Left to right: Abye Tasse, Pascal Rudin, Marcel Jaeger, Eva Ponce de Leon, Olivier Jeanne, Ruth Allen, Chloé Altwegg-Boussac
IFSW Global President Eva Ponce de Leon, IFSW Global Vice-President and IFSW Europe President Ruth Allen, and Interim Secretary-General Pascal Rudin visited Paris as preparations gather momentum for the 2028 Joint Conference on Social Work, Education and Social Development, which will mark a historic centenary for international social work.
Together with Abye Tasse, Global Coordinator of the 2028 Conference, they visited Université Paris Cité, where the conference will be held, and met with representatives of UNAFORIS, the host organisation, including Chloé Altwegg-Boussac, Director General, Marcel Jaeger, President, and Olivier Jeanne, Treasurer. The visit provided an opportunity to explore the conference venue and discuss the organisation and wider ambitions for this landmark gathering.
Solidarité: Transitioning to Inclusive and Collective Futures
The 2028 conference will be held under the theme: “Solidarité: Transitioning to Inclusive and Collective Futures”. The choice of solidarité connects the conference to its French setting while expressing a principle at the heart of social work: that sustainable and inclusive futures are built collectively, through relationships, mutual responsibility and action across communities and borders.
Paris carries particular significance for the 2028 gathering. One hundred years earlier, in 1928, Paris hosted the first International Conference of Social Work, bringing together people involved in social welfare, social work education and practice from across the world. That gathering became an important milestone in the development of international cooperation in social work. In 2028, the profession will return to Paris to celebrate this centenary.
The venue of the 2028 SWSD Conference: Paris Université Cité
The centenary will be an opportunity not only to celebrate the history of international social work, but also to reflect critically on its journey and look towards the future. Discussions in Paris highlighted the importance of recognising the diverse histories and traditions that have shaped social work, including voices and perspectives that have not always been sufficiently visible in international spaces. Critical and decolonising perspectives will be important to this conversation, alongside opportunities to share practices, experiences and knowledge from across the globe.
The discussions also explored how the centenary can bring different social work traditions into closer dialogue. As the conference returns to France, Paris 2028 offers an opportunity to strengthen connections between Francophone and other international social work perspectives, while ensuring that experiences and knowledges from all regions of the world contribute to the conversation.
Making that global participation possible will also be an important part of the preparations. The partners discussed options for affordable accommodation and potential funding mechanisms to support the participation of social workers who might otherwise find attending an international conference difficult. In this sense, Solidarité is intended not only as the conference theme, but as a principle that can help shape the gathering itself.
The ambition for 2028 is therefore larger than an anniversary celebration. A century after social work representatives first gathered internationally in Paris, the profession will return to consider both the first 100 years and the next 100: what should be carried forward, what needs to be critically reconsidered, and what new forms of solidarity will be needed for the futures ahead.
Planning for Paris 2028 is now moving into its next phase, with international and French partners working together towards a gathering that honours the significance of 1928 – Paris – 2028 while looking firmly towards the century ahead.