Abstract:

Professionalization, modernization and Europeanization of Social Services in Albania have been the main goals of the Erasmus+ Capacity Building T@sk Project “Towards Increased Awareness, Responsibility and Shared Quality in Social Work” (2017-2020).

T@sk Project pursued these aims through three main actions:
1) Internationalisation and 'Europeanisation' of Albanian Higher Education Institutions;
2) Knowledge triangulation between university lecturers, students, and social stakeholders;
3) Networking of social and political stakeholders.

T@sk methodology was based on a subsidiary and multilevel approach agreed amongst the project consortium composed of the University of Florence, the Complutense University of Madrid, the ISCTE of Lisbon, the Professional Order of Social Workers of Tuscany and the three Albanian public universities that offer Bachelor and Master courses in Social Work: University of Tirana, University of Elbasan, University of Shkodra.

T@sk project achieved its objectives thanks to the engagement of Higher Education staff with the changing social work environment in Albania and in the participating countries (Italy, Spain, Portugal). The promotion of a constant dialogue with social services on the ground in the four countries, the identification of the respective social needs and the reflection on theoretical and empirical research were the key actions of the project. A dense network of associated partners (social workers operating in the public and in the private sectors, NGOS, institutional stakeholders) complemented the peer-to-peer training programme for teachers, students and trainers.

During the three years of the project, participants were confronted with problems related to the regulation of the social work profession in their own country. Those experiences have supported the production of 3 volumes dedicated to the Albanian Social Services, standardized guidelines for social workers, and a code of ethics (all publications and training materials are available and downloadable from the project website: https://www.taskproject.eu). The project followed the creation of the professional Order of Social Workers in Albania, finally accomplished in 2022.

By the end of the project 50 university teachers, 140 social workers and 500 students had been trained. A total of 21 memoranda of understanding were signed by local and central policy makers, new agreements implemented, and 2 ICT laboratories created. The investment of T@sk in the digitalisation of teaching and learning activities in Albania proved to be strategic at a time when the Covid-19 pandemic made the use of online learning management systems indispensable.

Despite the fact that Albania was the beneficiary partner, the co-design of training activities allowed a cross-reflection on the welfare models adopted by the participating countries. The translation of universal social rights into tailored interventions rests upon institutional, economic and cultural variables, all taken into account through the comparative approach of the project.

Currently, project members are continuing to collaborate on specific research project focusing on the resiliency of Social Services in the face of new challenges (digitalization; new forms of poverty, epidemiological, social and economic effects of COIVD-19) that strongly question the capacity of any Welfare system.

Keywords:

Social services, Social work, Albania, Higher Education Institutions, Internationalisation, ICT.