Why do the Philippines remain in poverty? Much development work has been done, initiated and even copied from other developing nations -from dole out initiatives to development and empowerment approach, yet poverty still prevails. As members of a profession that directly works with the poor and vulnerable sectors, MSW students began to reflect and asked what has the social work done to contribute to the national development goals? How responsive are the social work approaches to the social conditions?

In the quest to understand the need for social work education and practice to be relevant to the current situation of the nation and to highlight best practices in policy advocacy and social marketing, the classes of SW 215 (Social Welfare Policy Advocacy) and SW 235 (Social Work Education and Training) initiated to organize the forum under the supervision of Prof. Jeremias Leones. Below are the specific objectives of the forum.