Social work campaign action pack to launch at one-day conference

A new toolkit will be launched to help social workers campaign for those suffering from the effects of austerity and poverty this Saturday (April 27th).

The one-day conference, training and development day, organised by the Social Workers Union (SWU) will bring together social workers, students and others from the world of social work at the historic Mechanics Institute in Manchester on Saturday April 27th.

The event will see the launch of the updated 2024 Campaign Action Pack, an activism toolkit for members of SWU and BASW. One hundred hard copies of the pack, designed to help social workers campaign with their communities who are suffering from the effects of ongoing austerity and the cost-of-living crisis, will be distributed at the event.

“Poverty, austerity and the cost-of-living crisis continues to exclude the most vulnerable from our society,” Dave Callow, SWU Chair, said. “I look forward to the launch of this pack and reading how social workers and the social work profession can offer hope in difficult times in the ongoing quest for social justice.”

Angi Naylor, a social worker from the Austerity Action Group who took part in the 100-mile walk that inspired the campaign pack in 2017 and was a driving force behind the campaign pack, lamented how little had changed since the protest seven years ago.

“It’s sad – there we were in 2017 and now it’s 2024 and still we campaign and march on. The book is designed to give power back to the disenfranchised – get yourself a copy and use it.”

Julia Ross, BASW Chair, called on people to use the pack, stressing the importance of activism in social work.

“Poverty devastates people’s lives. When repeated over generations, as we now experience, it has a huge personal, political and policy impact. We must take action now.”

Delegates at the event will hear from inspiring speakers and there will be a chance to network with like-minded professionals, trade unionists, grassroots campaigners and the SWU team over a free lunch. They will also receive a CPD credit and have a chance to relax in front of a live performance by Banner Theatre Group who have a wonderful musical history focusing on activism and collectivism.

Keynote speakers include Sarah Woolly, the first female general secretary of the Bakers’ Union, Dr Neil Thompson a visiting professor at the Open University and a SWU ambassador and Simon Francis, a founding member of Campaign Collective, who supports SWU in their campaigning.