The International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW) is the worldwide body for professional
social work. It comprises 141 professional social work associations representing over 3 million social workers. IFSW has formal consultative status with the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...
and other global bodies. The organisation’s purpose is to contribute to achieving a social just world through professional social work. IFSW and its partners set and review the international standards of social work, the Definition of Social Work and policies that promote good practice outcomes.
The current president of IFSW is Ruth Stark who is a Social Worker in Scotland and member of the Scottish Association of Social Workers.
History
In 1958, IFSW with its partners published the journal ''International Social Work''. A further point of development was in 1959 when IFSW was granted consultative status with the United Nations’ Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).
IFSW policy role was expanded in 1960 after the Special Session at the 10th World Conference in Rome and in 1963 when IFSW asked to contribute to UN survey on international training for social workers. IFSW started to regionalise and the first region to be formed was Europe in 1965. This was followed by a Regional Conference for Asia in 1967.
In 1970, the
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
n member of IFSW was suspended due to its participation in the Apartheid regime. The 1980s saw the development of the global definition of social workers and IFSW was declared a "Peace Messenger" by the United Nations in 1985. In the 1990s, IFSW expanded its membership to over 80 member associations.
At the beginning of the 21st century, IFSW developed a training manual, ''Social Work and the Rights of the Child''.
In co-operation with the
International Association of Schools of Social Work (IASSW), the global Definition of Social Work
was adopted in 2001. In 2004, the co-operation continued with the joint publications of the Statement of Ethics in Social Work, Statement of Principles
and the Global Standards for the Education and Training of the Social Work Profession.
In 2005, IFSW consultative status was extended to UN Habitat. Additionally, IFSW has since achieved consultative status with the
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of ...
(WHO) and now comprises ninety member associations representing over 750,000 social workers.
In 2010, IFSW at a joint conference with the
International Association of Schools of Social Work
The International Association of Schools of Social Work (IASSW) is the worldwide association of schools of social work, as well as social work educators. The IASSW was founded in 1928.
The organization is governed by the Board of Directors, made u ...
and the International Council on Social Welfare launched the ''Global Agenda for Social Work and Social Development''.
This tripartite agreement commits to working together to promote social justice, social development and sustainable systems of well-being. After two years of global consultation, the specific objectives of the agenda were published on UN Social Work Day 2012. Two reports have been published so far covering four years of data gathering on inequality and the dignity and respect of all people. These are available through the shop on the IFSW website. The third theme, is currently in progress looking at climate change, the wide context of environment and building sustainable communities. This report will be published in 2018. The final theme will highlight the importance of human relationships and will run from 2018-2020.
IFSW organisational structure
Every two years at a General Meeting of members an international Executive Committee is democratically elected. This committee consists of a President, Treasurer and Regional President and Deputy Regional President. The six regions are
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
,
Asia-Pacific,
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
,
Latin America
Latin America or
* french: Amérique Latine, link=no
* ht, Amerik Latin, link=no
* pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
and the
Caribbean and
North America.
A permanent Secretariat has been established since 1956 which is currently based in
Switzerland. Dr. Rory Truell is the current IFSW Secretary-General and Chief Executive Officer.
See also
*
Social work
*
Professional Social Workers Association
The Professional Social Workers' Association (PSWA) is an association of Demographics of India, Indian / Tamil Nadu social work professionals, headquartered at Chennai. It is a legally registered entity, formerly known as "Professional Social Work ...
References
External links
International Federation of Social Workers(IFSW)International Association of Schools of Social WorkInternational Council on Social Welfare
{{DEFAULTSORT:International Federation Of Social Workers
Social work