Like every year, this year too, the Department of Social Work at the University of Science and Technology Meghalaya (USTM) celebrated World Social Work Day by awarding a noted social worker and organising a talk. This year’s Social Work Excellence Award was presented to Ruby Ahluwalia, founder of Sanjeevani… Life Beyond Cancer, on Thursday, 30th March, at the NKC Auditorium of the University. The award was handed over by Prof GD Sharma, Vice Chancellor of USTM, in the presence of Mahbubul Hoque, Chancellor, USTM, Dr RK Sharma, Advisor, USTM and Dr Joseph Riamei from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Guwahati.
A former bureaucrat, author, artist, and founder of Sanjeevani… Life Beyond Cancer – Ruby Ahluwalia is a cancer victor who works on integrated cancer care management. Under her leadership, the organisation works towards rehabilitating people afflicted by cancer and trains them to provide care and counselling to other patients and their families. It runs counselling centres in 11 cities manned by rehabilitated cancer survivors and has enriched the lives of over 1,50,000 cancer patients.
Dr Joseph Riamei, Assistant Professor at the School of Social Work, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, delivered the talk on the theme of the program “Respecting Diversity Through Joint Social Action”. He emphasised the importance of social workers working together to promote respect for diversity and promote social justice. The theme recognises the diverse populations that social workers serve and the need to celebrate and honour their unique identities, experiences, and cultures.
A workshop on “Role of Street Play in promoting Cultural Diversity” was also held during the Award ceremony. The resource person of the workshop was Bhaskar Jyoti Acharaya, Community Radio Consultant, All India Radio and his team.
World Social Work Day is celebrated to recognise and promote the contributions of social workers towards society. The day also aims to raise awareness about social justice issues and the importance of social work in creating a better world. The theme for World Social Work Day 2023 is “Respecting Diversity through Joint Social Action”. The theme emphasises the importance of social workers working together to promote respect for diversity and social justice.