2020 End of Year Report - The International Federation of Social Workers - International Federation of Social ...
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
2020 End of Year Report
The International Federation of Social Workers
1
Imprint
Published by The International Federation of Social Workers
Maiengässli 4, 4310 Rheinfelden, Switzerland
Cover art: Martha Rothblum
Layout: Pascal Rudin
Web: www.ifsw.org
Email: global@ifsw.org
Copyright © 2021 by IFSW
2
Contents
President and Secretary-General’s End of Year Report 5
Award of the IFSW Andrew Mouravieff-Apostol Medal 9
World Social Work Day 10
World Conference 12
General Meeting 16
Information on the Covid-19 Pandemic 19
News from Members 24
Regions
Africa 27
Asia and Pacific 33
Europe 38
Latin America and Caribbean 44
North America 48
Commissions
Education 55
Ethics 63
Human Rights 67
United Nations 71
Projects and Programs
2020 to 2030 Global Agenda 77
Climate Justice Program 79
Free Online Courses 80
Study: Ethical Challenges during Covid-19 Pandemic 83
Global Standards for Social Work Education and Training 84
Partnerships 88
Publications 89
Governance 93
Upcoming Events 94
Communication 95
3
144
National social work orga-
nisations are Members of
IFSW
5
Regions represent IFSW
around the globe
3+ mio Social Workers are re-
presented by IFSW
13
5 Members of the Global Executive
are responsible for the strategic
government of IFSW
Commissions are advancing the
impact and visibility of IFSW
4
IFSW President and Secretary-General’s End of Year Report
«What happened is a remarkable trans-
formation of social work in leading
change in social services»
IFSW President Silvana Martinez and
IFSW Secretary General Rory Truell
Dear colleagues, greetings to all of you. ways of making their services and values
We want to start this report by acknowl- effective. It sparked a culture of transfor-
edging that many in parts of world social mation in service responses, which in turn
workers are under significant pressure in helped transform lives under the most
their continued service in the fight against difficult of circumstances.
the pandemic. The arrival of the COVID-19 Being under such multiple pressures is a
in early 2020 prompted an unprecedented significant burden on social workers who
global effort by social workers to re- are often the stable rock in people´s lives.
orientate services – to meet the needs of But we know that social workers are not
both existing clients and the millions of made of stone, but flesh and emotion
people whose lives had suddenly been which can only absorb so much pressure.
thrown into turmoil by the virus. This ef- We remain fully committed to ensuring
fort was in circumstances that might, at that IFSW continues to support social
first glance, have seemed impossible as workers through global and local connec-
social services are often struggle to meet tion for shared-learning and solidarity.
basic needs. However, what happened is a
remarkable transformation of social 2020 was no doubt a test on all our sys-
work in leading change in social ser- tems and capacities and
vices. from the feedback circulated the Federa-
tion can confidentially say that the profes-
The rise of COVID-19 prompted social sion has passed the tests beyond expecta-
workers to be creative, to think of new tions. We still have a long way to go with
5
IFSW President and Secretary-General’s End of Year Report
the pandemic, the deepening economic cri- Many of you will recall that in the closing
sis as well as in our roles supporting fami- of the IFSW online global conference, five
lies and communities and promoting social proposed Global Agenda theme where
and environmental justice. But if one thing presented which reflected the high-level
has been proved in 2020, it is that social discussions within the 20´000 strong multi
work can rise to the challenges. -partner conference. We stated at that
time that these proposed themes would be
submitted to IASSW and ICSW who had de-
Outcomes from 2020 clined to join the conference and we asked
This report provides outline on the them if they could identify with the
main global activities during 2020. This is themes. A task-force comprising repre-
of course supplemented by the other re- sentatives of IASSW, ICASW and IFSW took
port throughout this document and by the responsibly for working through this re-
weekly news reports issued by the Feder- quest and to examine the separate consul-
ation. tation processes that each of the other or-
ganizations had also undertaken.We were
delighted that IASSW and ICSW were able
The Global Agenda
to see themselves within the results of the
The early decision to cancel the IFSW IFSW consultation. And it was agreed that
world conference scheduled to take place the 2020 to 2030 Global Agenda Frame-
in Canada and to replace it with an online work would be titled: Co-building Inclusive
event has proved to be a significant turn- Social Transformation. Further, the first
ing point in the culture of the Federa- Global Agenda them to cover the years
tion’s operations. Going online resulted in 2020 to 2022 also was promoted through
a massive increase in participation. Nor- our consultation:Ubuntu: Strengthening
mally we could expect 2500 people attend- Social Solidarity and Global Connected-
ing a conference whereas we achieved ness.
20’000 registrations in July. This enabled
The remaining four themes to cover the
widespread participation from across the
years 2022 to 2030 are still on hold as our
world and included representatives to
longstanding partners need more time to
equally participate without the normal fi-
consult their members. This, of course,
nancial and visa travel restrictions. As we
also gives us more time to think and re-
move forward in the future, the Federation
flect and ensure that the Global Agenda
will be committed to maintaining these
can include every possible organization
barrierless events and also develop the
that wants to see the impact social work
opportunity for people to participate in
and its social-justice aspirations expand.
face to face groups where possible.
We expect the remaining fours themes will
6
IFSW President and Secretary-General’s End of Year Report
become an important point of discussion The Commissions
again throughout 2021. Elsewhere in the document are separate
reports from each of the Commissions. We
Future World Conferences: 2022 and 2024 would also like to note some of their high-
lights in our report:
With concern about the risk of travel and
time it may take for vaccines to be widely The UN Commission has formed a new
available, the IFSW Executive, determined partnership with ´Local 2030´. This is a
that travel between regions should be UN platform that promotes collaboration
avoided as the profession needs to act and action in support of the SDGs at local
with maximum responsibility in ensuring levels. The partnership recognizes the im-
the safety of social workers and the com- portant contributions that social work
munities they work within. We, therefore, makes to development.
proposed to our global conference part- The Education Commission formally
ners that the 2022 conference be planned launched the new Global Standards of So-
as an online event and 2024 as a hybrid cial Work Education in partnership with
event. Our partners have agreed that 2022 IASSW. This initiative will have far-
will be online and discussion are proceed- reaching consequences for countries
ing regarding the arrangments for 2024. where social work education falls short of
meeting minimum requirements. The
Commission met recently to consider ways
The Executive to support social work departments to
As we have worked through the challeng- build better bridges with their national as-
es of coordinating and responding to the sociations to support the achievement of
challenges of COVID, the culture of the Ex- the minimum standards. A new partner-
ecutive has also changed. The Executive ship has also been developed between
now meets on a more regular basis via IFSW and the Latin American Council for
Zoom. This from our observation has ena- Social Sciences, and we are envisaging
bled a momentum in the Executive´s gov- high levels of cooperation as we move for-
ernance role that was not possible before ward in our shared vision for education to
when the Executive only met once a year. be an emancipatory process.
In an executive meeting shortly after the The Ethics Commission has collaborated
General Meeting, an election took place for with the Social Work Ethics Research
the position of IFSW Global Vice President. Group and produced an Ethical Guideline
We were delighted that there where two for social workers in the context of COVID-
strong nominations for the role. Rose Hen- 19. The Commission has further been ac-
derson, President of the Asia-Pacific re- tive in reviewing new member applicants
gion was successful and is subsequently Code of Ethics.
the IFSW Vice President.
7
IFSW President and Secretary-General’s End of Year Report
The Human Rights Commission has com- plexity and responding with successful ac-
menced a process where a number of tions. A key principle that has underpinned
statements will be issued on issues of this approach is to treat all IFSW partner
concern. They are also working with the organizations equally and avoiding hierar-
International Social Work Action Network chies of partnerships that limit or exclude
to bring support and visibility to social others. Consequently, we envisage the
workers that have been imprisoned for continued partnership expansion that was
carrying out their professional duties. identified as a key objective in the 2016
The Indigenous Commission has asked the IFSW constitutional review.
Executive to appoint or reappoint their re- There are, of course, many challenges
gional representatives following the deci- ahead. The ongoing pandemic and its neg-
sion to upgrade the committee to a Com- ative impact on the national and global
mission. This process is nearly complet- economies will place a number of our
ed. members in financial uncertainty. The Ex-
ecutive has therefore commissioned the
Secretariat to review the fees policy and
Applications for new membership examine a percentage based contribution
We are currently supporting applications of the fees that the IFSW organizational
for full membership from Barbados, Gam- members receive for their members, as
bia, Surinam, Ethiopia and possibly the ex- opposed to a set amount per member. This
tension of Coordinating Bodies in Sri we feel may lead to more consistent and
Lanka and Italy. Given the ongoing interest transparent fees paradigm which does not
in joining IFSW, through the establishment have different fees structures based on an
of national associations, we can expect old concept of national Gross Domestic
that all the world´s counties will have Product. The Secretariat will produce
membership in the coming decade. some models and concepts for us all to
review and consider before formally ta-
bled a paper at the next General Meeting.
Looking forward
We end this report by wishing
Over the last year, the Federation has
all members tremendous success in
shown it placed itself well in actively re-
2021 and thank you again for your many
sponding to the COVID crisis, leading the
and significant contributions to the global
Global Agenda processes and building new
profession.
partnerships. These have all been complex
processes as they have involved multiple
ethnic and organizational cultures. The In solidarity,
stable leadership of IFSW during this peri- Silvana and Rory
od has helped with reflecting on this com-
8
Awards
Award of the IFSW Andrew Mouravieff-
Apostol Medal to Margaret Humphreys
face up to past bad practices. She is de-
termined to put right the wrongs of past
poor practice. She lives social work valu-
es and deserves our thanks’.
BASW Chair, Gerry Nosowska, said:
´BASW is proud to have nominated Mar-
garet for her inspirational work. She has
The International Federation of Social made an international impact through her
Workers was pleased to announce the a- commitment to the principles of social
ward of the highest honour of the Federa- work’.
tion – the Andrew Mouravieff-Apostol Me-
dal – to Margaret Humpreys CBE, AO. Chair of the BASW International Commit-
tee and former IFSW President, David N
The presentation was made at the IFSW Jones, drew attention to the citation sub-
virtual General Meeting on Saturday 11 mitted by BASW with support from AASW
July 2020. She was nominated for the a- and CASW-ACTS. He referred to
ward by the social work associations in ‘Margaret’s absolute determination to
the UK (BASW), Australia (AASW) and Ca- achieve fairness and justice for the child
nada (CASW-ACTS). migrants and their families and her out-
The award recognises Margaret’s out- standing use of social work skills in
standing professional career as a proud contact not only with the child migrants
social worker and in particular her work but also governments, embassies, agenci-
exposing the child migrant scandal. es and Prime Ministers. Her professional
IFSW President, Silvana Martinez, said work embodies the true characteristics of
‘Margaret has made an outstanding con- a social worker and she is a worthy reci-
tribution to international social work and pient of this global award.’
she deserves our thanks’. In reply, Margaret Humphreys thanked
IFSW Secretary-General, Rory Truell, the three associations for the nomination
commented: ‘Margaret has always spoken and IFSW. She said: It is an honour and I
proudly of her social work identity. She accept this award on behalf of all the child
has constantly upheld social work values migrants and their families that have be-
in her practice and her global campaig- en the focus of my work since 1987…”.
ning. She has facilitated people to tell To see the video nomination from BASW,
their own stories & supported them to the IFSW presentation and Margaret
shape a global campaign. She has chal- Humphreys acceptance, please click here.
lenged large agencies & governments to Read the BASW citation paper here.
9
Events
World Social Work Day
World Social Work Day in 2020 showed that
the visibility and participation significantly
increased throughout the past years. IFSW
members celebrated the day worldwide with
peaceful protests, community meetings, and
advocacy strategies in their governments,
etc. Members also assisted with the transla-
tion of the poster which this year included
75 languages.
Furthermore, Members of IFSW from all o-
ver the world shared their WSWD stories
and images with us. .
BBC World News Covers WSWD
Updarted Poster
BBC World News covered the updated poster
as follows:
IFSW Updated the World Social Work Day
Poster to reflect the practice realities under
Covid 19 conditions. This news from the
social work profession has reached the at-
tention of the international media as the
profession quickly and responsibly adapts to
the new situation.
IFSW Secretary-General, Rory Truell com-
mented, ‘Social workers are able to work
with high levels of complexity and with
changing conditions. In this crisis the pro-
fession is critical in advocating that social
services adapt to the conditions and remain
open, offering appropriate online and tele-
phone support systems where physical
contact is not possible. This especially im- Read more
portant for populations that are at high risk.
The World Social Work Day Poster was up- Click here to read more about ce-
dated as the profession adjusts at all levels lebrations around the globe.
and we are delighted there has been signifi-
cant interest from the world media”. You may find a collage of the hash-
tag #WSWD2020 on the next page.
Read the article on BBC here
10#WSWD2020
11Events
IFSW World Conference
The difficult decision to cancel the IFSW The consultation process was launched in
world conference scheduled to take place 2018 to develop the next Global Agenda
in Canada was to ensure that all partici- themes as a strategy to advance the pro-
pants remain safe in the face of Covid-19. fession’s focus and impact in the coming
Taking the excellent work developed in decade. The two-year consultation com-
Calgary and translating this into online menced with a dedicated online process
frameworks proved to be a significant enabling all people to submit proposals,
turning point in the culture of the Federa- followed by national and regional work-
tion’s role in bringing people together for shops and the World Conference finale.
collaborative learning. The conference brought all parts of the
Going online resulted in a massive in- social work system together: Political lea-
crease in participation. Normally we could ders, People who have experienced care,
expect 2500 people attending a confer- community leaders, educators, social ser-
ence whereas we achieved 20’000 regis- vice leaders and social workers from
trations in July. This enabled widespread throughout the world. IFSW also welco-
participation from 185 countries and in- med new partner organizations into the
cluded representatives to equally partici- leadership of the conference to strengthen
pate without the normal financial and visa the process.
travel restrictions. The resulting IFSW themes contributing to
The conference marked the conclusion of the 2020 to 2030 Global Agenda for Social
the two-year consultation on the 2020 to Work are:
2030 Global Agenda themes .
12Events
IFSW World Conference
Valuing Social Work as an
Essential Service Transforming Social Protec-
Realising the essential role of the social tions Systems
work profession to connect people, com-
munities and systems, to co-build Transforming social protections systems
sustainable communities and to contribute to secure the human dignity and rights of
to liveable futures. all peoples.
Resourcing the profession with legal Strengthening connections for security
recognition, respectful working conditions, and change. Promoting harmony in relati-
education and continuing professional de- onships and a way of living between peop-
velopment and supporting professional les, communities and mother earth.
associations. Promoting Diversity and the
Co-building Inclusive Social Power of Joint Social Action
Transformation Celebrating the strengths of all people and
their active role in leading social develop-
Co-building with people, families, commu- ment.
nities, social movements and govern-
Working together to co-design and co-
ments to achieve inclusive social transfor-
mation locally, nationally, regionally and build thriving communities and societies
globally. for people and the environment.
Promoting participatory democracy, gen-
der equality, action to address racism, When announcing the themes, the conve-
economic sustainability and climate jus- ners of the consultation process Rory
tice. Truell and Rose Henderson said, “That the
themes are not in an order of preference
or importance – each theme is equally im-
portant and they are integrated together
Ubuntu: ´I am because we as a framework” In her conference closing
are´ speech IFSW President Silvana Martinez
said “Never before in the 92 years history
Nurturing relationships are central to the
of IFSW has there been such an inclusive
social work profession in all aspects of
and democratic process. The conference
our work.
enabled all people to contribute to the next
Promoting indigenous knowledge and the Global Agenda. Without a doubt, it has be-
decolonisation of the social work professi- en a historic and successful event”.
on.
13Events
2020 IFSW World Conference
The next stage involved working with IFS- work is essential for every country´s eco-
W’s longstanding partners – The Internati- nomic and social development. These sig-
onal Association of Schools of Social Work nificant outcomes and the online plat-
and the International Council on Social forms that enabled them will have far-
Welfare that had respectfully declined to reaching effects bringing forward a new
be partners to the IFSW conference but era”.
continued to be engaged in the broader See the video presentations:
Global Agenda processes. IFSW formally Results of the conference
took these outcomes to these partners in
the hope that they coul see themselves in Closing ceremony
and support this framework. Commenting
as IFSW Secretary-General, Rory Truell Movie of images during the conference
said, “The World Conference, which con-
cluded the consultation strategy, confir-
med the social work role in advocating Programme of the
that formal social protection systems
Conference
need to change focus from providing ser-
vices for people in crisis to becoming The contents of the 2020 IFSW World Con-
agencies of social transformation that ference are available here:
prevent social crisis. The Themes Frame-
work clearly highlights the approach of co Book of Abstracts (PDF, 15.8Mb)
-building and co-designing with communi-
Programme (Website)
ties along with the message that social
14Events
2020 IFSW World Conference
20‘000 Participants of Social Work or Unions representing
By the end of the conference, 20‘000 parti- social work. IFSW invited all the Con-
cipants from 185 countries were regis- ference participants to join the conversati-
tered. on in developing the Global Agenda the-
mes and share their proposals with the
“This is wonderful news”, Rory Truell said, presenters in the more than 300 sessions,
“The unprecedented interest highlights the the live panels and a key area to contribute
profession´s commitment and success in is the Open Mic session. The Open Mic ses-
bringing together political leaders, com- sion which run 24 hours a day, provided
munity leaders, representatives of people opportunities for all participants to propo-
whom have experienced social services, se themes and discuss other people´s
United Nations leaders with social workers proposals. Access the Open Mic session
worldwide. Our common task in this con- from the conference programme.
ference is to develop the 2020 to 2030 Glo-
bal Agenda Themes that will further
strengthen the profession as a key partner Partners
in transforming the social concerns of the
world´s communities in which we work”,
he continued.
In the same week, IFSW expanded its
country level membership when 3 new Na-
tional Associations of Social Work succes-
sfully met the criteria for admission. IFSW
now comprises 144 National Associations
Conference Committee
Silvana Martinez Rory Truell Linda Kreitzner Jan Christianson-Wood
Larry Alicea Rodríguez Lola Casal-Sánchez Pascal Rudin
15Events
2020 IFSW General Meeting
‘The International Federation of Social demonstrated the power of good relati-
Workers General Meeting, which closed on onships and the vitality of social work’, he
Monday 13 July 2020, demonstrated the concluded.
ability of social workers to create triumph The outcomes of this General Meeting
out of adversity’, said Silvana Martinez, leave the Federation in a really strong po-
President of IFSW. The General Meeting sition to advocate with even more deter-
ran as an online process starting on Sa- mination for social justice and the recogni-
turday 11 July 08.00 UTC concluding on tion of social workers in all countries’, said
Monday 13 July 22.00 UTC. Silvana Martinez.
The meeting involved 226 members from
91 countries resulting in the largest and
most inclusive General Meeting in the his- Outcomes of elections for the
tory of the Federation. ‘Delegates adapted
quickly to this new form of General Mee-
executive
ting’, said IFSW Secretary-General Rory Silvana Martinez welcomed the following
Truell. There was an impressive range of people onto The IFSW Global Executive:
comments and lively debate on key policy • Sriganesh M V, Vice-President Asia-
issues. The sense of professional com- Pacific
mitment and unity was highly visible and
16Events
2020 IFSW General Meeting
• Mildred Joyner, Regional President their contribution to the democratic pro-
North American cess and their commitment to IFSW: Abu
• Joan Davis-Whelan, Regional Vice Pre- Mansaray (George), Irene Leung and Liu
sident North American Jing.
• Victor Ivan Garcia-Toro, Treasurer (Re-
elected)
• Noel Muridzo, Regional President Afri-
ca (Re-elected) IFSW Education Commission
• Tania Maria Ramos, Regional Vice Pre- formalised
sident Latin American and the Caribbe-
an (Re-elected) The General Meeting decided to formalise
• Ana Radulescu, Regional President Eu- the Education Commission as a permanent
rope (Re-elected) structure to advise the Executive and Fe-
deration on matters concerning qualifica-
They join the existing members of the Exe- tions of social workers and standards of
cutive who continue to serve for a further education and training and to develop
two years until the next General Meeting: partnerships with educational networks to
enhance the quality of social work educa-
• Joachim Mumba, Regional Vice Presi-
dent, Africa Region tion.
• Rose Henderson, Regional President The Commission has worked in collabora-
Asia-Pacific tion with the International Association of
• John Brennan, Regional Vice President Schools of Social Work over the past two
Europe years to revise the joint statement of Glo-
• Larry Emil Alicea Rodríguez, Regional
bal Standards for Social Work Education
President Latin American and the
Caribbean and Training. The revised statement was
endorsed by the General Meeting (Link)
Silvana Martinez thanked the outgoing and sets out minimum standards for soci-
executive members: al work education programmes as well
aspirational measures to support the
Kathy Wehrmann, Regional Vice President,
achievement of high academic and profes-
North America, Jan Christianson-Wood,
sional outcomes.
Regional President North America andIre-
ne Leung, Vice President, Asia-Pacific
President Martinez further thanked all the
nominees who stood in this election for
17Events
2020 IFSW General Meeting
Establishment of an Indigenous Social work and the United Na-
Commission within the structure tion’s Sustainable Development
of IFSW Goals (SDGs)
The General Meeting decided to establish The Meeting reaffirmed its commitment to
a permanent Indigenous Commission to the SDGs. It was agreed that a policy pa-
ensure that the contributions of indi- per will be facilitated by the executive to
genous social workers are recognised highlight the essential role of social work-
across the Federation. ‘This new Commis- ers in fulfilling social development goals
sion will strengthen the voice of indi- and supporting multilateral partnerships.
genous social workers within the Federa-
tion’, said Rory Truell, IFSW Secretary-
General, ‘and will help IFSW to learn from Concluding Remarks
indigenous knowledges as well as enab-
ling the Federation to address the profes- At the successful conclusion of this histo-
sion´s histories where indigenous rights ric online Meeting, Silvana Martinez and
were denied. Rory Truell commented: “The profession
has achieved big leaps forward in this Ge-
neral Meeting. The online environment
enabling all our members to participate
New members were welcomed has shown that we have the ability to
National social worker organisations from overcome timezone and language challen-
the following countries were welcomed ges as well as building a more inclusive
into formal membership of IFSW: democratic decision-making process”.
• Republic of the Congo – National
Association of Social Workers of the
Republic of Congo.
• Jordan – Jordan Association for Social
Work Further Information
• Mexico – National Federation of Mexi-
can Collegium of Social Work To read more about IFSW General
These countries join a global Federation Meetings, please visit our General
now comprising 144 Members. Meetin info hub on the website.
18Global
Information on the Covid-19 Pandemic
In many countries social workers were • as a profession, advocating for the ad-
and continue supporting communities that vancement and strengthening of health
are affected or fearful of the Covid-19 Vi- and social services as an essential
rus. Social work has an essential frontline protection against the virus, inequality
role in the fight against the spread of the and the consequent social and econo-
virus through supporting communities mic challenges.
protect themselves and others through
physical distancing and social solidarity.
Key functions of social work at this time Official IFSW statements
included and continue to include:
relating to Covid-19
• ensuring that the most vulnerable are
included in planning and response. 10 November: Practising During Pandemic
Conditions. Ethical Guidance for Social
• organizing communities to ensure that Workers
essentials such as food and clean wa- Link to statement
ter are available.
4 November: To the Top of the Cliff: How
• advocating within social services and social work changed with COVID-19
in policy environments that services Link to statement
adapt, remain open and pro-active in
supporting communities and vulnerab- 1 July: The Social Work Response to COVID
le populations. -19 – Six Months On: Championing chan-
ges in services and preparing for long-
• facilitating physical distancing and term consequences
social solidarity. Link to statement
19Global
Information on the Covid-19 Pandemic
19 May: COVID-19: the struggle, success 1 March: Update on the Corona Virus for
and expansion of social work – Rory Truell IFSW Members
reflects on the profession’s global respon- Link to statement
se, five months. English | Spanish
22 April: Weekly Report From IFSW On The
Social Work Response To COVID-19: Num- Articles by members
ber 5
English | Spanish ASEAN COUNTRIES
Social workers in Aseanic countries res-
9 April: Femicides: When you live with the pond to covid-19 pandemic
murderer. A reading in times of Com- Link to article
pulsory Social Isolation
Link to statement
AUSTRALIA
8 April: It is the time to replace models of Australian Social workers respond to the
nationalism and charity with new global Pandemic
ethical foundations: What the World Can Link to article
Learn from International Social Work
Link to statement
CHINA
7 April: Ethical Decision-making in the face
of COVID-19
English | Spanish
1 April: Social Work Responds to Covid 19
– Report 3
Link to statement
30 March: Humaniratian request to teleco-
munication business owners
English | Spanish Social workers actively engaged in the
fight against the corona virus
26 March: As social workers work through Link to article
the Covid 19 crisis we work towards a bet-
ter world CZECH REPUBLIC
Link to statement Declaration of the society of social work-
ers on Covid-19
21 March: Secretary-General report on the Link to article
Social Work Response: Link to video
Statement by the association of social
workers of the Czech Republic COVID-19
11 March: Statement on IFSW & Covid-19
Link to article
Link to statement
20Global
Information on the Covid-19 Pandemic
CHILE INDIA
Social workers declaration on Covid-19 One day – one donor covid-19 programme
Link to article Link to article
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO.
Report of the 'SAP' proximity action strate- ITALY
gy activity for the fight against Covid-19 Italian social workers share experiences
Link to article on the pandemic
Link to article
EL SALVADOR Professionals thanks the IFSW for their
Statement of the association of workers support during covid-19
and social workers on the pandemic Link to article
Link to article
IRAN
GHANA
Ghanian Association calls its members to
support the government-initiated
measures against Covid-19
Link to article
GERMANY
Social workers work with food banks “a
warm soup in the morning against the
cold of the night”
Social workers share report on the pan-
Link to article
demic
Link to article
HUNGARY
Open letter to prime minister to support Iranian social workers research on the
social workers during Covid-19 pandemic
Link to article Link to article
Social workers call for lifting the trade
INDONESIA sanctions on medical supplies
Social Work action in response to Covid-19 Link to article
Link to article
ISRAEL
Update on response to the Covid-19 pan-
Social workers promote international
demic
learning from the corona pandemic
Link to article Link to article
21Global
Information on the Covid-19 Pandemic
LUXEMBOURG PUERTO RICO
ANASIG statement on the covid19 crisis Social workers ask for social "task force"
Link to article to address crisis
Link to article
MALAWI
Social workers statement on the covidLink ROMANIA
to article Social workers fight the pandemic
Link to article
NEW ZEALAND ASPROAS asks the government of Roma-
New Zealand social workers respond to nia for financial compensation for social
corona virus pandemic assistance staff forced to isolate themsel-
Link to article ves at work
Link to article
NEPAL
Provision of tele socio-psychological coun- SLOVAKIA
selling during the pandemic Slovakia open letter to thank you all social
Link to article works
Link to article
NIGERIA
Call for sober reflections and calmness SOUTH KOREA
during the pandemic
Link to article
NORWAY
Norwegian union of social workers re-
spond to covid-19 pandemic
Link to article
PHILIPPINES
Philippines responds to the corona virus Sharing social work activities to intervene
Link to article during covid-19
Link to article
The campaign to connect with respect
Link to article Report on social work and the corona
virus
Link to article
POLAND
The uncertain fate of changes for social Social workers share their experience in
workers practice fighting COVID-19
Link to article Link to article
22Global
Information on the Covid-19 Pandemic
SPAIN YEMEN
Campaign on the responsibility and inter- The working paper about the role of social
vention of social workers in the fight work to confront of COVID-19
against Covid19 Link to article
Link to article
ZAMBIA
SWEDEN Social workers ready to response to
Supporting social workers in times of COVID-19
covid-19 Link to article
Link to article
ZIMBABWE
TANZANIA Call social workers and the world to unite
and escalate the fight
Link to article
Articles by individuals
Social workers respond to covid-19
Link to article There are currently almost 40 artic-
les submitted by individuals which
may be found on our Covid-19 info
UNITED KINGDOM
hub.
Social workers open letter to Prime Minis-
ter to support their service
Link to article Please note that these articles may
not necessarily represent the view
of IFSW or its members. If you like to
UGANDA submit an article, please do so by
Social workers urged on psychosocial sending it to global@ifsw.org.
support
Link to article
23Members
News From Members
Austria Germany
Network "Social Work In German-
Speaking Regions And Amongst German-
Social Workers In Austria Went On Strike Speaking Minorities"
Demanding A Reduction Of Working Hours
Link to article
To 35-Hour/Week To Prevent Burnout
Link to article
Ireland
Belarus Irish Association Of Social Workers State-
ment On Racism
Belarus Association Of Social Workers
Link to article
Calls For The Respect Of The Principles Of
Humanity And Social Justice
The Liaison Social Work Role In Nursing
Link to article Homes And Residential Settings: A Model
For Practice
Link to article
Democratic Republic Congo
Cambodia, Japan, Sri Lanka
NASW-DRC Are Working In Uvira , Located
In The South-Kivu Region Of The DRC,
Which Has Recently Sustained Heavy
International Workshop On Strengthening
Rains.
Families: Role Of Social Workers
Link to article
Link to article
24Members
News From Members
Lebanon USA
Social Workers In Lebanon Respond After NASW Statement: Trump Administration’s
Explosion Proposed Mass Raids On Migrant Families
Link to article Misguided, Harmful
Link to article
Morocco, The Netherlands
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe Social Workers: International
Women’s Day
Link to article
Find more news on
our Information Hub
Twinning As A Concept To Cooperate – The
On the IFSW Information Hub Se-
Moroccan-Dutch Case
arch, you may find more news from
Link to article Members, as well as all other con-
tent of our website.
You may use filters, such as infor-
Canada, USA mation type, topic, region, langauage
and commission to narrow down y-
Social Workers: We See You - Joint State-
our search. Click here to access our
ment Of Solidarity
Information Hub.
Link to article
25Join and become an IFSW Friend today!
Anyone can join as a Friend of IFSW. • Discounted conference registration
Friends join to show their support for in- fees (whenever possible).
ternational social work and to become of a
• The opportunity to create and/or parti-
world-wide community. As a Friend of
cipate in international, regional or local
IFSW you receive:
social work or social justice cam-
• Free online access to the journal: In- paigns.
ternational Social Work (ISW) publis-
• The certificate of ‘IFSW Friends Status’
hed by Sage publications. You will be
membership
able to access all the articles in the
journals dating back to January 1959.
• Advance access to all IFSW publica-
tions at reduced cost.
Individual Friend Student Friend Life Friend Organisational
membership membership membership Friend membership
$50 for 1 year $25 for 1 year $600 $1000 for 1 year
https://www.ifsw.org/join/ https://www.ifsw.org/join/ https://www.ifsw.org/join/
SIGN UP NOW SIGN UP NOW SIGN UP NOW SIGN UP NOW
26Regions
IFSW Africa
Introduction Members
The IFSW Africa region report is a summa- • The region now comprises of 27 IFSW
ry of activities implemented in the during members who are working toward en-
the period under reporting. The report gi- suring that the profession is recog-
ves a brief picture about membership to nised. (14 active members i.e. Botswa-
the federation in the region and also high- na, Burundi, Rwanda, Egypt, Ghana,
lights achievements, good practices as Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Ni-
well as challenges during the period July geria, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Zimbab-
2018 – June 2020. It also outlines a sum- we, Guinea, Democratic Republic of
mary of strategic activities and initiatives Congo and Morocco)
the regions seek to prioritise between now • New Members: 01 Democratic Re-
and June 2022. The vision for IFSW Afri- public of Congo
can Leadership is to grow the profession
through strengthening of National Associ- • New Applications: there are no new
ations, enhancing the visibility of African applications yet except for Mozam-
social workers within the region and at the bique, the Gambia, Ethiopia, Togo and
global level as well as deliberate engage- Ivory Coast who have expressed inte-
ments with region political and economic rest to join IFSW
blocs such as AU, ECOWAS, SADC, EAC etc.
The report ends with a concluding state-
ment.
27Regions
IFSW Africa
Activities and Achieve- Respective National Associations were en-
couraged to share narrative reports about
ments during the period their activities, lessons and challenges in
in the Region terms of social work response to COVID-
19. In collaboration with Children and Fa-
During the period under review, IFSW Afri-
ca Region galvanized national associations milies International Foundation, IFSW Afri-
in the region to work in collaboration with ca Region hosted 6 zoom webinar conver-
their respective governments and other sation series dubbed Social workers res-
key stakeholders to respond to COVID-19 ponds to COVID-19. The conversations
pandemic. Most national associations which featured a number of social work
within the region mobilized social workers practitioners selected from different
to work on voluntary basis to support fa- member countries were streamed live on
milies and children affected by COVID-19 the IFSW global Facebook page with over
pandemic. Some social workers were sup- 12,000 views globally. The Regional also
ported by respective national associations initiated webinar series in French and was
to effectively respond to the pandemic considering to initiate one for Portuguese
within the agency they practice through speaking countries in Africa. It is evident
professional support on how to deal with from the feedback received so far that we-
ethical dilemmas amidst COVID-19 binar conversations have yielded positive
response as well as how to manage own impact and contributed immensely in rai-
stress and burnout. Individual country sing the voices of African social workers’
campaign and share social work stories in whist affording them platform to tell their
the media. social work practice stories.
In collaboration with other stakeholders
such as UNICEF, Global Social Service
Workforce Alliance and the Alliance for
Child Protection in Humanitarian Action,
IFSW Africa region contributed to the de-
velopment of the Guidance note for care
and protection of the social service work-
force amid COVID-19. The guidance note
was shared to all the member Associa-
tions.
As a response to COVID-19, members of
The IFSW Africa Region embarked on a
the National Association of Social Workers
using social media to share best practices
in Uganda were incorporated in the natio-
and experiences of difference countries
nal technical team that developed guide-
social work responses to COVID 19.
lines and tools for the operations rese-
28Regions
IFSW Africa
arch, sharing of new knowledge to in- African communities namely Kenya,
fluence policy and facilitate program lear- Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania as well as
ning and adaptation in regard to COVID-19 Malawi. Young Careers from the UK and
prevention and response. Our member in Canada joined in through live stream to
Uganda just as Tanzania, empowered share their experiences.
frontline service providers that included IFSW Africa Region notes that during the
social workers, para-social workers, vo- period under review, a number of national
lunteers and community gate keepers associations were involved with program-
with information for on-going prevention mes in correctional facilities. Kenya for
and response to COVID-19 pandemic. example worked on the ex-prisoner reuni-
fication and community awareness raising
programmes with families and the com-
munity. This was done in collaboration
with religious institutions and community
awareness program. On the other hand,
the association in the Democratic Republic
of Congo provided food and counselling
services to women and youth prisoners.
During the period under review, the
Association in Zambia worked in part-
nership with UNICEF Zambia and the
Government Ministry of Community Deve-
lopment and Social Services to implement
a project dubbed “Service Efficiency and
Effectiveness for Vulnerable Children and
Adolescents (SEEVCA)”. The project was
aimed at supporting the Government in 15
Districts through secondment of Social
Workers to strengthen local level case
management system for Vulnerable Child-
ren and Adolescents through building
capacities of community volunteers and
During the period under review, Kenya para-social workers to identify vulnerable
hosted the East African young careers children and adolescents, assess their
conference which takes place every two needs and link them to available services.
years. The conference brought together a On the other hand, the association in Bu-
number of young careers from the East rundi, embarked on a project to promote
29Regions
IFSW Africa
Zero tolerance for teen pregnancy in Africa envisages to invest in building
schools. NASW Burundi embarked on sen- capacities of national associations in set-
sitization campaigns in selected schools to ting up Governance and financial manage-
reduce school drop out of girls due to child ment systems and the holding of elections
pregnancies. In order to enhance is testimony for good governance as well
sustainability and effectiveness of the pro- as demonstration that national associa-
ject, small groups of peer educators were tions are moving on a self-sustaining and
established in every target school. good governance trajectory.
The region also notes that a number of
social workers in respective member
countries took part in responding to
poverty reduction initiatives and humani-
tarian crisis situations such as floods in
Burundi, Kenya and the Democratic Re-
public of Congo. Social workers have also
responded to the effects of Cyclone Ida It was evident across Africa that social
that hit the countries of Zimbabwe, Malawi work is not considered as a profession
and Mozambique. Due to the fact that most and given due recognition just as the legal
countries in Africa are resource constrai- profession, medical practitioners, tea-
ned and that social workers are not chers, engineers etc. during the period un-
adequately prepared to respond to huge der review, there has been a big move-
natural disaster such as foods, cyclones ment within our member associations to
and pandemic, the regions appeals for seek legal recognition of social work as a
cross learning and sharing of skills and profession. A number of countries such as
knowledge with country members that ha- Zambia, Tanzania, Malawi, Uganda and
ve experience responding to such humani- Kenya have initiated efforts of drafting
tarian disasters. pieces of legislation meant for the recog-
IFSW Africa Region has been encouraging nition of social work as a profession. It can
its members to uphold constitutionalism be confirmed that at a time of reporting,
and ensure they hold elections within nati- there were only three countries in the re-
onal association. During the period under gion with laws recognizing social work as
review, a number of National Associations a profession i.e. South Africa, Namibia and
reported to have democratically held elec- Zimbabwe. Those countries that have
tions for their respective national associa- commenced the process of pushing for the
tions and these include, Nigeria, Zambia, enactment of social work legislation cur-
Zimbabwe, Botswana, Ghana, Tanzania, rently at different stages. IFSW Africa is
Malawi and Uganda. As a strategy of convinced that for as long as Governments
strengthening national associations, IFSW in Africa do not recognize social work as a
30Regions
IFSW Africa
profession, social workers in the region youth forum as a preconference activity
will continue being subjected to low pay with the view of not leaving anyone be-
and that most countries will continue side- hind. Participants to the conference in-
lining social workers even on issues were cluded the IFSW Global President – Dr. Sil-
the skills of social workers matter and vana Martinez, Immediate past Presi-
should be valued. As part of the efforts dent for IFSW Global – Ruth Stark, Dr. Ro-
to “Professionalize of Social Work in Mala- ry Truell – IFSW Secretary General and Dr.
wi”, the national association held its 2nd Angelo McClain – Chief Executive Officer
national conference with guest speakers for NASW – USA
from within the region and the UK. During the period under review, national
IFSW Africa region commends national associations within the region commemo-
associations that have moved with the re- rated World Social Work Day. IFSW Africa
gional strategic direction of fostering part- region, facilitated sharing of pictures and
nerships within country settings. National key messages for respective countries
Associations were being encouraged to world social work day commemoration
work in close collaboration with their nati- through the Regional WhatsApp group and
onal governments, UN agencies, Non- the IFSW Africa Facebook page. The idea
Governmental organizations as well as was to encourage cross learning and col-
other key stakeholders in social service laboration within the region.
provision. It was evident that the success
of the IFSW Africa Region conference hos-
ted by our member, National Association Challenges in the Region
of Social Workers-Uganda was largely due Most national associations in Africa face
to the creation of strategic partnerships challenges of lack of office space and
with different role players. The successful equipment
hosting of the International Federation of Lack of financial resources (limited
Social Workers (IFSW) Africa Region Con- fundraising ventures with dependent on
ference from 28th – 31st October 2019 in meagre membership subscription fees).
Kampala, Uganda is testimony that efforts This affects national Associations capacity
to foster strategic alliances always yields to remit annual subscription fees to IFSW.
better outcomes. The conference which Lack of legal recognise social work as a
saw the participation of well over 400 de- profession in most countries
legates from 23 countries from Africa and Lack of resources at Regional level to sup-
across the globe was held under the the- port strengthening of our member associ-
me: “Strengthening Human Relations for ations
Social, Economic & Political Transformati- The outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic de-
on”. The conference commenced with a stabilised most of the planned activities
31Regions
IFSW Africa
including commemoration of World Social area of governance, setting up of orga-
Work day which is usually used as plat- nisational financial systems, resource
form for advocacy and engagement with mobilisation strategy and partnership
Government of policy influence. creation strategy
The changing face of social work as both • Engage with Regional and national po-
as a profession and an integral part of civil litical and economic bodies such as the
society activism. AU, ECOWAS, SADC, EAC etc for purpo-
Social Work is not recognized or respected
ses of policy influence
as a profession in many countries in Africa
and as such social workers are oftentimes • Engage Portuguese and French Spea-
looked at as volunteers only needed for king Countries to Join the IFSW family
distributing handouts.
Lack of standardization of social work
training curriculum in most countries in
Conclusion
IFSW Africa region is indebted to its mem-
Africa remains a going concern and this
ber associations for their commitment to
negatively impacts on the quality of prac-
the cause of growing the profession in Af-
tice.
rica. We would also like to remember soci-
al workers who lost their lives whilst wor-
king on the frontline responding to COVID-
Key Planned Activities 19. Our hearts and prayers are with the
and Events family of STÉPHANE DIMOKIE SHABANTU
• 2021 IFSW AFRICA REGIONAL CON- from the Democratic Republic of Congo
FERENCE to be hosted by Rwanda. The who died on June 7, 2020 to COVID-19.
conference expectations are to enhan- May his Soul Rest in Endless Peace.
ce existing linkages, build new part- Noel Muridzo, Regional President IFSW Af-
nerships and collaborations as well as rica and Joachim Cuthbert Mumba, Regio-
serve as a platform for sharing our nal Vice President IFSW Africa
social work practice stories and skills
development for social work practitio-
ners in Africa
• Continue hosting webinars to activate News and Statements
the voices of social workers in the re-
gion to tell and document their practice
stories
Please click here to read the latest
• Provide capacity building support to news and statements of the IFSW
national associations within the region Africa Region
for purposes of strengthening in the
32Regions
IFSW Asia and Pacific
Introduction but also used these to generously share
with each other our practice wisdom nati-
As we prepare this report for our General
onally, regionally and globally. We are
Meeting in 2020, we are mindful that the
undoubtedly stronger and more united as
world we knew at the time of our last
a result and we now have the opportunity
meeting in India during September 2019 is
to further build this solidarity and
forever changed as we face unpreceden-
strengthen our professional connections
ted changes and challenges across the
as we enter the post-pandemic era.
globe. We acknowledge those of you who
have lost colleagues, friends or family as IFSW Asia Pacific Regio-
a result of the global pandemic the world
is currently experiencing. For social work- nal Conference 2019
ers today, these are the most significant Looking back over the time since our last
times of change we have collectively faced General Meeting, the regional highlight
and responded to globally in our recent was undoubtedly our regional conference
history. We are in awe and immensely in India. From 17 - 20 September 2019,
proud of the way our profession has uni- members of the social work profession
ted, faced and responded to the challen- gathered in Bengaluru India to attend our
ges be that adapting the way we work with 25th Asia Pacific Joint IFSW Asia Pacific
the people in our communities, adapting and APASWE Regional Social Work Con-
the way we have used teaching modalities ference, for the first time ever in India. The
with our students or adapting the way day before the Conference delegates were
social service providers have enabled able to attend two pre-conference work-
social services to continue being deliver- shops - ‘Indigeneity in Asia and Pacific
ed. We have embraced the use of digital Social Work’ and ‘The Role of Social Work-
technologies not only to enable services ers working with Female Domestic Work-
and education to continue at a local level ers Crossing National Borders’ held at
CHRIST (Deemed to be University). Follo-
33Regions
IFSW Asia and Pacific
wing the conclusion of the workshop’s stu- development opportunities including the
dents from CHRIST (Deemed to be Univer- informal networking with colleagues from
sity) delivered a very scintillating cultural across our region and the globe. As we
programme and the eventful day ended concluded our gathering, Dr Rory G Truell,
with a welcome dinner at the venue. The Secretary General, IFSW facilitated a
Conference from 18 – 20 September was `group selfie’ to capture delegate’s solida-
hosted by the India Network of Professio- rity with social work colleagues across the
nal Social Workers’ Associations (INPSWA) world, in the collective action on climate
in collaboration with Dept. of Psychiatric change.
Social Work, NIMHANS and Dept. of Socio-
logy & Social Work, CHRIST (Deemed to be
University) with the theme of ` Social
Work Partnerships towards an Equal
Society-Asia Pacific Perspective’. The Con-
ference sub themes were formulated ba-
sed on current global and local social sce-
narios of concern and which needed to be The APSWC 2019 event undoubtedly fulfil-
visualised within the framework of ` Inclu- led the objective of enabling exchange and
sive Partnerships and Equality’. The 10 sharing of experiences, ideas, challenges,
sub themes were : Social Work Part- methods, and successful innovative social
nerships, Social Development, Protection work interventions in addition to providing
and Promotion of Human Rights, Green an ideal platform to network with peer
Social Work, Cultural Diversity and Social professionals, experience the local culture
Work, Social Policy – Programmes for & cuisine and hospitality, discern & live
Public Reach; Children, Youth, Women and through a glimpse of ` Incredible India ’
Elderly, Correctional Social Work, Health & from close quarters. A huge thanks to all
Wellbeing, and Corporate Social Responsi- presenters, speakers and participants at
bility & Industrial Social Work. both the preconference workshops and
The conference attended by 531 delegates the Conference for the sharing and learn-
(165 foreign delegates from 31 countries ing that was provided. Very sincere thanks
& 366 delegates from India) appreciated a also for the enormous amount of work un-
number of inspirational keynote addres- dertaken by the hosts, organisers and
ses, 213 oral presentations, 68 e- many volunteers involved in making this
presentations and 57 poster presentations gathering such a success. Whilst in India
on the various sub themes. Delegates very we also held a regional meeting to attend
much enjoyed the wonderful hospitality of to our regular business. Included in this
our hosts, valued the many opportunities was an acknowledgement of our
for engaging in the various professional longstanding treasurer Michiko Hirata
34Regions
IFSW Asia and Pacific
who not only expertly looked after our fi- Covid -19 Further to the above, we specifi-
nancial affairs but also very ably co- cally acknowledge our colleagues in the
ordinated our pre-conference workshops China Association of Social Workers
for many years. A huge thanks to all the (CASW) for their early sharing of their ex-
work Michiko has undertaken to enhance periences and strategies in dealing with
our region and a warm welcome to Ma- Covid-19 from early 2020. As the rest of
chiko Ohara as our new treasurer. We also the world began experiencing the spread
confirmed Teoh Ai Hua as our secretary of the virus CASW was the first to provide
following Irene Leung’s election as our re- information on how they had adapted their
gional Vice-president. services. In the months since we acknow-
ledge the many contributions from across
all parts of our region that have been
shared and posted on the IFSW website as
we collectively grow our practice wisdom
and share this with others in the spirit of
supporting each other in these unprece-
dented times. Whilst the massive health
and wellbeing impact of this virus has be-
en devastating, the global financial impact
Global Agenda 2018-19 continues to unfold and will undoubtedly
Whilst in India, a joint IFSW Asia Pacific be with us for many years to come. This is
and APASWE global agenda workshop likely to pose significant challenges where
was held showcasing how members some governments seek to reduce social
across our region celebrated the fourth protection systems and social service pro-
pillar “The Importance of Human Relati- vision at the very time when the need for
onships”. A broad range of perspectives these is heightened. It is even more im-
were presented demonstrating the myriad portant that we maintain our connections
of ways this theme applied to the professi- and support of each other in the coming
on across Asia Pacific. Following on from months and years.
this our regional vice-president, Irene We are also aware that many members
Leung together with Viktor Virag from have hosted a range of webinars and
APASWE completed the Asia Pacific chap- zoom meetings, education sessions and
ter for the global publication of this theme even national conferences in the months
due to be released in July 2020. My thanks since ‘lockdown’, ‘flattening the curve’ and
to all of you who contributed at this work- ‘virtual meetings’ have become part of our
shop and especially to Irene for collating everyday language. Again, we acknow-
these and co-producing our regional chap- ledge the way the social work profession
ter. has turned the challenging times into op-
35You can also read
