Social Work as a Human Rights Profession (MA-SWHR) (Master of Arts)

Invitation to a guest lecture at ASH Berlin!

Professor Dawn Belkin Martinez from Boston University will give a lecture on October 30th from 15:00 - 16:30 in room 018/Minimax on the topic:

The Liberation Health Model. Clinical Social Work from a Radical Social Work Perspective  

Further information can be found in the flyer.

The need for an international Master program on Social Work as a Human Rights Profession has often been articulated in meetings of the International Association of School of Social Workers (IASSW) and the conference of the European Network on Social Action (ENSACT). This idea became more concrete during a pre-conference to the ENSACT conference in Brussels in April 2011 organized by Prof. Dr. Staub-Bernasconi and others on the issue of human rights and social work.

The participants were very much interested in developing an international program on the issue of social work and human rights. During a meeting held at the Alice Salomon University of Applied Sciences and four more meetings in Berlin between 2011 and 2012, the final group of cooperating universities was created.

If you would like to learn more about the history and development of this master's program, please read the following summary.

Hailu Abebe (SWHR  05: 2018 - 2020)

As someone with Human Rights and Equality background, Hailu has been interested in social justice and advocating for those whose rights are deprived by "systems". The issue of forcefully displaced people, mainly refugees and internally displaced people, has been an area of concern for him since young age.

Hailu was working for UNICEF as Child Protection Officer in western Ethiopia in Refugee response context, before joining the MA programme at ASH in 2018. 

The SWHR programme added value to what he already knows and practiced as professional working for different UN Agencies. Being introduced to the different research approaches and methodologies, skills to investigate systems and institutions, and learning from the experiences of other students and individuals during his time in ASH have been worth the time.

After his graduation, Hailu joined back UNICEF Ethiopia, Program section, as Child Protection Cluster Coordinator in Northern Ethiopia. In this position, he will continue to contribute his part to promote Human rights and help address both the systemic and emerging problems that prevent the enjoyment of Human rights.

Work place: UNICEF Ethiopia, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia

Contact: highloo[at]yahoo.com

Sophie Riding  (SWHR 05: 2018-2020)

After the SWHR program at ASH, Sophie continued to work at the OECD as a social policy consultant. She was an intern at the OECD during her 4th semester where she wrote her thesis. She has since worked at an education technology start-up as a project manager, supporting and mentoring students. Since September 2023, Sophie is working as the student success centre manager for the University of Europe for Applied Science.

Work place: University of Europe for Applied Science, Berlin, Germany

Contact: sophielyneriding[at]gmail.com

Michael Emru Tadesse (SWHR04: 2017-2020)

Immediately after completing the SWHR program at ASH, Michael Emru Tadesse started working as a social worker at a refugee shelter in Berlin for a year. Then, at the end of 2021, he began his doctoral study at the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano in Italy, where he also worked as an early-stage researcher within the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions’ ASTRA research project, which applied sustainability transition research in Social Work to tackle the major societal challenge of social inclusion. For the ASTRA project and his PhD, Michael’s research focused on exploring the social solidarity economy of people of African descent in Europe. Since October 2024, Michael has been working as a guest lecturer in social economics and qualitative research methods at ASH.

Work place: Alice Salomon Hochschule, Berlin, Germany

Contact: michael.emru7[at]gmail.com | LinkedIn | ResearchGate

Laurent Francis Ngoumou (SWHR 01: 2014-2016)

After completing the SWHR program at ASH, Laurent pursued a PhD in Social Work at Laval University in Canada, specializing in immigration policy, social integration, sexual diversity, systemic racism, and mental health across Africa, Europe and Canada. His research interests include the social reality of LGBTQ people in Africa, homophobia, racism, social integration, exclusion of sexual minorities, promotion of diversity, ethno-culturalism and international migration policies, focusing on integration, exclusion, stigmatization, and racism. He also explores how to integrate the issue of Afro-Caribbean sexual minorities into social science research. Since June 2021, Laurent has been working as a Research Assistant and Mental Health Project Manager for Black LGBTQ People: Immigration at FrancoQueer. Additionally, since October 2021, he is serving as a Psychosocial Intervener at Interligne. As of May 2023, Laurent holds the position of Research Officer in the Societies, Cultures, and Health sector at the University of Montreal.

Work places: FrancoQueer, Toronto, Canada

                           Interligne, Montreal, Canada

                           University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada