A Global Gathering of Social Work and a New IFSW Europe President
BASW delegates share with us their reflections on an eventful and important conference for the UK and global social work profession.
Dr Ruth Allen (BASW Chief Executive)
After six years of waiting - thanks to the pandemic – the global social work community of IFSW was able to come together again in early April, in person and online, in Panama. We were warmly hosted by the Panamanian Association and many colleagues from other Latin American countries.
The BASW delegation was led jointly by Prof. Janet Walker, Chair of our International Committee, and myself. We were joined by BASW members Omar Mohamed (also representing the European New Social Workers project) and Takudzwa Leonard Mathende, International Committee member. BASW Head of Professional Development, Jane Shears, also attended as IFSW global ethics commissioner.
It is very important to me and Janet that BASW provides more opportunities for newer social workers and members that represent our diverse communities in the UK to get involved in IFSW activities. IFSW has a long history. It will be celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2028 which we will celebrate and explore our history. But we must look towards the future of social work as a global profession and the sustained development of our shared ethics and practices. So it was very valuable to be with Omar and Takudzwa in Panama and share reflections and ideas with them and with the colleagues from scores of other countries. It was great too to see associations from around the world involving new representatives.
In Panama, the regions of IFSW held elections for vacant leadership posts including Europe region. I was elected as IFSW Europe President for the next four years and a wonderful Norwegian colleague, Andreas Pedersen Kikvik, was elected Vice Chair. Together with the European Committee and our 35+ European member associations we look forward to developing social work and supporting social workers across Europe in coming years.
I will be keeping BASW members and UK social workers well updated on IFSW activities and opportunities to get involved!
Omar Mohamed (BASW Member)
Attending the International Federation of Social Workers conference has been a wonderful experience. I have attended a few regional conferences in Europe and Africa regions previously for IFSW, and my first involvement in IFSW was in the Global Meeting in 2020, which was held virtually. The experience to attend the conference in person in Panama has reminded me of the importance of building connections with others in person, across diversity amongst language, culture, and traditions.
Panama as a city as well as a conference organising committee from the Panamanian Association of Social Workers was overwhelmingly welcoming with excitement and a sharing of culture such as music, fashion, and food.
A key theme that was strong and interested me was around decolonised and indigenous approaches to social work. The Latin American region advocated for this with strong roots in developing knowledge in this area. I was welcomed with examples such as developing local understandings of Western concepts such as “resilience” in the El Salvador context, as well as examples of using the Dohari indigenous practice of knowledge sharing as a research methodology from Nepal.
I was privileged to present on an IFSW Europe project focused on supporting the transition from education to employment as well as co-leading a workshop on decolonisation and the global approach to moving this forward. The diversity amongst attendees truly enriched this experience, and this felt very much in line with the current global agenda theme of respecting diversity through joint social action.
After the conference, I was able to visit the Embera Indigneous peoples, one of the 7 indigenous communities in Panama. I was received with a welcoming atmosphere and was able to cultivate shared knowledge around the rights, protection, conflicts with social structure, and future of indigenous knowledge and communities.
I am very pleased as we leave the conference, we are able to return back to the U.K. with our very own BASW CEO, Ruth Allen, being elected to the Presidency of IFSW Europe. This is going to be an exciting time for development of social work across Europe and globally, and I am looking forward to continuing to support BASW’s approach to decolonisation and indigenous knowledge utilising the joint social actions from Panama.
Jane Shears (Head of BASW Professional Development)
IFSW has four active global commissions: Education, Ethics, United Nations, and Indigenous Commission. The Human Rights Commission has been subject to review and is being relaunched in 2024 with the focus on the rights of social workers to practice according to the international definition of social work and the IFSW Statement of Ethical Principles.
Each region of IFSW has a regional commissioner and in some areas a support team of social workers with an interest in the work of the specific commission.
The Global Ethics Commission has four key areas of work. The first is to review the Codes of Ethics for every prospective social work organisation applying to become a member of IFSW. Five new members; Cambodia; Guinea Bissau, Kazakhstan; Taiwan and Ukraine have joined the federation over the past 12 months.
Secondly the commission, along with the other commissions, has a role in disseminating our work – in person and online - through regional and global forums. The third area is research into ethics and ethical issues in social work practice and education. We continue to carry out research, co-produced with practitioners, with our next project focusing on the ethical considerations at the interface between digital technology and social work practice. The fourth area, which is a joint Commission-led initiative, is the creation of a continuing professional development programme focusing on the relationship between the work of the United Nations and the IFSW Commissions.
The registration link is here: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEkduqsrzssHdzaI5BwvvkmRyki1OXhKBsl#/registration
Professor Janet Walker (Chair of BASW International Committee)
In a rapidly developing professional social work landscape the opportunity to come together as a global community is invaluable – and the Panama 2024 Global Social Work and Social Development Conference certainly demonstrated this. The International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW) two-day General Meeting had all IFSW regions represented (Africa, Asian-Pacific, Europe, Latin America and Caribbean-North America), with 70 countries attending in person or on-line. Reports, discussion and debates highlighted the strength of the global and local social work communities and the importance of developing and strengthening social work across the world.
BASW’s proposed motion, unanimously accepted, outlined a call for IFSW to challenge historical, political, environment and social issues. This included continuing to support The People’s Charter for an Eco-Social World (The People’s Charter for an Eco-Social World – Co-Building a New Eco-Social World (newecosocialworld.com) and mutual support and dialogues, supported by regional and global statements to highlight social work concerns and responses.
The four-day Conference - ‘Respecting Diversity Through Joint Social Action’ - brought together the social work community for knowledge exchange, collaboration, and networking, with 1500 social workers representing 81 countries. Key notes, workshops, papers, presentations and posters highlighted the challenges, and opportunities, in a disrupted world including cultural and mutual concerns; ‘unique’ and common responses; and the critical importance of the social work voice in advocating for all citizens.
The Conference was held in the spirit of, and reflected, Buen Vivir (The Global Agenda – International Federation of Social Workers (ifsw.org)) as love, care and responsibility for people and the planet. Global social work and social development demonstrates the ability to respond to complexity, advocate for others and address social concerns alongside citizens and through mutual support and learning. The next global conference – 2026 Nairobi, Kenya – will provide a real opportunity to share and celebrate social workers continuing realisations of its determinations.
