Biennial Report 1998-2000

With this biannual report we review the activities undertaken by the International Federation of Social Workers in the two year period from 1998 to 2000. Very often, organizations like ours use most of the time to look ahead. Sometimes, it may be useful also to look back and see what we have been doing.

In addition to a record high number of 85 member associations in 70 countries worldwide, representing more than
470 000 social workers, the Federation has between 60 and 70 people in a variety of official positions. Most of them have contributed to make this document possible.

Regionwise, progress can be measured in all continents. North America has only two asso-ciations in membership, but represents more than one third of the individual social workers in affiliation and a very strong professional base. In Europe, IFSW now has member associations in almost all countries and an advanced cooperation between them. Africa has experienced growth in membership, the publication of a new journal and a Pan-African Conference for the first time in ten years. In Asia and Pacific, we may experience a varied situation with some associations forming IFSW strongholds and other areas where we face many challenges in forming sustainable alliances and assessing professional social work. Still, the most satisfactory development this last period has been experienced in Latin America and the Caribbean. After many years of decline in membership and networking, we have several organizations on their way to membership, following a successful gathering in Costa Rica in 1999.

Another major achievement ahead of the General Meeting is the proposed new Definition of Social Work. A lot of effort has been put into a thorough and stimulating assessment of where social work stands today around the world, and uniting the profession around one shared concept of what social work is when we enter a new century.
IFSW itself is going through a process of change. The Executive has concentrated much of its work to shape the organization to be able to meet future challenges and to seek common ground for an even more active and relevant Federation in the years to come.

We are also actively working to develop our partnerships with other organizations, based on the acknowledgement that we need to cooperate to be able to maintain and strenghten professional social work in a world where other values than those of solidarity and justice often dominate the agenda.

In the area of human rights, our Commission has gained new ground through its active involvement in East Timor. The Permanent Committee on Ethical Issues is working in a number of areas to actively promote ethical awareness as a cornerstone for the profession. Our repre-sentatives to the United Nations and other bodies have worked tiredlessly to let social work experiences be heard by the international com-munity.
The Friends program is growing in im-portance and will soon pass 1 000 affiliations.
The Secretariat has been strenghtened by increased staffing and a significant and successful relocation to Switzerland.

Officers

President: Elis Envall, Sweden
Treasurer: Ng Shui Lai, Hong Kong
Vice-President Africa: Nigel Hall, Zimbabwe
Vice-President Asia & Pacific: Imelda Dodds, Australia
Vice-President Europe: Herbert Paulischin, Austria
Vice-President Latina America & Caribbean: Juan Manuel Latorre Carvajal, Colombia
Vice-President North-America: Josephine A. Allen, USA

Members at large

Brian Auslander, Israel
Terry Bamford, United Kingdom
Buster Curson, New Zealand
Maria Herczog, Hungary
Patricia B. Luna, Philippines
Valdete de Barros Martins, Brazil
Josphat M. Mathe, Zimbabwe
John Mould, Canada
Tan Ngoh Tiong, Singapore
Eilis Walsh, Ireland

Honorary President:

Andrew Mouravieff-Apostol, Switzerland

Secretary General:

Tom Johannesen

Four Executive Meetings have been held since the General Meeting in Jerusalem 1998, two meetings of the Executive Committee (Jerusalem, July 5, 1998 and Helsinki, Finland, June 9-11, 1999) and two meetings of Officers (New York, January 18-20, 1999 and Berne, January 27-29, 2000). Complete minutes from the meetings are available from the Secretariat on. The following highlights can be reported (please note that some items are covered under other chapters in this report):

Jerusalem 1998

The meeting designated the relevant regional Vice Presidents to follow up the special assessments for member associations in provisional membership. It also designated to the President and Secretary General to develop of a proposal for regulations for coordinating bodies. The meeting further designated conveners and members of the Executive Committee Sub-Committees on Membership, Policy, Conferences, Structure/ Operations and Editorial/ Publications. Nigel Hall was elected as the Vice President to substitute for the President in case of absence. Finally, the Executive Committee authorized the President and Secretary General to clarify a possible relocation of the Secretariat to Switzerland.

New York 1999

The officers met in New York, hosted by the Columbia University School of Social Work, under the name of the Executive Committee Council of Officers (ECCO). The meeting included a visit to the United Nations and a meeting with local social workers, hosted by the New York City Chapter of NASW, USA. The NASW Executive Director, Josephine Nieves and Senior International Officer, Leticia Diaz attended the complete meeting as observers. ECCO authorized the Sub-Committee on Structure/ Operations to look into alternatives for the handling of minutes from IFSW meetings and also to look at the new executive body's role in relation to the Executive Committee. Much attention at the meeting was given to work on the Action Plan for 1998-2000 and how it could be made operational. It also discussed a Strategy Plan for IFSW. The meeting approved to authorise the use of the French name Fédération internationale des travailleurs sociaux for the world conference in Montréal, based on a request from Canada and consultation with the French speaking member associations. Two requests for organizational development projects from Pakistan and Uganda were not approved due to lack of resources, but the Sub-Committee on Membership was asked to consider support strategies for member associations. ECCO authorized the President to sign an agreement with the Swiss association concerning office arrangements for IFSW in Berne, Switzerland and the Secretary General to realize the transfer of the Secretariat. Lisbeth Mattsson was contracted as Information Officer on part time basis. Guidelines for Executive Travel were approved (the new guidelines were later mailed to all member associations a part of the nomination documents for the General Meeting in Montreal). Finally, it was approved to guarantee a contribution of 5,000 Candadian Dollars to a special journal on international social work for the World Conference 2000.

Helsinki 1999

Also at this meeting, a lot of attention was given to the Action Plan for 1998-2000 and strategic planning based on a new structure for IFSW. There was agreement that some of the key themes for the Federation are:

The need for a continued and strong emphasis upon social justice and influencing social policy and actively extending our influence at national, regional and international levels. The importance of promoting, establishing and maintaining standards of best practice. The need to develop strong links with member organisations with a regional focus in the first instance, building up to the international level. The need to manage the administration of IFSW in new ways, allowing for greater time and energy to be spent on key issues. Revised decision making process which are timelier but remain transparent, particularly when making decisions about priorities.

The Executive Committee decided to change the name of ECCO to the Officers' Meeting, and approved guidelines for the body. The Officers' Meeting was asked to work on a document on strategies to expand other non-dues revenue. A bid from the Australian Association of Social Workers to host the World Conference 2004 in Adelaide was received. The Executive endorsed the actions and decisions taken by ECCO in New York. The meeting also endorsed a survey on Social Work and HIV/AIDS in Southern Africa and gave support to the Campaign to cancel the dept of the most heavily indebted developing countries.

Berne 2000

The meeting was held in IFSW's new home city, and the new Secretariat was officially inaugurated. As part of the meeting, a study visit was arranged to the United Nations in Geneva, including a visit to the NGO Liaison Office and talks with representatives of the United Nations Hígh Commissioner for Human Rights. A lot of attentiion during the meeting was given to constitutional matters, and are reflected in the documents distributed ahead of the General Meeting 2000. The work continued to give substance to the development of IFSW, and the meeting went through an exercice to define the key issues for IFSW.

Regulations for the Eileen McGowan Kelly Tribute Fund Scholarship were approved. A preliminary theme for the planned world conference in Zimbabwe 2002 was endorsed. The Officers' Meeting also discussed future venues for it's meetings, and there was agreement that continuing to meet in Berne had many advantages.

It was also decided to ask the IFSW Ambassador as a neutral person to take responsibility for an evaluation of the new arrangement for Executive Meetings and present a report in Montreal.

Other items were: Interpretation of By-Law 11 d on nominations from associations (concluding that in the case of coordinating bodies the nomination should come form the body and not from the individual member associations forming the body) IFSW Personnel Policy and Investment Policy. The decisions taken re these three items were later approved by the Executive Committee in a postal ballot.

At the conclusion of the General Meeting in Jerusalem 1998, 85 national associations or orga-nizations in 70 countries were in membership with a total of 460 000 individual members. Since then, no new members have been admitted through postal ballots, but the number of individual members in the member associations has passed 470 000.

Applications

We have, however, received applications for membership which will be presented at the General Meeting from

Association of Social Workers, Bangladesh Association of Social Institutions of the Kyrgyz Republic Association of Social Workers of Serbia Association of Social Workers in the Dominican Republic Association of Social Workers in Lebanon Social Workers' Syndicate in Lebanon Latvian Association of Professional Social and Care Workers Union of Municipal Social Workers in Latvia.

Reinstatements

We have also received applications for reinstate-ment in membership from

Association of Social Workers in Peru Association of Social Workers in Uruguay.

In addition to the applications, we are in communication with other organizations who have shown interest in affiliating with IFSW.

Provisional membership

Five associations have been granted provisional membership:

Albanian Association of Professional Social Workers Latvian Association of Social Workers Mongolian Association of Social Workers Pakistan Association of Social Workers Interim Committee for Social Workers' Asso-ciations in South Africa

Assessments of these provisional memberships will be presented at the General Meeting.

Special Initiative in Latin America

A special initiative was made in 1999 to consolidate and expand membership in Latin America. Representatives of social worker organizations in 19 countries met to assess the current situation in the region and to shape directions for the future.

Sub-Committee on Membership

The Sub-Committee on Membership assigned by the Executive Committee has defined its objectives as 1) To develop plans and strategies that will strengthen and sustain existing member asso-ciations of IFSW as well as increase membership across all five regions and 2) To establish a com-prehensive system of membership applications.
The committe is working on developing the procedures for membership applications, incl. a new application form. It is also preparing a questionnaire to member associations, aimed at increasing our knowledge about how member associations perceive IFSW.
The overall goal is to strenghten the links between the associations and IFSW and vice versa. A third initiative of the committee is planned to be a membership agreement form (contract) to clarify expectations and obligations from both parties.

The financial position of IFSW continues to be stable. The income is steadily growing, and while the membership fees still form the main part of the income, non-dues revenue is of increasing importance. For 1998, non-dues revenue made up a quarter of the total income, while the average for a long time has been less than a fifth. (Accounts for 1999 are not finalized when this is written). The most important components of the non-dues income are the Jane Hoey Solidarity Fund, the Friends of IFSW program, and the International Social Work Journal.
The ambition to develop the world and regional conferences as a stable source of income has still not been fulfilled, even if we are moving towards the goal.

20/80

Even if most of the member associations pay dues very regularly and on time, some are paying very late and only after a number of reminders. It has some resemblance to the classical 20/80 division. While we use 20 % of our resources on membership fee administration to gather 80 % of the income, we use 80 % of the resources to obtain the remaining 20 %.

Projects

While cooperative projects with the government world traditionally has been regarded as an interesting source of income for NGO's, this seems to be less and less the case. The bureaucratic demands linked to projects are on the increase, while the overhead possibilities are decreasing. Often, the time spent on meeting demands is out of proportion, and could better have been spent on other non-dues revenue.

IFSW Funds

The Executive Committee has decided to move the IFSW funds from Norway to Switzerland, and to place up to 75% in low-risk or risk-conscious strategy funds with an appropriate bank. The remaining part of the assets will be placed in a current bank account.

Africa

There has been several important developments in the African region since 1998 - in particular the holding of an Regional Conference in Kenya (see report under Conferences) and consideration of a regional structure. There are now 11 national associations, representing 58,000 social workers, in the IFSW Region Africa. Some highlights are:

African Region Structure
The new structure - agreed at the conference in Kenya - is based on an Executive including the Vice President, Member(s)-at-large, Human Rights Commissioner and member of the Permanent Committee on Ethical Issues. In addition to this, the structure is based on four sub-regions (North, South, West and East). A link is being established with the Organisation for African Unity (OAU) for observer status. In the future, representation to regional United Nations organisations could be included.

African Journal of Social Work
The National Association of Social Workers, Zimbabwe has initiated an African Journal of Social Work as an international refereed journal serving as a forum for exchange of ideas, knowledge and discussing issues relevant to social work practice, education and research in the region. The journal is published in cooperation with IFSW and funding from the LO/FTF Council, Denmark (see reoert on projects). The first issue was issued in 1999 and the next is due in 2000.

South African Membership
The provisional membership of the Interim Committee for Social Workers' Associations in South Africa has been given much attention, and caused several visits to the country. Five organizations make up the membership today, while a sixth possible member appears to have withdrawn. The Interim Committee itself is finding problems building a cohesive structure and gaining the commitment of its affiliates.

IFSW World Conference 2002
Planning continues with regard to hosting the conference in Zimbabwe 2002 with the theme "Building Effective Strategies in Social Work in a New Era". The tumultuous changes in the country lately have negatively impacted the country's image abroad among other more serious consequences. The situation is of concern, and will need dis-cussion at the General Meeting.

Advocacy on Social Work Training and HIV/AIDS
Southern Africa is the region most affected by AIDS in the world. A joint project has been agreed between IFSW, UNAIDS (Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS) and SAfAIDS (Southern Africa AIDS Dissemination Service) to produce an advocacy paper on Social Work and AIDS in Southern Africa.

Future Activities
IFSW Africa wishes to continue arranging regional conferences, and provisional invitations have been received from Mauritius and Uganda for 2001. The building of a more concrete regional structure is also a priority.

Asia & Pacific

The period has been busy in the region, in-corporating the major humanitarian crisis in East Timor (see report on Human Rights), a regional conference in Brisbane (see report on conferences), and preparations for the bid for the World Conference in 2004.

Planned Action for the Region
A regional structur should be established, and coordinators appointed for each of the four sub-regions (North East Asia, South East Asia, South Asia and the Pacific). It has also been agreed to establish an independent financial base for the region, which would facilitate regional activity, and hopefully obtain donations from member associations. A regional newsletter should be published with support from Australia, and regional meetings held on a regular basis. Plans for a project to extend links in Indo-China with support from Thailand and a possible regional conference on Ethics are other initiatives.

Outcomes
Many of these items have been partly or fully achieved. The sub-regional structure was established, but still has to settle into a regular pattern of functional communication. Work has begun on establishing a financial base through income from the Jane Hoey Sales and Auction in Brisbane and the Brisbane Conference. A treasurer has been elected. The account stands at AUD 1,375 (USD 800), but more is expected.
Two editions of the Asia Pacific IFSW Region Newsletter was published in 1999. It has been difficult to obtain contributions from other sources than the Editor (Vice President).
A Regional Meeting was held in Brisbane September 26, 1999 with delegates from 8 associations and observers from Vietnam, Indonesia and APASWE (Asia Pacific Association for Social Work Education). The IFSW President and Secretary General also attended. It was agreed to have a formal half-day meeting at all future conferences. In Montreal, focus will be on Strategic Planning, aiming at strenghtening the regional network and developing a plan of action for the next two years.
The Indo-China project has not yet been extended.

Items pending
A number of projects are currently pending, including requests from Pakistan and Sri Lanka. APASWE and the IFSW Region have however agreed to work together to identify possible resources.

Membership
There are many non-member organizations within the region. The goal is to expand membership, but most of the non-member organizations would have difficulty funding their fees. Twinning arrangements or other types of support could assist.

Regional Conferences
The next regional conference will be held in Singapore 2001. There is agreement to survey the respective member organisations of APASWE and IFSW to identify possible host organizations for 2003, 2005 and 2007. The desire is to obtain four years planning as a minimum standard as for the World Conferences.

Europe

With member associations in 34 countries and a long tradition of regional cooperation and structure, the European region is in a different position than other IFSW regions. The existence of a the European Commission/ Union (covering 15 countries but with an influence beyond that) and the Council of Europe as major cooperative entities between governments is adding to the specific features to be found for interregional cooperation.
An IFSW European Executive (consisting of the Vice President, Executive members-at-large from Europe and the President of the IFSW Liaison Committee with the European Commission) and a Secretariat Group (consisting of the Vice President and President and Secretary of the Liaison Committee) both conduct regular meetings.
A separate budget is also in operation, based on regional membership fees (EURO 0.16 (USD 0.15) per member in the member association). A European Newsletter has been published since 1993. Another source of information for member associations is IFSW Europe Fax Flash with brief informations sent by fax. This publication is now considered to be changed in an e-flash (based on e-mail instead of fax), and the first issue was mailed in May 2000.

Work Program
A work program decided by the European (General) Meeting has been guiding the activities in the period. A work program for the period 2000-2002 was agreed at a European Meeting held in the Slovak Republic in May 2000. The work program is divided in Activities/ Projects (Policy Issues) and Administrative Issues.

Some of the most important activities in the period, except for the European Seminar in Helsinki/ St. Petersburg 1999 (see under conferences) have been:

Mutual Recognition of Diplomas
The aim of the project is to establish a European Social Work Certificate to facilitate social workers in seeking employment in other European countries. One model for this is a similar mutual recognition system as established by engineers. The work is progressing with a network of associations interested in the subject meeting on a regular basis.

Information Brochure
As part of a plan for information from the region to member associations, social workers and others, an information brochure was presented in 1999.

European Seminars
The next European Seminar in 2001 will be based on the same model as in Helsinki/ St. Petersburg 1999 with two host cities/ associations, this time in Vienna, Austria and Bratislava, Slovakia. For 2003, the seminar will be held in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Social Inclusion
One of the most important goals of the region is to be an active partner in the promotion of social inclusion, especially in a political climate where new directions for social security are being designed. The region has called for two new instruments to be created: A European Union Treaty of Social Rights and an Annual Social Cohesion Impact Statement, along with the one existing on Health.

Social Reconstruction in the Balkans
A pilot study has been conducted with support from the Austrian government to develop information about the need for social work efforts and description of possible projects to participate in the rebuilding of the Balkans after the wars. The efforts are ongoing.

Latin-America & Caribean

Goals outlined for the period
1. Expand affiliation to IFSW beyond the 6 national associations in membership
2. Improve the quality of communication between IFSW and members
3. Enhance the frequency and quality of com-munication between members
4. Stimulate exchanges of documents and expe-riences within the region
5. Support meetings between social worker organizations and thereby facilitate ethical, political, academic and professional development
6. Stimulate the development of ethical issues and legal and professional recognition.
7. Ensure active presence of regional repre-sentatives to IFSW Committees and Task Forces: Ethics, Human Rights, Childrens' Rights and Neoliberal Policies

Strategies
1. Continental integration of the subregional work
2. Decentralization and democratic leadership
3. Participative planning on all levels
4. Network on communication and management
5. Interactice cooperation

Achievements
1. Many new assocations have applied for membership or are in a process of doing so:
Dominican Republic, Peru, Uruguay, Cuba, Costa Rica and Panama.
2. Representatives of social worker associations in 19 countries took part in a first continental meeting in Costa Rica 1999. The meeting analyzed the current situation, agreed on future organizational directions and confirmed three subregional blocks (Conosur (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay), Andes (Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Peru) and Central America and the Caribbean).
3. A directory of social worker associations in the region has been issued to ease communication. A web-site is considered.
4. A database of periodical publications and other texts is planned to facilitate organizational and professional exchanges.
5. Regional representatives of IFSW has parti-cipated in meetings in Brazil, Cuba, Panama and Peru as well as the first regional seminar on Ethics in Montevideo, Uruguay, which was held under the auspices of IFSW, the Association of Medical Doctors in Uruguay and the Organisation of Universities in Uruguay. Other meetings are planned.
6. Consultancy and information has been offered to all requesting this on ethical and legal recognition matters.
7. A process is underway to recruit able candidates to IFSW Committees.

Restrictions:

Lack of a budget Delays in communication

Strenghts
The solidarity, political interest and professional commitment of social workers in the region
The support given by IFSW
The interest in the region for new organizational development to stimulate expression and mobilization

Topics to develop
1. Keep the amplification process going with regards to membership
2. Continuing to strenghten the continental structure
3. Make the communication network operational and establish a web site
4. Feed the data base on publications and other texts
5. Keep on being represented at regional meetings
6. Strenghten the Latin American presence and increase the input in IFSW

North-America

The United States of America

The focus of activities within the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) over the last two years has included the implementation of the Board of Directors' policy priorities including advocating for upgraded social work jobs and salaries, sharpening the image of the social work profession, expanding membership recruitment and retention, and serving its members. In the past few years, NASW has grappled with technology, financial burdens and membership and staff retention. The Association has come a long way toward putting these priorities in place.

In order to be effective in the 21st century, efforts are being made to increase those services that are important to members, eliminating those that are not of high priority.

The heightened incidence of violence in schools within the United States led to NASW's advocacy efforts which helped secure $20 million from Congress for the Elementary School Counseling Demonstration Program and the hiring of additional qualified school social workers, counselors and psychologists.

Eight professional social workers are seeking congressional office in the elections.

Within the context of a defined set of professional goals, the Association is embracing change, attempting to keep pace with global activities, while acknowledging the needs and desires of members and the needs of those that we serve. This is all intended to help create a positive, informative image of social work.

The Association has continued to publish social work books and journals, serving the priorities of member retention and continuing education. In addition, public image campaigns in several chapters have been very successful. In October 1998 a Social Work Summit was hosted by NASW in Washington, DC, gathering representatives of 44 social work organizations across the USA and the Canadian Association of Social Workers, the Mexican Association of Social Work Educators and IFSW. The Summit celebrated 100 years of professional social work, and looked ahead on how the profession through collective strenght can use the power of social work to be a catalyst for change in the future.

Publication of a concept paper on international social development and the historical and contemporary roles of social workers in this arena will likely occur in time for distribution at the International meetings and Conference in Montreal.

Canada

Significant portions of the Canadian Association of Social Workers' (CASW) human and financial resources are focused on the international meetings and Conference in Montreal. Most everything that can be done has been done in preparation for these events and now it's a matter of waiting to see how many social workers will participate.
Immediately preceding the Conference, CASW is holding a one day HIV/AIDS Symposium. The Symposium participants will develop a framework for action in the third decade of HIV and AIDS, leading to a second meeting of the project participants in conjunction with the 2002 IFSW World Conference.
The last ten years have been a time of significant environmental change for the social work sector. The Federal Government changed its funding model for health and human services, and devolved a substantial share of the responsibility to the Provinces. At the same time, many of the Provinces shifted responsibility for delivery of human services to "the community", with less than adequate funding to maintain service levels. During this period there was a significant shift to privatization of social service delivery. In the midst of this turmoil, government funding of post-secondary educational institutions was slashed, which left schools of social work to face substantial cutbacks. All of this change has had an impact on the preparation for practice, and the nature of work, for social workers. In an effort to understand, and to usefully respond, to the human resources issues facing the profession, CASW and partners in the education sector with the assistance of Human Resources Development Canada undertook a human resources analysis of the social work sector. The project began in 1997 and will conclude year 2000.

IFSW Newsletter

The IFSW Newsletter has continued to be issued three times a year. The President has engaged himself as Editor of the Newsletter, in close cooperation with the Secretary General. A journalist has been engaged to work with the layout. The Newsletter is sent not only to member associations and other official affiliates, but to Friends of IFSW and a number of intergovern-mental bodies and international NGO's. We still experience problems receiving contributions from member associations. The Newsletter remains the main communication vehicle of the Federation.

Homepage

The web page is under continuing development, even if much still remains to be done. All policy statements are now available, and a list of upcoming international conferences is constantly updated and in wide use by member associations and others. Links to e-mail addresses and web pages of members and others are also much used.

IFSW Update

It has been difficult to maintain regularity of the IFSW Update, and only two editions have been published in the period. With a fast growing number of affiliates having access to e-mail, it could be considered if the Update should be transformed to an e-mail or internet publication. It could still be sent by ordinary mail to those without access.

International Social Work Journal

The journal, published by Sage Publications on behalf of IFSW, IASSW and ICSW, has from January 1999 been published with a new cover design and layout. Chinese abstracts have been introduced. Frank Turner in Canada is continuing as Editor-in- Chief. The sales is on the increase, but still strongest in the English speaking countries and very limited in Africa and Latin America. It is a continuing challenge to maintain and advance the journal, both as a professional and commercial venture. A new contract has been signed between SAGE and the owners.

Sub-Committee on Editorial and Publications/ IFSW Press

The Committee has among it tasks to review and develop all IFSW publications, develop minimum standards and guidelines and survey membership on information needs. Much of this has been done or is underway. Another initiative is the creation of IFSW Press as a vehicle for IFSW books and special publications. The first of the series will be "Social Work Around the World", targeted to be out in Montreal. A Practice Digest (compilation of short articles reflecting practice) is considered.

Regional Journals and Publications

An "African Journal of Social Work" has been launched. The well-established "Asia-Pacific Journal of Social Work", published in Singapore, is considered to be developed into a joint publication of IFSW and the Asia Pacific Association of Social Work Educators. In Europe and Asia-Pacific, regional Newsletters are published on a regular basis.

The Executive Meeting in Helsinki drew up the vision that IFSW should be the universally recognised voice of social work The aim of our cooperation with our sister organisations and other relevant NGOs and UN agencies should continue to be based on this vision.
Since the very short meeting held in Jerusalem 1998 with the Presidents and Secretaries General or equivalent there have been no formal meetings between the three organisations. This is of course not satisfactory and a draw back to our ambitions..

ICSW

ICSW has expressed interest in developing joint policy statements in the area of Social Develop-ment. ICSW wants to discuss with different NGOs how to cooperate, and gather generally sympathetic NGOs in a caucus. The objective is to produce relatively short statements in a short period of time that are not too long, too wild or too late

IASSW

The main issue to resolve during the first six months of the two-year period was the cooperation with IASSW on remuneration for the joint World Conference in Montreal.

We finally reached an agrement we can accept for this occasion, but there is a need to develop financial arrangements for future events that are satisfactory to all parties.

IASSW also expressed interest in looking into further development of co-operation focused on taking a higher profile both in the national and international arena to ensure that the profession does not get absorbed/colonised by others, parti-cularly health and psychology.

Following this the Executive Committee decided to invite IASSW representatives to a meeting in Berne in January 2000. It was decided to make this a smaller first meeting to prepare for a later meeting in Montreal in July 2000.
The theme of the meeting was "The social work profession acting with one strong voice in the new millennium". This theme reflects the need to look into how the social work profession can be represented by one global voice internationally.

The meeting covered the following areas: Profiling social work; Policy issues; Definition of Social Work; Minimum standards for social work

education; Cooperation in relation to UN; Cooperation in relation to Human Rights; Meeting IASSW/IFSW in Montreal, Canada and Future Conferences.

It was decided to share relevant documents and periodical Newsletters to the executive bodies, to set up a Task Force to look at existing policy statements, to have a meeting of executives in Montreal, to establish a joint Task Force to look at ongoing structural interaction between the two organisations, to set up a small working group to look at terms of reference for a joint Task Force on Minimum Standards of training, and to look at possibilities for joint action in relation to UN.

In Asia/Pacific and Europe, regional bodies of IFSW and IASSW are involved in cooperation both in relation to joint regional conferences and other areas of mutual interest.

The IFSW Secretariat was relocated from Oslo, Norway to Berne, Switzerland on the 1st of September 1999. This was the result of a discussion and decision of the Executive Committee in order to find a more permanent solution for the Office of the Secretary General. Until then the location of the federation's headquarters has always depended on the person who for the time being is holding the position as Secretary General. In 1993 the IFSW office was moved from Geneva to Oslo when the present Secretary General, Tom Johannesen, took office after Andrew Mouravieff-Apostol. Before Mr. Mouravieff-Apostol started to work for IFSW the Secretariate had been located at different places like Prague, New York and Basel.

Support

The transfer of the IFSW Secretariat from Geneva to Oslo in 1993 was possible thanks to a generous support from the Norwegian Association of Social Workers who committed themselves to provide an office housed in their premises. However this space became too small and the need to have the IFSW headquarters closer to a United Nations city became more and more evident. Thanks to a new generous offer - this time from the Berne-based Swiss Association of Professional Social Workers (SBS) - IFSW has now been able to inaugurate a permanent office in Berne. During three years SBS places an office at the disposal of the federation and pays the rent. For another two years SBS will subsidize the rent with 50%. The new IFSW Secretariat centrally situated in the Swiss capital with excellent travelling communications consists of two light rooms - 34 square meters in all - fitted for its purpose. Storage room in the basement is also included.

Information Officer

It has long been well known that the Secretary General was in need of assistance in the office in order to be able to handle all requests that daily is received by the Secretariat. Therefore a part time Information Officer was engaged in connection with the relocation of IFSW to Switzerland. Ms. Lisbeth Mattsson was chosen for this purpose.

Secretary General

The present five-year contract with the Secretary General is expiring in August 2001. The Executive Committee has expressed its intention to prolong the contract for another five-year period from August 31, 2001 to August 31, 2006, and would aim at doing this after this report has been presented to the General Meeting 2000.
Communication between the President and the Secretary General has continued to be frequent, often daily.

Tasks

The concrete tasks performed in the Secretariat are reflected in other parts of the Biannual Report, and therefore not dealt with here.

Workload

The workload on the Secretariat has always been big, and when e-mail and internet was introduced a couple of years ago the number of requests completely exploded. The office now handles an average of 40 requests daily.

Human Rights Commission - Asia & Pacific: Jim Ife, Australia, Secetary
HCR Africa: Edwin Mapamba, Zimbabwe
HRC Europe: Carmen Mormeneo Cortes, Spain
Alternate HCE Europe: Ruth Stark, United Kingdom
HCR Latin-America and Caribbean: Carmen Gloria Acuna Gonzales, Chile Latin-America and Caribbean
HCR North-America: Marilynn Moch, USA
Alternate HCR North-America: Gayle Gilchrist James, Canada

Human Rights Cases

The case of Phyllis Coard has been of longstanding concern to the Commission. During the past year IFSW again made representations to the Government of Grenada seeking her release from detention. Early in 2000 she was released for a period, in order to receive treatment for a serious medical condition.
Carlos Toledo and a co-worker were held in partial house arrest in Guatemala from July 1999. This was related to their work in investigating the activities of an American national living in Guatemala who was suspected of molesting and abusing street children. Their arrest prevented them from continuing their work with street children, and IFSW made representation to the Government of Guatemala for the two either to be released or to be brought before a court as soon as possible.

Human Rights Education

A successful one-day workshop on human rights and social work was held immediately prior to the IFSW Regional conference in Brisbane. The workshop was attended by 70 social workers from a number of countries, and identified priority human rights concerns within the region, and possible social work strategies for appropriate intervention. Feedback from participants was positive, and it was evident that the workshop affected the subsequent conference, where human rights was a major theme emerging from the discussion.

East Timor

East Timor has been a particular concern of the Human Rights Commission. In mid-1999 IFSW made a strong statement about the right of the East Timorese to self-determination, calling on the Government of Indonesia and the international community to respect this right and to ensure that the human rights violations in East Timor ceased immediately. Evelyn Balais Serrano and Jim Ife represented IFSW at the independence ballot in East Timor in August 1999. Their presence was made possible by ANFREL (Asian Network for Free Elections), a program of Forum-Asia, and it was through ANFREL that Evelyn Balais Serrano and Jim Ife were able to be recognised as official international observers for the ballot. Their presence in East Timor was an important act of solidarity with the East Timorese people as they cast their historic vote for independence. IFSW was thus able to take its place alongside other international NGOs at this important moment in the history of the struggle for human rights. The report of the two representatives was published in the IFSW newsletter and several national newsletters. This initiative was a new one for IFSW, and it is hoped that similar missions may be possible in future.
Jim Ife returned to East Timor in November, again with the assistance of Forum-Asia, this time to undertake an assessment on the situation in East Timor and the possible role for social workers in the reconstruction phase. His report is available from IFSW. It was also submitted to the World Bank Forum on East Timor held in Tokyo in December 1999, and has been published in a book on East Timor which is available in both English and Portuguese. The report formed the basis of an IFSW submission on East Timor to the UN Human Rights Commission in April 2000. Through this work, the IFSW has been able to play an active and visible part in the international debate around East Timor and the response of the global community.

Other Interventions

Through the Human Rights Commission, IFSW made three representations to the Australian government on issues where Australia was in breach of its UN human rights obligations. The three issues were: Native title legislation criticised by the UN Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination; Treatment of refugees and asylum seekers; and Mandatory sentencing for juveniles. In each case the Australian government was criticised by the appropriate UN body, and in each case IFSW supported a position taken by the Australian Association of Social Workers. IFSW was therefore acting in support of a human rights stand taken by a national association.
In 1999 IFSW also issued a statement about conditions in the former Yugoslavia, and the need for international action to ensure that human rights violations in that region ceased.

North-America: Gail MacDougall, Canada, Secretary
Africa: T.F. Ngalula, Tanzania Africa
Asia & Pacific: Claire Bundey, Australia Asia & Pacific
Europe: Arne Grønningsæter, Norway/Eivind Elgesem, Norway (Alternate)
Latin-America & Caribbean: Gloria Lizarraga de Sossa, Bolivia

The past year for the committee has been one of planning and preparation for the upcoming meetings on Montreal. Activities to date include the following:

Preparation of the report from the Consultation Day that was held in Jerusalem, July 1998. Preparation of the report summarizing the results of the survey of member organizations regarding their activities in the field of Ethics. These have been submitted. The full report is also available. Continued work on the process for revision of the IFSW Ethical Instrument. The goal remains to present a revised instrument to the General Meeting in 2004

The above process includes the following activities:

Consultation Day, July 2000 Member survey regarding specific recom-mendations for revision of the Instrument (2000-2001) Preparation of the revised document ( 2001-2002) Consultation discussion with members in connection with the 2002 General Meeting Circulation to members for feedback (2002-2003) Working consultation with the Executive and representatives of the Permanent Committee on Ethical Issues (2003). Preparation and circulation of final draft of the Ethical Instrument to members in preparation for discussion and approval at the meetings in 2004. Developing a financial plan to support this revision process. Review of the mandate of the committee and workload capability of the committee. Examination of the working relationship between the IFSW Executive and the Permanent Committee

Workload of the Committee

As with any new venture, terms of reference were established and given to the committee. It has had the opportunity to work with this framework for four years and wish to offer the following comments:
The Committee has been able to start its work and has accomplished several pieces of work including the establishment of the mechanism of consultation with members in connection with IFSW General Meetings. The initial survey of members was conducted and findings have been reported. There are other tasks which it has not been able to address, but the committee will continue to focus on the revision process.

Strengths and Limits

The experience in the last four years would indicate that the concept of the Permanent Committee on Ethical Issues has begun to increase the profile of ethics within the work of IFSW. Survey results indicate that members feel that this is an important area.
The ability of the committee to fulfil the broad tasks it was given is something that it is still exploring. Working by E-mail - while offering benefits - still has limits and if the committee is to be a working committee, it needs to look at how to involve members and sustain interest.
The role and responsibilities of the committee should be reviewed. It needs clarification if it should be a working committee with the administrative and "hands on" responsibility of carrying out the tasks. A part time support staff could easily be busy with the carrying out of the actual work of the Committee. It is difficult for volunteers to have the time to do all the practical aspects of the work. Without more resources it has to restrict the work to focus on the revision process, working to keep ethics on the agenda and to explore ways to strengthen the ability of committee members in the regions to raise the profile of ethics.
More resources could be used to have ongoing consultation and discussion with the President, Secretary General, and a closer working relationship with the Executive. Increased financial resources will also be needed in order to obtain consultation and administrative assistance during the revision process.

UN, Geneva

Ellen Mouravieff-Apostol, Main representative, Andrew Mouravieff-Apostol, Catherine Aeschbach-Michel, Jaqueline Chan-Cham, Nils Dahlqvist and Franziska Stocker

UN, New York

Celia B. Weisman, Main representative, Andréas Jorge Adams, Michel S. Cronin (until Nov. 1999), Miriam G. Dinerman (until Nov. 1999), C. Richard Donahue, Winifred Kagwa, Thelma Stockhouse (until Febr. 2000) nd Norman Sugerman

UN, Vienna

Monika Vyslouzil, Main representative, Elisabeth Baum-Breuer, Christian Schigutt, Irmgard Winkler

UNESCO (Contact person)

Francoise Coppin, France

Council of Euope

Marie-Thérése Paillusson, France

IFSW Liaison Committee for Social Workers in the EU

Eila Malmström, Finland, President, Niels Hjelm Veirup, Denmark, Secretary

Amnesty International:

Terry Bamford, United Kingdom

Sage Publications, London:

Karen Lyons, United Kingdom

Elections Committee:

Eugenia Moreno, Canada, Evelyn Balais Serrano, Philippines, Eila Malmström, Finland

IFSW Ambassador:

Suzanne Dworak-Peck, USA

United Nations, Geneva

Three new members has jointed the IFSW team at the UN in Geneva since the report to the General Meeting in 1998, and Human rights continue to represent a major part of the work. At the 56th Session of the Commission on Human Rights IFSW presented two declarations, one by Jim Ife on human rights abuses in East Timor, and the other, on the adverse effects of globalisation within the framework of economic and social rights. A further intervention, this time on education was made at the 51st Session of the newly renamed Sub-Commission for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights.

Children's rights

The greatest excitement at the session 2000 was the adoption of two Optional Protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child: on Children in Armed Conflicts where the age for re-cruitment and participation in combat was firmly set at 18, and the age for voluntary enlistment raised from that presently stipulated in the Convention (15); and on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography which fell far short of expectations and represents in part a lowering of Convention standards despite forceful NGO lobbing. For IFSW, the UN Commission's resolution concerning the appointment by the UN Secretary General of a Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders is of utmost importance.
IFSW continues to be active in children's rights, and maintains links with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Committee on the Rights of the Child, and thanks to the newly constituted team, hopes to follow the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights more closely.

ILO and WHO

Once again, IFSW will be present at the International Labour Conference. Otherwise there has been little contact with the ILO during the year though this might now change due to increased representation.
Despite sustained efforts we have not yet obtained official relations status with the World Health Organisation. Contrary to expectations, re-structuring at the WHO did not produce the expected widening of doors to NGOs. But IFSW has not given up, we are making new efforts.

NGO Group for the Convention on the Rights of the Child

Activity in this domain continues, and IFSW still holds the post of Convenor of the Steering Group for the "Focal Point on Sexual Exploitation of Children", the working arm of the Sub-Group on that subject. IFSW is likewise active in Child Labour, Education and Child Refugees and Children in Armed Conflict.

Other activities

Further activities although not undertaken in the name of IFSW included involvement in the restructuring of the NGO Committee on UNICEF and the continuation of the Committee's project on birth registration in Asia which is extending its impact to new countries due to a partnership with the development NGO - Plan International. It is worth mentioning, however, that we have seen lately the child registration issue linked to IFSW on listings of lead agencies in various areas of child rights.

United Nations, New York

The past two years have been geared toward the millennium. Much planning has gone into the 5 year reviews of two significant UN World Conferences scheduled for 2000, and for the Millennium Assembly. On 26-30 June 2000, Copen-hagen +5, officially designated as The General Assembly Special Session of the World Summit on Social Development will take place in Geneva. The objectives are to reaffirm the Copenhagen Declaration and Programme of Action, to assess and reappraise the implementation and outcomes, to examine the problems encountered in reducingpoverty, inequality and insecurity and to decide on further initiatives. The overall goal is to achieve a collective determination on policies to keep the human person at the centre of development. This implies dealing with the issues of poverty, inequality, economics, social concerns and the needs of people.

Beijing +5

The Second World Conference, Beijing +5, officially known as Women 2000: Gender Equlity, Development and Peace for the Twenty-First Century, was held 5-9 June 2000 at the UN Headquarters, New York. The Platform for Action agreed upon at the Beijing Conference in 1995, will be the subject of a 5 year review at the Special Session. The crosscutting themes relate to 1) Globalisation and the economic empowerment of women, especially poor women. 2) Women, science and technology and the new information age. 3) Women's leadership and 4) Human security and special protection. The Commission on the Status of Women has been meeting since 1996.
IFSW has been involved in the processes of both world conferences through advocacy and lobbying with governments, preparation of fact sheets and statements, and participation in caucuses.

Millenium Assembly

The General Millennium Assembly will take place in New York on 6 September 2000, proceeded by a Millennium Forum held 22-26 May 2000. The Millennium Forum has as its major goal the development and adoption of a common agenda for the NGO community and Civil Society that the people of the world can support and implement. The current proposal of the UN Secretary General for the main theme is "The United Nations in the Twenty First Century". The sub-themes are: Peace and Security, including disarmament; development including poverty eradication; Human Rights; strengthening the United Nations.

Cairo +5

Another significant conference took place on 3-12 July 1999. The International Conference on Population and Development, known as Cairo +5. The concerns of this conference included issues of gender equality, equity and the empowerment of women, reproductive health, partnerships and collaboration, financing and economics. The women's agenda of this conference urged that governments recognise that health, rights, and the well being of the individual is at the core of social development.

Older Persons

The International Year of Older Persons, Toward a Society for all Ages was launched in the fall of 1998 and continued through 1999. Its major goal was to raise consciousness about older persons and their needs. Social policies needed to be reevaluated, and unmet needs identified if the countries of the world were going to accommodate to the new problems raised by the demographic predictions of a burgeoning older population.

Social Work Day at the UN

Social Work Day at the UN has become a big happening at the UN attracting over 200 persons, consisting of other NGOs, practitioners, faculty and students. In 1998, the topic was Human Rights; in 1999 Issues in Global Health. In the year 2000, the topic was Fighting Poverty through Development; Social Psychological, Economic Dimensions. With this conference, IFSW developed a significant alliance with the World Health Organisation who became a co-sponsor of Social Work Day. WHO's presence has given IFSW more visibility at the UN and a greater access to services.

The Unhealthy Environment

A comprehensive study soon to be released by the United Nations have examined five major categories of ecosystems, their alteration by humans, and the impact on life on the planet. Devastation has increased in a frightening way in he ecosystems of coastal marine, freshwater, agricultural lands, grass lands and forests. The World Bank, the UN Development Programme, the UN Environment Programme and the World Resources Institute are committed to making this a necessary priority in the Twenty First Century. Another immediate concern is that of global warming and the effects of greenhouse gases that will cause more severe hurricanes, typhoons, floods, the bleaching of coral reefs, the melting of polar ice caps and an increase in insect-borne tropical diseases.

CEDAW Optional Protocol

On 10 December 1999, state parties to the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), signed the optional protocol that will enable women who are victims of sex discrimination to submit complaints to CEDAW. So far 10 states have signed it, and national lobbying is urged. This is a great step forward in curbing discrimination and violence against women.

United Nations, Vienna

After the move of United Nations Programs of core relevance to social work (Social Development, Family matters) from Vienna to New York, the group of representatives have struggled to define a new role and obtain continued substance. The programs left in Vienna of specific interest (crime prevention and drug control) could form a platform for this. Efforts have been made by the IFSW President and Secretary General in cooperation with the Austrian Association and the representatives, and a meeting was held in Vienna in January 2000. However, more work needs to be done in order to find ways of sustaining the representation.

United Nations, Nairobi

During the IFSW Pan African Conference in Nairobi, Kenya in November 1999, interest was noted within the African region to look into the possibility of setting up a representation of IFSW towards the UN Office in the city. The main activity in Nairobi, described as the fourth UN City in addition to Geneva, New York and Vienna, is the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). With the increased understanding of the importance of environmental matters also in relation to social work, this idea is something that could be considered for follow-up in the period to come. This could also be in line with the ambition of upgrading the importance of Africa for the Federation.

CONGO

CONGO is the Conference of Nongovernmental Organizations in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations, of which IFSW has been in membership for a long time and also been elected to the Board. For the 21st General Assembly of CONGO, to take place in Vienna in November 2000, IFSW has again been nominated for the Board. In a situation where the NGO's are increasingly recognized by the United Nations as a crucial partner and important actor in society, CONGO could have an even more important role to play than before, and we should consider how we can contribute to this.

IFSW Ambassador

A the General Meeting 1994, the outgoing IFSW President, Suzanne Dworak-Peck, was appointed IFSW Ambassador. A Role Description was approved in 1996. The main idea is to make use of the networks and expertise of experienced IFSW leaders by appointing persons with an indepth understanding of and experience with IFSW as Ambassadors, and that they through special assignments can continue to serve IFSW. So far, Suzanne Dworak-Peck is the only Ambassador.
In the period from 1998 to date, she has continued to serve IFSW by representing us in several meetings and conferences, providing information and public relations via media, workshops etc., promoting the IFSW Friends program and consulting with the IFSW leadership. Some of the taks performed are carried out "behind the scenes" or in a less visible manner. She has also executed special tasks on request, as evaluation of the Officers' Meeting and as a member of the Sub-Committee on Structure and Operations.
The Ambassador is doing an important job for IFSW, and her function should be brought forward.

The General Meeting 1998 approved to change the terminology from Policy Papers to Policy Statements, and to authorize the Executive Committee to release Policy Statements pending approval by the following General Meeting.

Ten Statements

Two new Policy Statements have been released: Older Persons (substituing the former document on Elderly People) and Women (substituting the former document with the same name). Three Policy Statements have been withdrawn: Child Welfare, Peace and Disarmament and Self-Help - all because the need for revision was regarded obvious. We therefore at this time have ten Policy Statments in circulation. In addition to the two mentioned, they are: Health; HIV-AIDS; Human Rights; Migration; Protection of Personal Information; Refugees; Conditions in Rural Com-munities; and Youth. A document with Guidelines for the Preparation of Policy Statements is also in circulation.

Other issues

All Policy Statements are available on the IFSW Web site. Recently, an initiative has been taken to work on a revision of the Policy Statement on HIV/AIDS. Other Statements/Discussion Papers for presentation and discussion at the General Meeting are on a Social Policy Platform, Neoliberalism and Peace and Justice.
There is a need to translate most of the Policy Statements to French and Spanish. Translations to other languages would also be welcome.

IFSW with national host associations and others has since the General Meeting 1998 arranged four major conferences, in Jerusalem July 5 - 10, 1998, in Helsinki and St. Petersburg June 13 - 18, 1999, in Brisbane September 26-29, 1999 and in Nairobi November 22 - 25, 1999. In total, more than 3000 participants gathered for these events, being number 43-46 in an ongoing series of conferences and seminars since 1966.

Jerusalem 1998

1385 participants from 64 countries were present at "Peace and Social Justice - Challenges Facing Social Work". Despite the standstill at the time in the Middle East Peace Process and refusal to take part from Arab countries, peace remained a central theme, including experiences of conflict resolution and rehabilitation of war victims. Social Justice as the other interlinked theme reflected the serious effects of the forces of globalization on social policy and social work. Shimon Peres, former Prime Minister of Israel and Nobel Prize Laureate presented an inspirational opening speech, encouraging social workers to counteract social exclusion.

Helsinki/ St. Petersburg 1999

For the first time in IFSW, the conference responsibility was shared between two countries when 720 social workers from 44 countries met in Helsinki and St. Petersburg to discuss the theme "Work, Economy and Welfare - Professional Social Work Promoting Human Society for All".

Brisbane 1999

When IFSW held its first ever conference in Australia, 748 participants from 30 countries took part under the heading "Promoting Inclusion - Redressing Exclusion: The Social Work Challenge". Although the two conferences were arranged in venues far apart, the main themes were very similar.

Nairobi 1999

220 participants, mainly from Kenya but with a number of African countries represented, gathered in Nairobi for IFSW's 5th Pan-African Conference after a break of ten years since the last one. The theme was "Social Workers in the Development Process: Marching into the New Millennium"

Definition of Social Work

Task Force - New Definition on Social Work
Elis Envall, Chair, Isadora Hare, North-America, Co-ordinator, Nigel Hall, Africa, Tan Ngoh Tiong, Asia & Pacific, Juan Manuel Latorre Carvajal, Latin-America & Caribbean, Eila Malmström, Europe, Kirsten Nissen, Europe (Social Pedagogy), Lena Dominelli, IASSW, Eilis Walsh and Lowell Jenkins

After the General Meeting held in Hong Kong in July, 1996 the Executive Committee appointed a Task Force to be jointly co-ordinated by the President and Isadora Hare, USA.

The Task Force has been collecting materials from across the globe dealing with the definition or description of Social Work. These included definitions from laws and regulations governing social work practice, former statements from international organisations, codes of ethics, academic writing in journals and books, unpublished papers delivered at conferences, and documents specially prepared for the Task Force.
In February 1997, discussions were held in Brussels during a special meeting of the European Region of IFSW, and in August the same year a full meeting of the Task Force was held in Dublin, after the European Regional Seminar.
More sources of information were collected and the Task Force Co-ordinator compiled further summaries of all the original documents consulted. These included 55 documents from 22 countries and four international organisations.
Immediately before the IFSW Conference and General Meeting held in Jerusalem in 1998, a Consultation Day was held, attended by 50 representatives from 25 countries. The Co-ordinator had drafted a preliminary statement based on the sources and a graphic depicting the various elements of the definition. These were used as a basis for the discussion. People were also invited to provide input into the definition in the months that followed.
Further discussions were held among members of the Task Force in Helsinki in June 1999, in Brisbane in September 1999 and in Nairobi in November 1999. A new draft was written, and two new graphics were designed.
Finally in January 2000 members of the Task Force met in the new IFSW office in Berne to debate and finalise the end version. A professional editor in Washington, DC was hired to polish the language and the final version was drafted.
Throughout this process representatives attending the various General Meetings and the members of the Executive Committee plus the Officers’ Meeting were kept fully informed of the evolution of the definition.
The definition has been sent to all member associations for their final perusal and approval. The goal is for the General Meeting in Montreal Canada in July 25 – 27, 2000 to adopt the new definition to replace the existing one adopted almost twenty years ago in 1982.

Sexual Exploitation of Children

As a follow-up to the World Congress against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in Stockholm August 1996, IFSW in cooperation with the International Catholic Child Bureau, (BICE) took on to carry out a project, Lives at the Crossroads. Financial support was secured from the European Commission and UNICEF.
Its aim has been to develop a manual to exchange best practices with regard to effective methods and approaches, through the mobilisation of a framework for global co-operation among networks of social workers and relevant staff in child-centred NGOs. A further objective is to train social workers and other professionals in techniques and approaches that enhance prevention and psycho-social recovery of victims of sexual exploitation.
The project has suffered several serious delays and was, after intensive but fruitless efforts to prolong the allowed project time for another eight months, forced to be terminated in mid- January 1999 on the direct demand by the European Commission.
To date the project has contacted about one hundred projects in different parts of the world, including Canada, USA, Europe and Latin America. So far we have received complete, detailed reports about social work interventions, activities and responses from fifteen - mostly in South Asia.
The co-ordinator, Jane Warburton, UK has made contacts and received documentation and information from projects in Africa, mainly anglophone, in connection with work in a BICE project. She has also together with the South Asia consultant taken part in BICE seminars in India and developed contacts and materials there. The project leader and IFSW president, Elis Envall travelled to South America (September 1998) and visited projects in five cities in Brazil, Colombia and Ecuador.
Problems encountered were several:
a) We have not been able to contract a consultant for Africa. It has been resolved by the visits of the co-ordinator to Africa.
b) The co-ordinator was for personal reasons and a car accident not able to attend the Social Workers’ World Conference in Jerusalem and unable to fulfil the plans for some time.
c) The foremost problem is lack of response to our requests and lack of fulfilment of promises made to the project to deliver documentation. Although we have made contacts with many organisations that are currently implementing projects with children abused through sexual exploitation, we have been unable to persuade them to write a detailed account of their activities.
However, there have been a number of interim benefits. The process of disseminating information about the project, and consultation with key organisations, has increased the awareness of practitioners and policy makers on the issue of sexual exploitation of children. We have compiled a number of project descriptions, which provide some significant insight into effective interventions. We have gathered a substantial amount of information and data re organisations currently working in this area, and developed a contact database, that will be maintained by the Focal Point on Sexual Exploitation of Children, Geneva.
The Executive Committee at its meeting in Helsinki, 1999 decided not to abandon the project all-together. Instead an alternative strategy would be to present a limited version and print a pilot version of the manual as a first step.
During the year since the meeting in Helsinki it has not been possible to accomplish this mainly due to other engagements by the consultant in India and lack of time. The current plan is to engage a consultant together with the project leader to finalise and edit the texts within six months after the General Meeting in Montreal.

Manual on Social Work and the Rights of the Child

As a sequel to the IFSW Manual on Social Work and Human Rights, IFSW was offered by the Committee on the Rights of the Child to produce a manual specifically focusing the human rights of children.
This work has been going on for several years. Since 1996 four representatives in IFSW have been engaged to prepare this planned manual.
The working group has not been able to receive enough number of case studies needed and the progress of the work has been very slow. IFSW has not been able to secure sufficient financing of the project and the group has had to rely very heavily on the voluntary work of one member, (Ruth Stark, BASW). She has been the main and almost sole author of the present text in the draft.
The work is partly planned in cooperation with
the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child and the committee has been involved in commenting a draft version.
The current plans are to present a draft to the Executive Committee prior to the General Meeting in Montreal. The discussion will have to determine if IFSW is able to continue and to finally publish a much needed and useful manual for Social Work on the Rights of the Child and the UN Convention.

Neoliberal Policies

A Working Group was established at the General Meeting in Hong Kong 1996 to

identify and record the damaging consequences for vulnerable people and for social work practice of stuctural adjustment and neo-liberal policies pursued by the International Monetary Fund and national governments; identify strategies at local, national and internaitonal levels to combat such policies; report to the General Meeting 1998

The General Meeting 1998 renewed this assignment.
A discussion paper is now ready for release, and will be presented at the General Meeting in Montreal. The paper is identifying some of adverse impacts of current policies, and identifies the potential for change. It also identifies the contribution which social work can make.

Country Projects - Zimbabwe

IFSW has continued to be involved in an organizational development and educational project in Zimbabwe, in close cooperation with the National Association of Social Workers, Zimbabwe (NASW-Z). The project is financed by the Danish Trade Union Council for International Development Cooperation based on funds received from the Danish Government and with the Danish Association of Social Workers as IFSW's partner in the donor country.

The project consists of training courses for leaders and members of NASW-Z in a whole range of association activities. Almost 600 have participated in the training. An important aim is to expand membership, and while NASW-Z had 90 members when the project started in 1997, it had 420 by the end of 1999. In addition to the training, a full-time national coordinator, a secretary, office rent and technical equipment are financed. The financial framework is approximately 100,000 US$ per year.

The first three year period of the project ended in 1999 and was concluded by an evaluation. A report is available. After a bridging period the first half of year 2000, it is now clear that the project will continue for another three year period until June 30, 2003. A main challenge for the recipient organization in Zimbabwe is to build strategies to be able to sustain the activities of the organization after the project has ended.

Country Projects - Ukraine

The Christian Children's Fund is IFSW's partner in a social work training project in Ukraine. Ellen Mouravieff-Apostol, IFSW Main Representative to the United Nations in Geneva is our Project Coordinator.
The project is financed by the Swiss Government's Cooperation and Development Agency and the Christian Children's Fund. It continues to grow and make steady albeit slow progress. Further decentralized training activities are planned. Of special interest is the creation of two resource centres at Universities in Eastern and Western Ukraine to which a third will be added in the capital Kiev, and an already accredited distance learning diploma course for non-diploma practitioners.

Friends of IFSW

The Friends of IFSW program is continuing to be successful. Since the last report in 1998, it has grown from 691 to 939 total registrations since it was created and with 66 different countries represented. Many of the most faithful Friends over time has changed their registration into Life Friend, following an offer to have their previous payments credited. USA continues to be the country with most Friends (351), but this last period has seen a remarkable growth in Australia, moving from 30 two years ago to 82 now. This is thanks to active promotion from the Australian member association. Hopefully, similar arrangements can be made with other countries.

Copenhagen+5

The United Nations General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) in Geneva by the end of June 2000 will be reviewing the follow up after the Social Summit in Copenhagen 1995. IFSW will be actively present at this occasion, and also at the parallel Geneva 2000 Forum, where all partners in social development will meet to assess progress and failure in obtaining the aims set on poverty alleviation, reduction of unemployment and social inclusion.

Social Work Day

The Executive decided to look into if we could move towards a global Social Work Day, based on present arrangements in Canada, Europe, USA and at the UN in New York.

IFSW Presence in the Gulf

IFSW has continued its involvement with the social worker organizations in the Gulf area. The President and Secretary General participated in the biannual conference in 1998 in Kuwait.

Social Work Summit

Invited by the National Association of Social Workers, USA, the IFSW President and Secretary General took part in a Social Work Summit in Washington, DC in October 1998, where representatives of 44 social work associations across the US met to celebrate 100 years of professional social work and plan for action to increase the profession's influence on social policy and professional issues.

Eileen McGowan Kelly Tribute Fund

IFSW has linked to the Fund in memory of Eileen McGowan Kelly, and invites social workers across the world to apply for a scholarship to attend the World Conferences. In 1998, the prestigious grant was given to Michael S. Cronin, USA and the recipient for the year 2000 is Munyaradzi Raphael Denhere, Zimbabwe.

United Nations documents

We continue to send relevant country UN documents to member associations.

Social Work and HIV/AIDS

Meetings have been held with UNAIDS to cooperate on a new version of the Monograph on Social Work and HIV/AIDS, first published in 1991.

Cooperation with NASW Press

The mutual cooperation with NASW Press (USA) continues, and a new contract is ready for signing.

Public Service International (PSI)

Despite several efforts from IFSW, we have not been able to finalize an agreement of mutual understanding with PSI as planned.

Mitch

Many member associations reacted positively to contribute financially to a social work based rehabilitation project to the victims of the tropical storm Mitch in Nicaragua, and 17,500 US Dollars was sent in January 1999.

Austrian Association 50 years

The IFSW President and Secretary General took part in the celebration of the 50 year jubilee of the Austrian Association of Social Workers in Vienna in January 2000.