The Center for Social Development (CSD) will showcase the latest research on civic service and volunteerism worldwide during “Understanding Civic Service: International Research and Application,” a seminar at the Brown School of Social Work from Feb. 27-March 3.

During the seminar, 31 of the CSD’s civic service research fellows will learn about the center’s current work as well as share research findings with each other.

Representing 17 countries, the research fellows have received grants from CSD to study service and volunteerism in more than 30 countries. In their studies, the fellows focus on service as a program and policy intervention with a range of impacts for individuals, communities, and nations. With an emphasis on peer-learning, fellows will discuss the impacts of their research on policy and practice in their respective countries as well as the challenges and opportunities in conducting cross-national research.

On March 1, the seminar will be open to the public during “Civic Service in an Unequal World: Analyzing Four Paradoxes,” a lecture by Teresa Matus Sepúlveda, at 1:10 p.m. on March 1 in Brown Hall Lounge.

Matus Sepúlveda is a CSD research fellow from the School of Social Work at Catholic University in Chile. Her lecture will kick-off national social work month with an examination of civic service in Latin America and its role in development. Matus Sepúlveda will speak in Spanish, and English translation will be provided. A reception will follow the lecture. This lecture is part of the School of Social Work’s spring lecture series.

The seminar continues on March 2 with a day of scholarly and cultural exchange for University faculty, students, and staff from 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. in Brown Hall Lounge.

After a welcome address by Amanda Moore McBride, PhD, CSD research director and assistant professor of social work, CSD and its research fellows will present the following panels:

·      8:45 a.m.- International Youth Service: Pitfalls and Potential

·      11:00 a.m.- Service-Learning: Forms, Models, Effects, and Strategies

·      1:30 p.m.-  National Youth Service Programs in the US, Nepal, and Germany: Possible Impacts

·      3:15 p.m.- Volunteerism and Service in Latin America: Forms, Volunteers, and Host Organizations

“The panels are an opportunity for the University community to learn about service strategies around the world,” says McBride.

“Since 2001, the Ford Foundation has invested in CSD to lead the development of a global knowledge base on service.  Service-learning, national, and international service programs exist in many countries, but largely, we know little about their varied forms and impacts.  The research grants and fellows program was one strategy CSD used for increasing this information base, while also increasing the capacity of scholars.”

For more information on the seminar visit http://www.gwbweb.wustl.edu/csd/service/conference2007.htm. For questions regarding events, please contact Maricelly Daltro, CSD research coordinator, at 935-9496 or mdaltro@wustl.edu or Carrie Freeman, CSD administrative coordinator, at 935-4212 or cfreeman@gwbmail.wustl.edu.]