Ethiopian Society of Sociologists, Social Workers and Anthropologists (ESSSWA)

CALL FOR PAPER

The thirteenth Annual Conference of the Ethiopian Society of Sociologists, Social Workers and Anthropologists (ESSSWA) is tentatively planned to be held on March 03 and 04, 2017. Recent annual conferences of ESSSWA have given adequate focus and coverage on broad areas of social development issues related to citizen’s social protection, GTP 2 and social inclusion. This Thirteenth Annual Conference will advance a new theme – ‘‘Social Change and Culture: Targeting the invisible”, inviting specialized research abstracts from professionals in the fields of Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology or other related professions.

For many decades in the past, advocates of economic growth first leading to trickling down of socio-economic benefits to the poor have failed to eradicate poverty. Without denying economic growth to be one important contributory factor, it will be a fallacy to consider it as determinant contributor of socio-cultural change and transformation. It mainly misses the software that exists in culture, social structure and agency. Social and political institutions, as expressions of social structure, set the context for individual and group behavior and are meant to provide the resources individuals need to survive. How people act and live is shaped in large part by the social structures in which they find themselves. Several ideas or agencies appear to be core features in our ordinary understanding of this concept. A social structure consists of rules, institutions, and practices. While, a social structure is socially embodied in the actions, thoughts, beliefs, and durable dispositions of individual human beings it’s also always in tension with agency as it is coercive of individual and group behavior resisting outdated social norms and change.

When we say ‘targeting the invisible’, we also convey a message of working the intangible aspects of social being expressed as norms, values, habits or beliefs. Failing to understand these invisible and intangible aspects of society, one will easily be trapped in development blindness. In short development, be it social or economic is incomplete unless it values culture, social structure and change. Thus, our call for research abstracts is to encourage research researchers in the field to give due attention to social intangibles in analyzing specific research topics focusing at children’s vulnerabilities, society’s perception on disadvantaged social groups such as the elderly, disability and victims of age and gender based violence.

Accordingly, this high level conference is expected to provide participants with wealth of knowledge and information in four major focus areas, i.e. Social Norms and Children’s Vulnerabilities, Perception on Disadvantage Social Groups, Good Practices and Strength-Based Approach and Social Capital and Social Protection.

Focus Area One: Social Norms and Children’s Vulnerabilities

• Society’s perception on child abuse and domestic violence
• Positive aspects in customary parenting norms
• Socio-cultural conditions of child trafficking and sexual exploitation
• Socio-cultural conditions of early and forced marriages
• Youth and children’s deviant behaviors and social norms
• Positive deviants in child-upbringing exploitation
• Children living with step-parents their vulnerability and socialization

Focus Area Two: Perception on Disadvantage Social Groups

• Perception on children with disability
• Social support for the Aging and Elderly
• Unemployment and attitude towards different work types
• Tapping Old age resources and wisdom

Focus Area Three: Good Practices and Strength-Based Approach

• Good Practice on social inclusion through employment
• Adoption and foster care
• Child care services
• Informal and formal care of the elderly
• Inclusive social service provision
• Services for employees with disability
• Distributive Justice and gender equality

Focus Area Four: Social Capital and Social Protection

• Indigenous CBOs and their Benefits to Communities
• Cultural values and social support mechanisms
• Intercultural communications
• Role of cultural and traditional social networks in the digital world
• Gender tissues in a patriarchal society

Time Frame

The call for conference papers pursues the following time frame proposed for all linked activities.

• Abstracts not more than 250 words should be submitted to ESSSWA by 25 January 2017.
• Selected abstracts will be notified to prepare a draft paper between 10 to 15 February 2017
• Deadline for submitting draft paper and ppt presentation to ESSSWA is by 28 February

E-mail:- [email protected], OR [email protected]