World Social Work Day: celebrating a united profession in a divided world

At a time of threat to the UN's post-war ideals of international cooperation, BASW Chief Executive Dr Ruth Allen says social work's international dimension has never been more needed

Happy World Social Work Day! Since its inception in 2007 it has become a roaring success across the world, growing in visibility and in the number of people involved each year. Its origins are in the International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW) which was set up in the post World War Two embrace of internationalism for peace and prosperity, the establishment of the United Nations and the recognition in many countries of the need for a better welfare and healthcare deal for all citizens. 

The internationalist ethos of WSWD has never seemed more relevant. International perspectives in social work can sometimes seem distant from day-to-day practice. And social work is not good at drawing on international ideas, collaborations and evidence to inform practice. There are many reasons for this, but the lack of easy access to research and learning time for most UK social workers certainly plays a big part. Whatever the reason, it's not yet really in our culture to think global, act local in social work.

WSWD shines a light on this and says - look up and look out! Talk with your colleagues down the corridor, and share good social work vibes with a team you hardly know, and ask your colleagues from different parts of the world some new questions about work and training and experiences in their place of origin. And go on the IFSW and BASW websites and search for information and ideas of what is happening beyond these shores and, indeed, at our very borders. 

At a time when internationalist thought and cooperation, and the post-WW2 UN ideals of global peace feel in particularly jeopardy; at a time when the human impact of war, poverty and consequent migration had never been more evident in our news and often in our practice - social work has never more needed to recognise itself as a global profession, a self-defined but confident partner to other organisations and to those we serve. 

World Social Work Day turns my attention to our professional ties of ethics and human rights, to my responsibility to turn belief in the value of all people into action everyday. And it helps me remember the importance of collective voice and action within and beyond the profession. 

BASW is the UK's representative body within the International Federation of Social Workers. And members of BASW have played a significant part in the development of IFSW over many years. The current global president led the office in Scotland for many years and we are active in supporting work across Europe through the European regional Federation. 

In July 2018, we are delighted the global IFSW conference will come to Dublin and we will be working with the Irish Association of Social Workers to promote that across the UK. So come next World Social Work Day we can all be preparing to take our global appreciation of our profession to another level across the Irish Sea.

See you there. Sláinte