On March 19, 2026, within the framework of the Social Work Week dedicated to the World Social Work Day, the Department of Social Pedagogy and Social Work of the Vasyl Stefanyk Carpathian National University and the Department of Philosophy, Sociology and Social Work of the Kherson State University held an interdepartmental joint event. The event was moderated by Doctor of Pedagogical Sciences, Professor, Professor of the Department of Social Pedagogy and Social Work of the Vasyl Stefanyk Carpathian National University Protas O.L., who congratulated all those present on the World Social Work Day, noting that social work is a mission of good and the professionalism of specialists who change lives for the better.
The Acting Dean of the Faculty of Psychology, History and Sociology, Doctor of Sociological Sciences, Professor Shaposhnikova I.V., addressed the audience with words of greeting, outlining the relevance and importance of social work in the current conditions of social development, emphasizing that social workers are people who give their hearts and inexhaustible energy to people, provide support to those in need in difficult times.
The Head of the Department of Philosophy, Sociology and Social Work, Doctor of Philosophy, Professor Kostyuchkov S.K., addressed the audience with congratulations on the occasion of the holiday and with words of wishes about the prospects for cooperation in the future with colleagues from Frankivsk.
An example of close cooperation between the two departments was a guest lecture for students of the Vasyl Stefanyk Carpathian National University and Kherson State University, delivered by the Candidate of Pedagogical Sciences, Associate Professor, Associate Professor of the Department of Philosophy, Sociology and Social Work Shvets T.M., which took place in a mixed format: in the classroom in Ivano-Frankivsk and online. The guest lecture was dedicated to the role of mediation in social work and was timed to coincide with the World Social Work Day.
The chosen topic of the lecture “From Conflict to Understanding: Mediation in Social Work” aroused interest among both students and teachers of both departments. The lecturer revealed in detail the nature of the conflict, described in detail the strategies for overcoming crisis situations, among which competition, adaptation, evasion, compromise and the most effective - cooperation. The lecture material gave the opportunity for the students to reveal mediation as a key technology and social service. In conclusion, the lecturer emphasized that mediation in social work is an example of humanizing approaches in working with vulnerable categories of the population, because mediation is based on the principles of voluntariness, confidentiality and respect for human rights, which corresponds to the main goal of social work.
The words of greeting and gratitude for the event were joined at the end of the meeting by the Dean of the Faculty of Pedagogy of the Vasyl Stefanyk Carpathian National University, Doctor of Pedagogical Sciences, Professor Kondur O.S., who noted that the joint event is a confirmation of the close and fruitful cooperation of the departments of the two universities, this is an interaction aimed at strengthening scientific and educational potential through joint research, academic mobility, organization of conferences and exchange of experience, which will ensure an improvement in the quality of training of future social work specialists.
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