Happy World Social Work Day!

World Social Work Day is a day to celebrate social work, to say thank you to all social workers and wider social care staff colleagues, and to offer opportunities for caring, sharing and learning. I hope each one of us remembers to say thank you to ourselves, for the amazing work we do every day and the values and ethical principles we uphold.

It is also a day that we stand together with social workers worldwide to advance our common message globally. Social workers understand the importance of human relationships, the interdependence of people and communities, the need for change in policies and social service delivery, locally, nationally and internationally. We defend social justice and human rights.

It was during the Covid pandemic that I became actively involved in the work of BASW. I was so glad that I could draw on the support, even though virtual at the time, of social workers around the country and around the world. It was important for me to know and remind myself that social workers understand the importance of wider wellbeing and the risks of isolation. We were and continue to be tested to the limit, professionally and personally but, together, we continue.

I joined the first cohort of voluntary coaches with the BASW Professional Support Service (PSS) and later became an elected director of the BASW Council. I am enjoying my work as the chair of the Policy, Ethics and Human Rights (PEHR) Committee. I consider myself an experienced social worker, but I still feel the burden of our important job. I have grown, however, in my job and in my work with BASW, through learning from the people I have the privilege to work with and their families, and from the big family and the wider community of social workers around me.

This reminds me of the African proverb, ‘it takes a village’. It takes many people to provide a safe and healthy environment for children, where they are given the security they need to develop and flourish. We do this for people we work with and for our colleagues every day – we offer support and empowerment and connection.

This year’s theme is ‘Strengthening Intergenerational Solidarity for Enduring Wellbeing’. Joachim Mumba ((FSW President) referred to the ‘the social work profession’s dedication to building connections that value the wisdom of our elders while empowering younger generations to tackle today’s challenges and envision a better future’.

When I was first qualified as a social worker 35 years ago, I looked up to older social workers in my Social Services Department (I am talking about the ‘olden days’!) and admired their wisdom and confidence. I am moving to the other side and feeling proud and privileged to be able to share my experience and learning with younger social workers, in one-to-one supervision and coaching and in group reflective practice sessions.

‘Live to be old, learn to be old.’ (Chinese proverb) I hope I am becoming wiser as I am getting older. I believe in lifelong learning and personal growth, and my profession is where I do a lot of learning and growing. We can look at the marks in the sand of time left by great people, who are remembered for their actions and achievements. And so we continue as we celebrate another World Social Work Day.

… Footprints on the sands of time;
Footprints, that perhaps another,
Sailing o’er life’s solemn main,
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
Seeing, shall take heart again.
Let us, then, be up and doing,
With a heart for any fate;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labour and to wait.