World Social Work Day is on the 16th March 2021. It is the key day in the year that social workers worldwide stand together to advance our common message globally. This year, the 2021 World Social Day highlights Ubuntu: I am Because We Are. This is the first theme of the 2020 to 2030 Global Agenda for Social Work and Social Development.
Ubuntu: I am Because We are – Strengthening Social Solidarity and Global Connectedness. Ubuntu: ‘I am because we are’ is a concept and philosophy that resonates with the social work perspective of the interconnectedness of all peoples and their environments. It speaks to the need for global solidarity and also highlights indigenous knowledge and wisdom. Silvana Martinez, IFSW President commented:
The theme comes from extensive consultation within IFSW and beyond. At a time when global politics has retreated into nationalism, Ubuntu is a powerful message on the need for solidarity at all levels: within communities, societies and globally. It is a message that all people are interconnected and that our future is dependent on recognizing all peoples involvement in co-building a sustainable, fair and socially just future. IFSW invites all social workers, partner organizations and people who care about the future to co-brand the poster. Together we can change world for this and future generations.
Interested in the history of World Social Work Day? Please click here
Cobranding the Poster: All social work partners and members are welcome to co-brand the #SWSD2021 poster by adding their logo alongside the IFSW logo. We also invite you to share with us your initiatives, events, and proposals to celebrate #WSWD2021. We will upload information about your planned event on this page and distribute them among social workers around the world.
Translating the Poster: We will publish your language translation for the World Work Day Poster. Please click below on ‘Submit Translations’.
Download the poster in
Afrikaans, Albanian, Amharic, Arabic, Armenian, Aragones, Asturian, Basque, Bernese Germany, Bengali, Bodo, Bulgerian, Brunei, Cantonese, Catalan, Cherokee, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Dutch, English, Estonian Farsi,, Fin, French, Galego, Georgian, German, Gujarati, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Hungarian, Icelandic, Indonesian, Irish, isiNdebele, isiXhosa, isiZulu, Italian, Ivrit, Japanese, Kalenjin, Kannada, Kannada2, Kikuyu, Kinyarwanda, Korean, Kurdish, Latvian, Luo, Luhya, Maasai, Macedonian, Malayan, Malaysian, Maltese, Mandarin, Māori, Marathi, Mongolian, Nepalise, Norwegian, Norwegian-Nynorsk, Oriya, Papiamento, Papiamento-Aruba, Philipino, Polish, Portuguese, Punjabi, Romanian, Romanisch, Russian, Sesotho, Setswana , Sepedi, Siswati, Shona, Sinhala (Sri Lanka), Somali, Spanish, Slovak, Slovenia, Suriname, Swedish, Swahili, Tamil, Tatar, Telugu, Tshivenda, Thai, Turkish, Turkmenistan, Ukrainian, Urdu, Uzbek, Welsh, and more coming
We also invite member organizations to translate the poster into their own languages. Last years poster was translated into 100 languages highlighting global professional unity and common action.
We hope that most organizations will be able to edit the poster for translation themselves, but if this is not possible, please copy the text below in bold, write your translation line by line underneath, and email it to: lola.casal@ifsw.org:
I Am Because We Are
Strengthening Social Solidarity & Global Connectedness
World Social Work Day
16th March 2021
WSWD poster is out!
Thank you to all – it is a significant professional step forward that globally social workers promote the importance of human relationships!
IFSW will post your translated poster on this website so that it can be shared across the world (Please note that the relevant IFSW member organisation must approve the translation which may take a few days).
Mugumbate, Jacob V Kerala Social Work Congress Inauguration. Session on Ubuntu (Minutes 52´38 – 1h14
Muwanga-Zake J.W.F. (2009) Building bridges across knowledge systems: Ubuntu and participative
research paradigms in Bantu communities. Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education
Vol. 30, No. 4. pp 413-426
Samkange, S. and Samkange, T. M. (1980). Hunhuism or Ubuntuism: A Zimbabwean indigenous political philosophy (Harare): Graham Publishing.
(More language options will be posted here shortly)
Videos will be posted here once they become available
IFSW North American Region Facebook Live Event
Date: March 22, 2021, 1 pm ET/2:30 pm NT
Ubuntu: Welcome to the Social Work Profession
Link to NASW Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/socialworkers
Download the flyer here.
Brunei social workers will be holding a social work exhibition on the 16th of March 2021.
ANAS – La section Île-de-France de l’ANAS a le plaisir de vous convier à une soirée d’échanges à l’occasion de la
International Seminar on Social Service, Social Work, Social Sciences
IFSW Link: Event
37TH ANNUAL SOCIAL WORK DAY AT THE UNITED NATIONS IN NEW YORK with Theme: Responses to COVID-19: Standing Together Makes Us Stronger
IFSW Link: Event
Indonesian Association of Social Worker (IPSPI), list of agendas and events to celebrate the World Social Work Month 2021
IFSW Link: Event
IFSW and IPA
The United Association of Social Welfare Organizations in Mongolia will organize online consultation/webinar on “Social Protection and Ethics of Social Workers in Mongolia” in collaboration with the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection. This is the first online consultation of a series four consultations with topics on (1) Social Protection & Ethics of Social Workers; (2) Social Work Service and Practice; (3) Social Work Education; and (4) Policy and Legislation of Social Workers that will be held throughout 2021. Please see the poster of a series of four consultations.
The first consultation on Social Protection and Ethics of Social Workers in Mongolia will be held from 10.00 am to 14.00 pm on March 17, 2021 by Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia time. Around 150 social workers will be part of the conference as registered participants. However, live sessions will take place on the group page of the United Association of Social Welfare Organizations at that day.
The following panelists of the first online consultation on Social Protection and Ethics of Social Workers in Mongolia will present issues around social protection and ethics in the fields of social workers:
- Dr. Sukh-Ochir. B, president of the United Association of Social Welfare Organizations in Mongolia which is a member organization of ICSW.
- Tungalagtamir. S, head of the Population Department at the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of Mongolia
- Ulziitungalag. Kh, president of Mongolian Association of Social Work Educators.
- Munkhjargal.B, president of the Mongolian Association of School Social Workers.
- Munkh-Uchral, president of the Association of Medical Social Workers.
- Dr. Nyamdorj.N, president of the Association of Professional Social Workers
- Munkhsaikhan. Sh, of president of Association of School Social Workers in Selenge Province
Here is a link where live sessions of the conference will take place at FB
The Russian Social Worker has schedule a discussion, В один ряд с медиками Как трудятся в пандемию социальные работники разных стран in commemoration of the World Social Work Month 2021
IFSW Link: Event
Conference arranged by the National association of Social Work where the Union of Professionals SSR is a member.
The Theme for the conference is Creative Social Work in the time of the pandemia
Speakers will talk about the cooperation between the public sector and the civil society in times of crisis and how the social services has changed their work during the first wave of Covid. We will also have a couple of examples from practioners
Information in Sweden can be found here: Kreativt socialt arbete i pandemins tid – CSA
Turkmenistan social workers have launched a social media campaign devoted to World Social Work Day on UN Turkmenistan social media accounts.
IFSW Link: Event
Japanese Federation of Social Workers held an International Symposium in commemoration of World social work day 2021 #WSWD2021
Poster WSWD2021 Symposium (JFSW)
IFSW Link
East Asia sub-region APASWE webinar in commemoration of World social work day 2021, on March 26 @ 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm #WSWD2021
Poster WSWD2021 Symposium (JFSW)
IFSW Link: Event
37th Annual Social Work Day at the UN event in commemoration of World social work day 2021, Responses to COVID-19: Standing Together Makes Us Stronger #WSWD2021
Poster on Social Work Day at the UN
IFSW Link
NAPSW Kazakhstan WSWD2021 events schedule