Shared Futures from the International Social Work Perspective

Rory Truell

Secretary General of the International Federation of Social Worker

Rose Henderson

IFSW Regional President Asia-Pacific

This paper starts with providing information on the International Federation of Social Workers and discussion on the significant contributions that the social work profession makes to economic and social development. The ethical approach applied by profession is then highlighted, demonstrating the importance of all people’s inclusion in decision-making processes that affect them and how this results in positive growth and sustainable outcomes. The paper concludes with a social work perspective on “shared futures,” the importance of developing socially just principles in the global economy and recommendations for civil society engagement in the implementation of the BRI.

1 The International Federation of Social Workers

The International Federation of Social Workers directly traces its roots to an international conference on social work in 1928 where 5000 global representatives decided to form an international secretariat to coordinate activities and develop international policies of the national associations of social work. Since that time, IFSW has grown to comprise 128 country members, achieved Consultative Status with the United Nations, and represents over 3 million professional social workers worldwide.

As the international professional body for the social work profession, IFSW facilitates agreed policies and standards that are binding for all its members who determine the ethical and practice requirements in each of the 128 countries in IFSW membership. Further to this IFSW plays a significant role in advising both member and non-member countries on best practice social development approaches and advocates for social work principles in global, regional, and national policy debates.

IFSW is comprised of 5 regional bodies: Asia-Pacific (including the Middle East), Africa, Europe, Latin America, and the Caribbean and North America. Its highest decision-making body is the General Assembly, and all members are able to stand for representative and leadership positions and participate in the democratic processes. More information can be found on the IFSW website: www.ifsw.org.

2 The fastest growing profession

Today, social work is the fastest-growing profession, globally. There isn’t a reliable index or scale that measures the growth of the professions, yet in many countries, the statistics show and predict significant growth. For example, despite the cuts to public administration by the Trump government, the USA Department of Labour Statistics predicts a 16% growth of the profession between 2016 and 2026[1]. It was also reported that in China, the social work profession would grow from 500’000 to 3 million by the year 2020[2]. IFSW membership has also shown unprecedented growth between 2011 and 2017. The membership model of IFSW only allows one national representative organization or one group of organizations per country as a member. Yet in the above period, the Federation grow by 60% to 128 country-level members.

Reasons for the growth of the social work profession include that there is a growing global awareness in government policy-making that economic development requires social development. For example, studies from Oxford and Princeton universities have shown that for every $1 spend on social services; there is at least a $3 return to the economy[3]. This is because when social service workers are placed in a community, there is a corresponding rate of reduced crime, better health, more people attending education and improved pathways for people accessing employment.

Not all governments or regional political bodies have fully understood the link of social and economic development, and there are instances where austerity policies contradict the positive effects of social service development. For example, the European Union has forced a policy of austerity on countries struggling to repay their debt with both the catastrophic effects on the people of those countries and the ability to reduce national debt levels. Yet, these examples are exceptions to the world trend in maintaining or increasing social service spending with the realization that economic and social development are interdependent.

Another equally important factor driving the growth of the social work profession is the political positioning of social work developed through the Global Agenda for Social Work and Social Development (the Agenda) The Agenda was launched in 2010 and implementation commenced from 2011 onwards.

The Agenda is a platform of global social work and social development organizations that have shared resources to promote and act on socially-just policies. The consequential high-profile actions have inspired social workers in many countries to form national associations as they have identified and wanted to participate in the Agenda platform through their membership of IFSW.

A further and compelling reason for the growth of social work relates to the examples of the contributions the profession has made to social development. In Costa Rica, for example, a national social work led approach resulted in a 41% reduction in multidimensional poverty within the first two years of implementation[4]. Further examples are available on the IFSW website.[5]

3 Social work ethics

To be recognized as a social worker by the 128 professional bodies of social work, the social worker must practice in accordance with the Statement of Ethical Principles[6]. These are divided into two categories Human Rights and Dignity and Social Justice. Each of these categories lists key principles as follows:

Human rights and dignity

1. Respecting the right to self-determination

2. Promoting the right to participation

3. Treating each person as a whole

4. Identifying and developing strengths

Social Justice:

1. Challenging negative discrimination

2. Recognizing diversity

3. Distributing resources equitably

4. Challenging unjust policies and practices

5. To work in solidarity and to work towards an inclusive society

The above ethical principles are used by social workers as a framework for building community and family cohesion and solidarity in the context of recognizing and celebrating diversity. The principles promote that optimal sustainability and development is based on the concept that all people have an equal right to participate actively and influence the decisions that affect them in an inclusive society and world.

The social work profession further recognizes that the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights has limitations and at the same time, the profession acts to support the Declaration. From the profession’s perspective, “rights” exist in each culture and every society which are not necessarily identified in the UN Declaration. Furthermore, there is an absence of discussion at the UN level on the competing human rights that social workers encounter on a daily basis. These can include the rights of the child, which may be different from the mother’s or father’s rights. Also, the rights of the family, cultural rights, gender rights, sexual identity, and other social rights can be at odds with one another, and in these situations social workers work towards creating a consensus of rights, where all involved are respected and able to influence decisions that affect them and act with responsibility towards all other’s rights. The social work application or human rights and other ethical principles is focused on the interconnections between people rather than specifically on the legal frameworks which often focus on the right of the individual.

4 Sustainable development goals and social protection

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)[7] determine that all countries are developing, that none have met the UNs sustainability targets scheduled for 2030; and further that all countries must be united in their common struggle for sustainability. By adopting this framework, the United Nations has moved closer to a social work approach and the integrated themes of the Agenda.

Each of the 17 SDGs is directly relevant to social work as all of them involve either expanding the delivery of services, public education or facilitation of civil society responses in meeting the SDG targets. For example, the first SDG “To end poverty in all its forms by the year 2030” is explicitly underpinned by the objective to establish social protection systems (social services) in every county. Today only about 45% of the world’s population is adequately protected by formal social protection systems[8] and social workers will be a key workforce staffing and influencing the expansion of new services. For these reasons, Ban ki-Moon, the UN Secretary-General who oversaw the development and launch of the SDGs, said: “We cannot achieve the SDGs without social workers.”

The professional social work role in implementing the SDGs is critical to their success, not only in staffing services but ensuring the services meet the real needs and aspirations of the communities and societies they serve. Embedded in the social work profession’s theoretical and practice understandings is that individuals cannot live sustainably, fulfilled lives unless they are interdependently connected in a social framework. Thereby an essential aim of the profession is to enhance social protection systems so that people are able to live in social environments confidently, securely, with dignity and with the full realization of their rights.

This approach can differ from the trends of many governments who conceive of social protection systems as top-down platforms for the alleviation of individual poverty or targeted harm reduction. While the profession actively supports the development of systems and programs to reduce poverty and suffering, the profession goes further than this with the focus on building family, community, societal capital, and interdependence as a primary sustainable form of social protection. This is embodied in the concept of community capacity building.

A key feature of the profession, whether working in highly resourced social protection systems—or in environments where social protection is based entirely in culture and religion, or aid-reliant contexts - is that social workers advocate to shape social protection systems so that they preserve and enhance social relationships, promote social integration and make relationships between people as harmonious as possible. From the perspective of social work, social protection systems, and welfare states need to be designed to promote the sustainability and wellbeing of the population as a whole. Rather than a strategy that provides relief for people who have been failed by their societies. In this sense the social work profession advocates that social protection systems are agencies for social transformation, which center on building solidarity within communities and between communities, and promoting self-determination through encouraging democratic participation and strengthening voices in wider society.

5 Shared futures

In accordance with the social work profession’s ethical principles and an inclusive approach to social development discussed above, IFSW promotes the concept of “shared futures.” Shared futures in the social work interpretation includes all people fully participating in decisions that affect them in a context where diversity is celebrated, and all people’s rights are balanced and respected. Further that the notion of shared futures should be based on equality.

At the global level, IFSW has focused on promoting principles to underpin trade agreements that are consistent with the concept of shared futures and social justice principles that should be utilized in the global economy. From the social work perspective a socially-just economy would be founded on human rights, fair pricing, international standards of labor, enforced corporate social responsibilities, capacity building for developing countries, and agreed on forms of dialogue underpinning supply and demand agreements – enabling all parties to participate and share in benefits[9].

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has the capacity to change world dynamics in creating positive shared futures. The implications of social work principles upon the BRI are that each country should share in the benefits which should be used to promote sustainable combined economic and social wellbeing for all people.

We are also mindful that the BRI’s implementation process is of significant importance as in the social development experience: the process directly affects outcome. The BRI implementation process has a multitude of complex implications at the global, regional, national, and community levels and if managed well will change the history of poverty and discrimination at the world level. With respect to implementation planning, the social work profession would recommend engagement, not only with the United Nations and the governments of BRI partners but also with representatives of civil society to work through these complexities. The social work profession itself, which is based in most of the identified BRI countries, can provide key insights in maximizing the social advantage and gaining partnerships with the broader sectors of society.

6 Summary

Social work is the fastest-growing profession at the global level. This is a result of governments and policy-makers realization that social work services are a necessary core function to a successful economy. The social work approach of shaping social services to meet the aspirations of the populations they service and supporting community-led development has had shown a significant positive effect in changing the dynamics that perpetuate poverty.

IFSW promotes the profession’s ethical principles as a framework for development at all levels and believes that through respectful and capacity-building relationships a sustainable and shared future can be developed and maintained at the global, regional and national levels.

[1]Bureau of Labor Statistics 2019. Occupational Outlook Handbook. United States Department of Labour. Published on https://www.bls.gov/ooh/community-and-social-service/social-workers.htm. Sourced February 2019.

[2]Yingsheng Li, Wen-Jui Han, Chien-Chung Huang, 2013. Development of Social Work Education in China: Background, Current Status, and Prospects, Journal of Social Work Education 48(4):635-653. March 2013.

[3]David Stuckler & Sanjay Basu, 2013. The Body Economic: Why Austerity Kills by David Stuckler & Sanjay Basu, published by Basic Books 2013.

[4]Truell 2018. Social work is booming worldwide – because it’s proven to work. Published in the Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/jul/02/social-work-booming-worldwide-costa-rica. Sourced March 2019.

[5]Puente al Desarrollo Estrategia Nacional para la Reducción de la Pobreza 2018. Report by the Government of Costa Rica. Published online: https://presidencia.go.cr/puentealdesarrollo/. Sourced July 2018.

[6]IFSW 2019. Policy for Socially Just, Fair and Sustainable World Trade Agreements. https://www.ifsw.org/ifsw-policy-for-socially-just-fair-and-sustainable-world-trade-agreements/?hub=main. Sourced March 2019.

[7]SDGs 2015. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Published online, http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals.html. Sourced February 2019.

[8]ILO 2014. The International Labour Organisation Global Research Report on World Social Security. Published online: http://www.ilo.org/global/research/global-reports/world-social-security-report/2014/lang—en/index.htm. Sourced February 2019.

[9]Truell 2013. World Social Work Day: Calling for a Fair and Just Global Economy. Published in the Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/social-care-network/2013/mar/19/world-social-work-day-fair-global-economy1. Sourced March 2019.

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