David N Jones, IFSW President, launched the global series of events to celebrate World Social Work Day 2009 with a meeting with students and university staff at Helsinki University on Tuesday 10 March. In a two hour meeting with students from around Finland and staff from the university, David introduced the work of IFSW and talked about the global challenges facing the profession. He described the process leading to Hong Kong 2010 and the development of the social agenda for the next decade. He encouraged all students and social workers around the world to contribute to the debate about the social agenda. He said that the growing global social crisis meant that social workers are going to be expected to make a very important contribution. We need to be confident about our knowledge and skills and ready to respond to the rapid pace of social change.
David goes on to speak at the 60th anniversary conference of Talentia, the social work trades union in Finland on 11 March and will take part in a number of social and political events to celebrate this important birthday.