A one-day social work conference yesterday discussed the application of information and communication technology (ICT) for local social services.
A conference themed “The COVID-19 Pandemic and Smart Social Services”, jointly organised by the Social Welfare Bureau (IAS) and the Macao Social Workers’ Union (MSWU), was held yesterday at the Macau Fisherman’s Wharf Convention and Exhibition Centre.
The conference, which was held simultaneously on-site and online, brought together local social workers and related professionals to discuss the pandemic-driven transition towards digitally mediated social work, as well as the perceived benefits and barriers of using information and communication technology (ICT) in social services, all to be used in conjunction with the all-important person-to-person meetings, according to an MSWU statement.
About 800 participants attended the event either on-site or online.
According to the statement, the COVID-19 pandemic, while having left lingering consequences for both social care receivers and the social services workforce, has spurred many social service providers to embrace digitalisation. The statement also said that the conference allowed the government, the social services sector and academia to work together to develop further disaster risk management policies and establishing a sustainable cooperation mechanism to achieve a better integration of smart technologies into Macau’s social care system.
IAS Director Hon Wai said in his opening speech that the COVID-19 pandemic had shown the integral role of social workers to society, whose responsibilities included assisting the elderly in arranging nucleic acid testing, as well as addressing the social and economic consequences of emergency measures such as lockdowns, school closures and working from home. He added that in response to Macau’s ageing population, it was important for social service providers to adopt multimedia platforms for the promotion of community outreach mental health services.
MSWU Vice President Lam Iok Chu, one of the conference’s keynote speakers, said in her speech that many social-work practitioners had traditionally been resistant to new technology and were often struggling with general technical skills such as statistics, so success in digital transformation depended mainly on developing the right mindset. She added: “Data science and business intelligence skills are actually complementary to the field of social services, as they enable us to see with fresh eyes the ways we are already collecting data, which we might not have previously realised,” assuring the audience that analytical tools could improve the efficiency and quality of social work. According to Lam, integrating a more sophisticated statistical model into quantitative research would enable social work practitioners to develop more precise community-based intervention strategies by identifying neighbourhoods where residents with mental health issues tend to cluster.
Lam also suggested that Macau’s social service agencies collaborate with public educational institutions on digital infrastructure upgrades and ICT training for social work practitioners.
Social Service Director of the General Union of Neighbourhood Associations of Macau (UGAMM), Lam Man Chi, also one of the keynote speakers, highlighted the importance of optimising the electronic case management database system used in Macau. She added: “Currently, many of us use Excel spreadsheets to file these types of records, but through the advanced virtual assistance platform, social workers will be able to enter information onto their own customised database, allowing them to reach clients-at-risk in a much shorter period of time as they do not have to print different forms to be filled in and open separate folders for each case.”
The General Union of Neighbourhood Associations of Macau is commonly known as Kai Fung in Cantonese.
Meanwhile, MSWU President Cheong Un Si told the media that the first edition of the Macau Social Work Professional Qualification Assessment Examination, initially scheduled for last Saturday but was postponed to this Saturday due to Super Typhoon Saola, has more than 60 candidates who registered to take it. Cheong said she hoped that the Macau Professional Council of Social Workers would continuously review and improve the examination system and procedures.
Eight representatives perform the traditional ribbon-cutting ceremony at the start of the conference. – Photo by Gabriel Tam
The participants in yesterday’s “COVID-19 Pandemic and Smart Social Services” conference pose for a group photo.
– Photo courtesy of TDM
