The International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW) is a global organisation striving for social justice, human rights and social development through the development of social work, best practices and international cooperation between social workers and their professional organisations.

The General Meeting of the International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW) has elected Gary Bailey, a professor at the Simmons School of Social Work in Boston, as their new President. Gary Bailey is the first African-American president to serve as president of the IFSW.

As IFSW president, Bailey said he plans to focus on the implementation of the agenda developed at the 2010 Joint World Conference in Hong Kong on Social Work and Social Development. Among the agenda items are ensuring that social work has an influential role in responding to the global economic crisis impacting people; identifying and clearly articulating key issues, such as the impact of racism, other forms of oppression, social injustice and other human rights violations around the world; and working to ensure that the significant contributions of social work are recognized and celebrated.

“Social work, both at the local and global level provides a major contribution to solving human problems, supporting people facing immense difficulties and challenges, promoting peace and positive human relationships, yet this is largely unknown,” said Bailey, who previously served as a member of the IFSW Executive committee, and more recently, chaired the Policy, Advocacy and Representation Commission.

Gary Bailey is an award-winning professor in the Simmons School of Social Work who has played top leadership roles in his field. A highly sought after trainer and consultant, Bailey specializes in elder and family housing program developments; issues related to diversity, social justice and human rights; board development; and working with gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) communities. He is chairman of the National Social Work Public Education Campaign, which educates key stakeholders about the importance of the social work profession. Bailey is past president of the National Association of Social Workers-USA (NASW) and was named Social Workers of the Year by both the national and Massachusetts NASW. He is also a past president of the AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts (AAC) Board of Directors. In June 2010 he was selected as one of 25 people who have made a difference in Massachusetts in the fight against HIV/AIDS and whose contributions to the fight against AIDS over the last two-and-a-half decades have been invaluable.

As the first African-American president of IFSW he said he is used to “firsts” and described his heritage as a major factor in his achievements. He noted that as the great-grandson of slaves, and as the son of parents who worked under very difficult and harsh conditions in the south, Bailey learned both the need and the obligation to help others. He ended his address with his favorite quote by Tagore: “I dreamt of joy. I acted and behold, service was my joy.”

An ambitious global process to develop and promote a global action agenda for social work and social development was endorsed by the 3 leading global organisations on social work and social development on 14 June 2010 in Hong Kong, China. It was welcomed by more than 2,000 delegates to the 2010 world conference on social work and social development.


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The biennial General Meeting of the International Federation of Social Workers ended in Hong Kong on Wednesday 18th June 2010 with the election of Gary Bailey (USA) as President and a strong plan of action for the coming 2 years. The next General Meeting will be in Stockholm in July 2012.

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The world conference of social work and social development opened in Hong Kong on 10 June with a commitment by the 3 global organisations representing social work and social development to work together to develop a shared global agenda and action programme to promote social development and social justice. In the grand opening ceremony the commitment to do this was warmly endorsed by the more than 2,500 conference participants from 113 countries.

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