2023 Call for Session Proposals: NASW Virginia and Metro DC Joint Annual Conference
The Call for Session Proposals for the 2023 NASW Virginia and Metro DC Joint Annual Conference March 23-25 is open! The event will be held in person in Williamsburg, Va., with a shorter virtual conference scheduled later that will feature select recorded sessions and live chat between presenters and attendees.
Deadline for submission is September 30. You will be notified no later than October 28 if you have been selected to speak. Note: All sessions must be two hours long. This is a change from the past.
Speakers should be prepared and willing both to present in person and, if their session is selected for recording, be available to attend their session virtually to answer questions live in the chat at a slightly later date. The date of the virtual conference will be announced shortly but will be within a few weeks of the in-person event.
Please share your idea via the short form on the call for proposals page. All submissions will be reviewed by the chapter Conference Review Committee, and all session decisions are final.
The committee is composed of social work volunteers from a diversity of specialties. The group bases their choices on topical suggestions given in recent member and conference attendee surveys, as well as their own working knowledge of ongoing and emerging practices and high-priority social justice issues.
In addition to proposals, the group recruits presenters who can speak to topics that fill learning gaps in the agenda. The resulting agenda aims to be as diverse, meaningful, inclusive, engaging, and timely as possible to social workers in all specialties.
Most recently, social workers have indicated that they want or need training in
trauma,
telehealth,
aging,
lessons from COVID-19,
ethics,
race and social work,
diversity, equity, and inclusion topics,
new techniques and approaches,
addiction,
grief/bereavement,
social work research,
technology,
private practice growth,
child/adolescence issues, and other emerging topics.
Sessions can be geared either to seasoned professionals or social workers with less experience, but the Conference Review Committee is especially interested in advanced-level learning and clinical topics.
Please note that all presenters—like the chapter—must remain nimble and flexible to adapt content and instruction format in light of potential pandemic scenarios. Other information of relevance to presenters:
Past conferences have been attended by over 400 professional social workers and other behavioral health providers, academia, and social work students.
Our professionals have a wide variety of practice areas, with mental health, private practice, healthcare, school social work, administration and supervision, and children/adolescents/child welfare being the largest specialty areas.
Seventy-five percent of attendees have been practicing for 11 years or more.
Thirty percent of attendees have attended the conference six times or more, so the audience is experienced and looking for high-level material and fresh approaches.
Most of our conference speakers donate their time, travel, and fees to help NASWVA and NASW Metro DC provide the best conference to our members. The association may, at its discretion, provide some limited reimbursement for travel costs and/or speaker fees, particularly for keynote speakers. In addition, presenters may be eligible to earn a maximum of 7 Category 2 CE hours for preparing and presenting your workshop (subject to licensure regulations). Presenters will also receive a discount on their conference registration.