“Constant development” in social work praised by IFSW ahead of World Social Work Day

International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW) Secretary-General Rory Truell has praised the “constant stream of development” from social workers across the globe throughout the challenges of the last year, ahead of the World Social Work Day celebrations taking place this week.

In a video message released on the IFSW website, Rory highlights social work’s “successful learning processes” in responding to the challenges of COVID-19 and the next development steps during this phase of the Global Agenda – and World Social Work Day 2021 – theme of ‘Úbuntu’.

Truell said social workers have been “at the front line of COVID”, working with many of the casualties of the pandemic and learning “different and innovative ways to work”.

Truell also emphasised the importance of Úbuntu as a philosophical framework for social workers engaging with communities.

“The lack of infrastructure and health protection when dealing with pandemics like ebola and HIV aids required that our African colleagues reaffirmed their indigenous knowledge in developing community social protection systems in line with the Úbuntu principle,” Truell said.

“Our colleagues teach us that humanity is beyond the values of individuality.”

According to the British Association of Social Workers (BASW), Úbuntu, or ‘I am because we are’, is a “powerful message on the need for solidarity at all levels: within communities, societies and globally.”

“It is a message that all people are interconnected and that its now more vital than ever for people to come together to build a sustainable, fair and equitable future for all,” the Association says on its website.

Alongside the video message, IFSW have released the book ‘To the Top of the Cliff: How Social Work Changed with COVID-19’ as a free download.

Authored by Truell and Simon Compton, the book details how the social work profession has adapted under the emergency of the coronavirus from new social work models in Wuhan, to aspirations in the ‘post-COVID’ world.