2021 Hokenstad International Lecture
This lecture series was launched in 2007 through an endowment from M. C. “Terry” Hokenstad, a former president and long-time member of CSWE. The lecture is always given during the CSWE Annual Program Meeting (APM). The program serves to enhance and complement the work of the Katherine A. Kendall Institute for International Social Work Education as well as CSWE's Commission on Global Social Work Education.
Nomination Criteria
The CSWE Commission on Global Social Work Education reviews all submissions. It selects each year’s lecturer based on the nominee’s body of scholarly work that enhances and complements the work of the Katherine A. Kendall Institute for International Social Work and the work of CSWE’s Commission on Global Social Work Education, using the following criteria:
- The nominee’s accomplishments promote standards of excellence for international work that are consistent with the values of social work education, research, and practice.
- The nominee has developed innovative international content in social work education or a related field and has published educational materials for internationalizing the curriculum.
- The nominee has demonstrated success with the implementation of programs and initiatives that facilitated collaboration in the global social work community.
- The nominee has advanced theory and practice for global social work education.
- The nominee demonstrates a connection to the 67th CSWE APM conference theme, "Leading Critical Conversations: Racial, Economic, and Environmental Justice."
Consideration will be given to regional, gender, racial, and ethnic diversity.
Nomination Process
All nomination submissions must include the following:
- Nominator and nominee information
- Proposed topic for lecture (limited to 12 words)
- A letter indicating how the nominee meets selection criteria, specifically, how the nominee's international accomplishments are consistent with the values of social work education, research, and practice (maximum of 2 pages)
- Nominee's current curriculum vitae
- A YouTube link to an example of the nominee speaking publicly
The call for nominations is currently closed and will reopen in 2022.
2021 Hokenstad International Lecturer: Dr. Abye Tasse

The 2021 Hokenstad International Lecturer is Dr. Abye Tasse. Dr. Tasse serves as chief of mission of expertise France for the TELEMA Project in the Republic of Congo. He has more than 30 years of experience in social work education and practice, primarily in Europe and Africa. He has conducted research and published extensively in the areas of migration and social work, transformative social work education, practices to achieve eradication of poverty, and the empowerment and capacity building of social work education programs. For two decades Dr. Tasse has been engaged in the design and implementation of innovation programs to structure and promote social work education in France, Ethiopia, Mauritania, Cameroon, Comoros, and the Republic of Congo. He is the first person of non-Western origin to hold the position of president of the International Association of Schools of Social Work (2004–2008). He presently serves as coordinator of the development of the Global Agenda 2020–2030 for social work and social development.
The Hokendstad International Lecture will be held Saturday, November 6, 2021, at 9:00 AM during CSWE's 2021 Annual Program Meeting in Orlando, FL.
Lecture Information
"From Principle to Action: Promoting Equality in Drastically Unequal Societies"
One of the pillars of the social work profession is the principle of equality. Thus, social workers and social work educators are firmly engaged in the reduction, if not eradication, of inequalities, frequently at the micro level. However, this work most often occurs in the context of societies in which disparities between groups and communities are structurally supported and maintained. This hard reality limits the effectiveness of efforts to make this principle a reality. This lecture will present a novel approach that seeks to overcome these challenges through sustained action at multiple levels within a society, including public and private sectors, community leaders, as well as key actors in the national and international arenas. The presentation will include transformative experiences currently underway to empower individuals and communities and build capacity on a large scale in the Republic of Congo.
Previous Lecturers