middle you have Christine Fang, the chairperson for the Conference Organizing Committee; on on the right is Daniel Shek, co-chairperson for the Programme Committee. That's Angelina Yuen on the left. She's really cool.

Here is Michael Sherraden, one of my old professors, now considered (by TIME Magazine at least) one of the 100 most influential persons in the world. He's also probably one of the 100 nicest persons in the world.

Here is Marie Connolly, from Auckland, New Zealand, who gave an excellent talk on "Nurturing Families in Civil Society: Rights, Agency, Participation."

Here is Valerie Maasdorp, a social worker in a hospice in Zimbabwe, who gave one of the most memorable talks of the conference. Imagine running a hospice in a place with a mortality rate like Zimbabwe, and then consider the added challenges of the economic and political situation there.

Valerie was having some trouble with a dry throat, so Michael brought some water for her up to the lectern. Typically thoughtful and concerned about other people's welfare, that's him.

Daniel Shek speaking at the conference.

There was significant participation in this conference (which I appreciated). In most sessions there was plenty of time for discussion, and even in the plenary sessions people were able to make points or ask questions from the floor.

It seemed to me that many of the participants were very eager to ask questions or make comments. There was real spirit of participation and democratic process in the rooms during the conference. I love that about social work conferences.

I would say that overall the reaction to the action agenda was postive, and perhaps even enthusiastic.

There was a mix of students, faculty, researchers, and social workers from the field at the conference, which made for some interesting discussions, but still, there was a significant research-and-academic orientation, which suited me.

Violet Horvath (of Hawaii) was on a research proejct with me for some years while we were both in the doctoral program at Washington University (working under Arlene Stiffman's direction and mentorship). Melody Zhang is a friend from when I was earning my MSW and in my first year of doctoral studies.

Melody Zhang was one of the practitioners from the field (she's involved with care for abandoned or orphaned children in China, and international adoptions of such children).

An action shot of Melody making a point in the fourth plenary session.

Melody gestures as she makes a point. It was great to see her again. I wish Chun-Chih had been able to meet her again.

A group of us went out for dinner in a surrealistic setting: this was a vast, cavernous wedding banquet hall restaurant, and as the day was inauspicous for weddings, we were the only patrons, at least for a while. It reminded me of that early restaurant scene in the Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, but we at least did eventually get some food.

At the dinner we had Violet Horvath, Crystal Mills, and Jon Matsuoka, so the University of Hawaii was well-represented. Melody Zhang of Beijing and James Herbert Williams of Denver were also there.

James Herbert and Jon are having a conversation while we wait for food. James Herbert is a vegetarian (I'm almost one, but not quite). So, when Melody had her pigeon delivered, it was amusing to see his reaction. In Chinese restaurants in Asia, when you order a pigeon, you get the whole bird, including the crispy head, which you can eat.

At our dinner, Melody had some photographs of her children and her husband Kevin. So she shared those pictures with us. She and Kevin have some adopted children.

There was a T-shirt sale, and yes, I did buy some T-shirts.

Philip, another old friend from Washington University, gave a good talk "Politico-Economic Structure and Poverty: A Multilevel Cross-National Study." He told me he was impressed by one of my old M.A. students from the LNT Program, who is working on her doctorate at Loyola.

This poster presentation about poor families in Chinese societies was very interesting. I wish there had been a whole session devoted to this type of research, where the authors could have presented their work in more detail.

I had no idea that ethnic Chinese are the second largest ethnic group in Scotland. But that isn't saying much, since all the people with minority ethnic backgrounds in all of Scotland make up only 2% of the population.

Philip Hong suggested I go to this session, and I'm glad I did. I was able to hear Mark Baldwin give his presentation on "Social Work as a Political Activity: Resisting the Status Quo."

Linda Smith of South Africa gave a talk about moving towards a social work of resistance.

Rudi Roose gave a talk about the problem of the language of resistance.

Michael Reisch, about whom Philip Hong had been effusive in his praise, did indeed give an inspiring talk, "Challenging the Master Narrative in Social Work to Create a Philosophy and Practice of Resistance"

Giving his paper in the same session with Philip Hong, and also a bit of a radical, I thoroughly enjoyed Tat Chor Au Yeung's description of the struggle for welfare rights in Hong Kong, in his talk, "In Response to The Welfare Reform and Poverty Alleviation: The Welfare Movement in Hong Kong."

Chong Hiu Ha came from Taiwan (Dong Hwa University) to give her presentation: "Social Work Strategies for Improving Indigenous People's Employment - A Reflection of the Implementation of the Poverty Eradication Program in Eastern Taiwan."

Hui-Ha Chong is also known by her English name, Florence. She was one of a very few scholars or practitioners to come from Taiwan. Even one of my Taiwanese friends who was supposed to present at this conference had to cancel. I wish there had been a stronger Taiwan presence.

I thoroughly enjoyed the presentation given by Reima Ana Maglajlic, "Relevance of Donor-driven Strategic Initiatives in Addressing Poverty and Vulnerability in Transitional Societies, with Special Emphasis on Bosnia and Herzegovina."

Here is Yun Soon Koh, who had three presentations at the conference. He got his doctorate from Wisconsin a few years after my good friend Martin Martsch and four years after another friend and Wisconsin grad, Mary Eamon.

Susan So (on the left) was a local Hong Kong social worker in child welfare, I think (my memories are a little vague on the details). She was a contributing participant who made good points and asked questions in the discussion in this session I attended where Yun Soon Koh (on the right) presented a longitudinal study of a Korean sort of Head Start style program called the "WE-Start Sokcho Village Project."

Our old friend, Chingwen Chang (who was an advisee of mine when she earned her MSW at UIUC) met us in Hong Kong. I had seen her a few months earlier in San Francisco, but it had been a few years since Chun-Chih had last seen her.

Here Ching-Wen and Chun-Chih pose with me in our hotel lobby in Hong Kong. Back in 2006 she came to visit us in Springfield and then a few months later we went out to visit her in New York. In 2009 she started a doctorate program in Cleveland at Case Western Reserve.

Ching-Wen is interested in serious mental illness within Chinese society and culture, and how treatments can be most effective.
She has such a joyful and happy personality that her presence just lifts our spirits.

Related pages:

More photographs from Social Work Conferences

• Society for Social Work and Research 2009 in New Orleans.
• Society for Social Work and Research 2010 in San Francisco.
• Photos from Asia, including some from the International Consortium for Social Development's 2007 meeting in Hong Kong.
• European Network of Territorial Intelligence in Strausbourg in 2010.

More photographs from Hong Kong and elsewhere.

• Hong Kong in 1992 (and other places in Asia)
• Hong Kong and Shanghai in 2010
• List of my pages of photography

Photos related to the 2010 Joint World Conference.

• Conference Web Site
• Cultural Night photo album by Kenneth Chan
• Photo Album of the 2010 Hong Kong conference opening.