The Celia B. Weisman International Lecture

IFSW General Meeting, Geneva, Switzerland, 10-12 July 2002

Celia B Weisman was a truly international social worker. She enjoyed an international reputation in her specialist field of social work in gerontology and was, for twelve years, the main representative for the IFSW to the United Nations New York. In that role she led a team of expert volunteer social workers who together worked tirelessly to present the view of the profession to the UN through the voice of the various NGO committees. She was well known and loved, not only in New York and at the UN but also around the world.

Celia was an expert on the area of Aging and social work. She was heavily involved in the UN decade and year of Aging. One of her most memorable and powerful quotes was "Aging is not a disease". World population trends reveal a significant increase in the aging population in every region except Africa. Celia noted that older persons in 1998 consisted of 580 million persons, however by the year 2050 that figure will increase to almost 2 billion. We are living longer and the future could see many spend almost the same years in retirement as employment. This poses a series of challenges and opportunities for social work as a profession. Social workers are well placed to inform policy and service delivery debates and will be intimately involved at service delivery levels.

Celia died on June 30, 2000 after undergoing open heart surgery. Her many colleagues around the world were profoundly distressed at her passing. In honour of her memory the IFSW commissioned a plaque which is in the Bern Office and committed itself to the presentation of a memorial lecture. This paper contains the proposal for that lecture.

HISTORY

The daughter of an orthodox rabbi, Celia was born in London and later accompanied her family to the United States at an early age. After receiving the baccalaureate degree, she began teaching the German language. She earned her master of social work degree from the University of Pittsburgh after learning about anti-Semitism and committing herself to its demise. She earned her doctorate in social work from Columbia University at age fifty. She worked passionately and energetically in support of social justice throughout her life. She recently retired from her faculty position at the Wurzweiler School of Social Work where her areas of specialization were gerontology and group work. She lectured nationally and internationally.

Knowledgeable about the social work profession's strong traditions around social development and advocacy in the local, regional, national and international arenas for policy and action, Celia worked quite tirelessly to perpetuate these efforts in meeting our contemporary needs. She very effectively organized the annual Social Work Day at the United Nations, attracting audiences filled with professional social workers and social work students, eager to undertake our roles in transmitting knowledge about the human condition, in influencing decision-makers, and in contributing to the development of knowledge through research.

Celia's ten-year tenure at the United Nations in New York as the International Federation of Social Worker's principal representative to that body was a major contribution. Celia participated in the Executive Committee meetings of IFSW, reporting regularly on the key issues and recommending policy positions, both during the meetings and through the IFSW Newsletter. Active also in the New York City Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers, Celia's contributions to their International Committee were many.

THE LECTURE

In commemoration of Celia’s remarkable life the IFSW has initiated a lecture in her name. The lecture is to be delivered at the World Conference of Social Workers and should form the opening address of a special concurrent session/s or workshop on Aging.

The lecture could be delivered as a public lecture thereby giving greater exposure to both the issues of aging, the role of social work and the profile of the Conference.

The speaker will be a person who has proven expertise in the field of aging. Whilst it is preferable that they be a social worker this is not an essential criteria.

The process for selection should be;

Potential speakers to be put forward by the host country. Member organisations, Members of the Executive of IFSW and Main Representatives can suggest other names. A short list to be prioritized by the program committee The President of IFSW to make the final selection and to issue the invitation

The topic should be developed between the IFSW, the conference organising committee and the speaker. It should relate to contemporary issues in aging and the role of social work.

Duration: Speech 45 minutes with 15 minutes for Q&A.

Publication: The speech, if forming a part of the conference should be available through the chosen form for publication of proceedings.

The speech shall also be made available in the form of an occasional paper through the IFSW Web Site.

History drawn from the NASW tribute to Celia Weisman, June, 2000