Welcoming Remarks
Ms. Christine FANG, BBS, JP, Chairperson, Conference Organizing Committee

Opening Remarks
Mr. Henry Ying-yen TANG, GBM, GBS, JP, Chief Secretary for Administration, HKSAR Government

Speech by the Conference Major Sponsor
Mr. John CHAN, GBS, JP, Chairman, The Hong Kong Jockey Club

Mr. Sha heads the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), responsible for promoting and supporting international cooperation to achieve development for all. The DESA assists governments in agenda-setting and decision-making on development issues at global level, and translating global commitments (including Millennium Development Goals) into national policies and action. The DESA also works closely with the civil society enabling their participation in major international economic and social summits and other DESA events.

Mr. Sha also chairs the United Nations Executive Committee on Economic and Social Affairs.

Building a Harmonious Socialist Society and the Innovative Development of Social Work in China

Mr. Jianchun Sun  
Director-General
Social Work Department
Ministry of Civil Affairs, China

Nurturing Families in Civil Society: Rights, Agency, Participation

Prof. Marie Connolly  
Honorary Professor
School of Counselling, Human Services and Social Work
University of Auckland, New Zealand

Life Course Challenges and Actualization: Encountering multiple curves in life : Integration &  Survival in Zimbabwe

Ms. Val Maasdorp
Clinical Director, Island Hospice and Bereavement Service,
Zimbabwe

Val Maasdorp is Clinical Director of Africa’s first Hospice, Island Hospice & Bereavement Service  Zimbabwe, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. 
Almost 25 years with Island, Val has facilitated Island’s navigating huge challenges during political turmoil, world record inflation rates, collapsing health facilities and one of the world’s highest HIV rates.
A Social Worker, Val holds an ADEC CT qualification (Certified Thanatologist); joined  IWG (International Work Group on Death Dying and Bereavement) in 2006; Co-authored  “Grief and Bereavement”, in “Palliative Care in the Developing World: Principles and Practice” (IAHPC)

Irish born, Val has lived in Africa for 35 years.

Demography Meets Social Development

Mrs. Irene Hoskins
President, International Federation on Ageing

Irene Hoskins has served as President of the International Federation on Ageing (IFA) since 2006.

 Before that, she has held senior positions at World Health Organization (WHO) and the AARP (formerly American Association of Retired Persons). She has contributed to many UN-based initiatives on ageing, such as the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing, the Regional Plan of Action on Ageing for the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) etc.

She has authored and/or directed several projects that have resulted in publications and books on women and aging, including a five-country research project on Combining Work and Elder Care conducted under the auspices of the International Labour Organization. 

Recovery with a Human Face

Ms. Isabel Ortiz  
Associate Director
Policy Advocacy & Knowledge Management
UNICEF

Isabel Ortiz is Associate Director at UNICEF. She has over 17 years experience working in more than 30 countries in various areas of economic and social development. She was educated in Spain and the UK, where she attained a Master and a Ph.D. from the London School of Economics. Isabel Ortiz started as a lecturer and a researcher, but soon moved to development work, contributing to both international agencies and civil society organizations, such as Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz's Initiative for Policy Dialogue. In recent years she worked at the Asian Development Bank (1995-2003) and at the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations (2005-2009).

The Social Protection Floor Initiative of the United Nations - An Approach to Social Welfare and Social Development

Mr. Bob HUBER
Chief, Technical Cooperation Unit
Division for Social Policy and Development
UNDESA

Human Rights and Global Social Protection Floor –
Partnership between Donors, Developing Country overnments and ICSW / IFSW / IASSW 

Mr. Timo VOIPIO
Vice-Chair, OECD-POVNET
Senior Adviser for Global Social Policy, Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland

The Role of Social Work Educators in Social and National Development: The Case of China and Implications for the International Community

Prof. Sibin Wang  
Professor
Department of Sociology, Peking University, &
President, China Association for Social Work Education, China

Prof. Sibin Wang is the Professor of the Department of Sociology of Peking University. He also was the Head of the department between 1992 and 2000. He holds different positions of professional organizations and consultancies, including, the Vice President of China Sociological Society, the President of China Association for Social Work Education (CASWE), the Vice President of China Association of Social Workers, the Director of The National Guiding Committee of Sociology Teaching of the Ministry of Education, CHINA, etc.

Prof. Wang has published more than 100 journal articles and edited more than a dozen of books since 1980s.