Towards Better Care and Welfare: Let's Stick Together - Period 4 Social Sciences & Humanities Program Spring 2023 Semester - Amsterdam

Loneliness among the young, shortages in care personnel, and a shortage of blood for those that need it: how do we solve these complex issues of care and welfare in our societies? Solidarity and cooperation with others are vital to keep organisations and societies together, but making sure that people receive the care and support they need is a challenging feat. On different levels, individuals, communities and organisations, and welfare state arrangements in the domain of care and welfare are crucial vehicles in bringing about this solidarity. Societies and its citizens can face challenges when ensuring care and welfare in an individualised and digitalised society. Also, the reforms of collective arrangements in welfare states cause a shift towards more private responsibility for care and welfare. These shifts take place in times when, due to social demographic developments like ageing and migration, more citizens are in need of care and welfare services and citizens face inequality in access to and availability of such services. This makes costs and responding to demands increasingly difficult and unsustainable. In such a rapidly changing context, many stakeholders including policy makers, care organisation managers and care professionals face the challenge of how to make the care and welfare system sustainable, just, and targeted at the right people. Many problems are too large for one organisation, scientific discipline and profession to tackle by themselves. Instead, knowledge sharing among experts with different scientific disciplinary backgrounds, and cooperation between different stakeholders is much needed to safeguard the welfare and care of our citizens now and in the future.

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU Amsterdam) awards credits based on the ECTS system. Contact hours listed under a course description may vary due to the combination of lecture-based and independent work required for each course therefore, CEA's recommended credits are based on the ECTS credits assigned by VU Amsterdam. 1 ECTS equals 28 contact hours assigned by VU Amsterdam.