World Social Work Day

World Social Work Day takes place on March 16, 2021. This is the important day of the year when social workers around the world come together to deliver our common message across the globe.

Social work was born in England at the end of the 19th century, due to the industrial revolution that England faced with many serious social problems. Therefore, it is necessary to have policies, support activities of the State and volunteers who have formed the profession of social work. The most prominent is the birth of the Association of Charitable Organizations founded in 1869 in London, England. The contributions of this Association of Charitable Organizations laid the foundation for later professional Social Work activities. The Association of Charities' activities began in London and spread throughout England, then spread to the whole of the United States in the form of early Social Work carried out by missionaries and volunteers. In 1877, the Social Charity Foundation was established in the United States, and in 1898 the First Charity Association was organized in the United States. In 1901, in New York (USA) the first School of Social Work was born. The National Association of Social Workers was established since 1955. To date, more than 90 countries around the world on all continents have recognized the profession of social work as a professional profession.

History of World Social Work Day

Until now, the origin of the selection of March 16 every year as World Social Work Day is still in question. Finally, World Social Work Day has highlighted the importance of world social work. Currently, social work has spread to all countries on the continent. With annual themes. This day is like a movement for the community.

Observing World Social Work Day

Currently, there are 3 major organizations in the world for social work. You can join one of the three, and learn more about how it works and get involved in social work activities.

- International Association of Social Workers (abbreviated in English as IFSW - International Federation of Social Workers). The organization was formed in 1928 in Paris, in 1956, the association was officially established in the international arena. Up to now, the International Association of Social Work Workers has more than 500,000 members from 84 countries around the world, including many representatives from Asia such as Japan, China, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines, and Korea. The main objective of the organization is (1) to develop the social work profession through international cooperation activities; (2) strengthen support for the establishment of national associations of social workers and (3) support social work organizations to increase participation of social workers in social policy making at the national level and internationally, raising awareness of the profession of social work, promoting training, ethical values ​​and professional standards of social work. The Federation's website is: http://www.ifsw.org.

- International Association of Schools of Social Work (abbreviated in English as IASSW-International Association of Schools of Social Work). The association began to be built in 1926, then was decided to form in 1928 and officially in 1929. Up to now, the association has member schools from more than 70 countries around the world on all continents divided into 5 regions (Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America, North America and the Caribbean). The goal of this association is to create an environment for exchanging views and experiences on social work training, linking training schools of countries around the world and ensuring the quality of social work training. The Association's website is: http://www.iassw-aiets.org.

The International Council of Social Welfare (ICSW) was established in 1928. This is a non-governmental organization with representatives from over 70 countries around the world. The organization's mission is to promote economic and social development towards poverty reduction and the reduction of misery and vulnerability of the marginalized in society. The organization strives to protect basic rights such as food, shelter, education, health care and safety. The Council also has the participation of many countries in Asia and such as Japan, Korea, Singapore, Philippines, Laos, Thailand, and Cambodia. The organization's website is: http://www.icsw.org.

Besides the above international organizations, there are also regional social work professional organizations such as the Asia-Pacific Association of Social Work Workers, or the Associations of Asian, European, and Latin American Social Work Training Schools, etc.