Dimitra-Dora Teloni and Regina Mantanika Delivered by Ingenta IP : 94.67.166.95 On: Thu, 17 Oct 2019 07:25:18 Copyright The Policy Press and Penketh, 2014b). However, as Dedotsi et al (2015) claim, a simplistic knowledge of each ethnic group does not necessarily result in an in-depth understanding of the structural causes of oppression of people nor does it result in an avoidance of ‘blaming’ them for being oppressed. To our mind, more attention should be given in the curriculum to anti-oppressive and anti-racist social work, given the above-described context of the rise of racism and fascism.As Harrison and Burke (2014: 263) argue,‘cultural competencies’ approaches tend to focus on the interaction between practitioners and individuals, while ‘antiracist practice was always based on a firm footing on the structural locations of racism within modern unequal and racist societies’. Moreover, academic social work departments need to take initiatives to inform young students and the community on the history of fascism and, more importantly, to intervene in the community against such phenomena.The involvement of service users and activists in both social work training and practice is an important factor still not particularly present in Greek social work. The link between social work and the movements In the last main section of this article, we offered a short presentation of the voices of resistance against racism and fascism. In terms of radical approaches, the importance of linking social work with the movements has been discussed in detail by Lavalette and Ferguson (2007) and Ferguson (2008). As regards the link between social work and anti-racist movements in Greece, Teloni (2011b) argues that movements have shown alternative approaches and practices in community action, which, in turn, have practical implications for a type of social work that is engaged with its core mandates of social change and social justice. More specifically, the link between social work and the movements permits the establishment of networks in the community and the facilitation of the support being provided to immigrants. Additionally, through an involvement in the movements, practitioners can obtain a broader understanding of the political causes that damage the lives of their clients, and they also have the opportunity to act at a macro level rather than remaining in micro-practice. Furthermore, the values of social work can influence and enrich the interventions of movements and vice versa. Finally, the welfare grassroots structures in anti-racist organisations (such as Greek language schools), healthcare and legal representation can offer practitioners alternative ways of working with people, based on their needs and far removed from the bureaucratic and individualistic approaches of social work. Above all, linking social work and the movements is a collective activity of the profession, representing a form of social work that intervenes at social and political levels and demands social justice and social change. Consequently, it is crucial for social work to be aware of and linked to social and political movements.This necessity does not lie exclusively in the example of the anti-racist movement but it is of particular interest in contemporary Greece where dozens of self-organised grassroots initiatives15 have emerged over five years of crisis.16 For example, the ‘majority of social medical centres are affiliated with social movements’ (Adam and Papatheodorou, 2014: 9) that are based on solidarity–resistance. These also constitute a challenge to developing alternative ways in health and social care as well as community action.17 198