Haruv Institute - Annual Report 2016 - Summary

Children-at-Risk: a Joint Course for Israel and South Korea 2016 A joint course of the Haruv Institute and the Schools of Social Work of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Seoul University, South Korea South Korea is a country in East Asia with a population of fifty million people. South Korea was established in 1948, following World War II, under American trusteeship. Since its establishment, South Korea has undergone many changes – economic, social and cultural – and transformed from a rural, traditional society into one of the most developed and industrialized societies in the world. Notwithstanding, the country’s social services haven’t succeeded in closing the gaps created by the rapid changes the society went through, especially in their transformation from a rural society to an industrialized society. Therefore they haven’t succeeded in meeting the needs that arose from these changes. South Korea is currently investing extensive resources in developing social services. Joint research ventures were developed between Prof. Asher Ben-Arieh, CEO of the Haruv Institute and a faculty member of the Bob Shapell School of Social Work at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and Prof. Bong Li, from the University of Seoul. Following in their footsteps, it was decided to establish a joint course with the Haruv Institute and the schools of social work of both universities. The students who took part in the course were Master’s Degree and Ph.D. students from both universities. The idea behind this initiative was to enable mutual learning and enrichment through the perspective of comparing the two countries’ welfare systems, especially the services for maltreated children. In April 2016 a delegation of nine Israeli students from the Hebrew University’s School of Social Work traveled to the National University of Seoul, escorted by Prof. Ben-Arieh. During their stay, the students were exposed to the social problems and welfare systems in South Korea. The students learned about the South Korean policies for treating maltreated children, they visited the facilities offered to these children – including an emergency center, a protection center and boarding-schools – and also learned about social work in South Korea from the students they met. About two months following the Israeli students’ visit to South Korea, the Korean students came to Israel for one week to study Israel’s welfare systems. The two groups developed social ties, and the open discussions between them – on the differences and similarities between the two cultures and coping with child abuse and neglect – were of great importance, both at the personal level as and at the professional level. Getting to know the students and becoming familiar with the South Korean system was an interesting and unique experience for everyone, because of the cultural differences between the two countries and the great differences in their welfare systems. The unique perspective gained led the Israeli students to examine phenomena that were familiar to them from new and different viewpoints.

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The Haruv Institute : A Snapshot of 2016 Activities

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