The Community Development Authority (CDA) in Dubai organized a two-day training session on various social services concepts. The training session is the first in a series of initiatives aimed at unifying the concepts of social services among those working in the field. Social services staff at the Diwan, Ruler’s office, attended the training course.
Dr Hashim Husseini, Professor of Social Psychology at the Lebanese University, led the training session, which comes as part of CDA’s strategy to include various social services in the emirate to its field of operations.
The training session focused on the concepts of social service and the place they occupy compared to other sciences, the relationship of social service development with social policy and social change, and the methodological and practical differences between social service and care and the prospects for the applications of modern technology in this context.
The training session also covered the methods used in the provision of social services, which include working with individuals, groups and society, in addition to working towards community and human development.
Her Excellency Dr Maryam Matar, Director General of the CDA, said: “This course marks the beginning of a series of sessions planned for social service staff members expected to work under the umbrella of CDA. Each of these sessions will focus on a particular aspect in the field of social development.â€
“The main objective of social service is the development of communities through research on the various factors that curb growth and social progress such as deprivation, unemployment, disease and poor living conditions that are beyond the ability of individuals who suffer from it. Social service also discusses the underlying causes of social ills to address them before they get out of hand by taking the most effective means to eliminate or minimize the effects,†added Dr Maryam.
Mohammed Bakkar Al Harthy, CEO of Social Benefits, CDA, participated in the training session and shed light on the nature of social benefits and gave examples of social situations, which will pass by the researcher and how to tackle and measure the extent of their ability to analyze such situations.
Al Harthy noted that Social Benefits programme focuses on supporting individuals and families who are eligible for such benefits, whether by virtue of their social situation, size or quality of their needs. â€Social benefits are responsible for providing emergency accommodation when they are not related to particular family and individuals needs for social welfareâ€, said Al Harthy.
Community Development Authority (CDA):
The CDA is a government entity mandated with enhancing the social development in Dubai to achieve the Dubai strategic plan 2015 which was announced by His Highness Sheikh Mohamed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum on February 2007.
The CDA will work towards promoting and raising the social standards in Dubai, and increasing the role of citizens in the community by cooperating with concerned entities in order to achieve the goals of the development sector and to develop the basic structure necessary for this.
The CDA will work on setting up the necessary policies and standards pertaining to social services providers based on its five strategic goals including promotion of national identity, social protection, social inclusion, social empowerment, and social cohesion in Dubai.
