In his World Social Work Day 2026 message, IFSW Interim Secretary-General Pascal Rudin reflects on the global challenges facing communities today and the vital role social workers play in rebuilding trust, strengthening solidarity, and supporting those whose voices are too often unheard.
Drawing on the theme “Co-Building Hope and Harmony: A Harambee Call to Unite a Divided Society,” he highlights the spirit of collective action and invites social workers and partners everywhere to join the global call for unity, justice, and shared responsibility.
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Dear colleagues and friends around the world,
Today we come together to celebrate World Social Work Day 2026. On this special day we recognise and honour the dedication, courage, and compassion of social workers in every community and every region of the globe.
This year’s theme is “Co-Building Hope and Harmony: A Harambee Call to Unite a Divided Society.”
The word Harambee comes from East Africa and means pulling together. It is a powerful call for unity, mutual support, and shared responsibility.
At a time when many communities across the world are experiencing conflict, displacement, deepening inequality, and ecological crisis, this message is more important than ever. Our societies are facing divisions that challenge trust, solidarity, and the wellbeing of communities. In this context, the work of social workers becomes even more vital.
Social work is a profession deeply rooted in the values of human dignity, social justice, and community participation. These values remind us that no society can thrive when people are excluded, silenced, or left behind.
Every day, social workers stand alongside communities facing hardship and change. You help rebuild trust where it has been broken. You support people whose voices are too often unheard. And you create spaces where dialogue, understanding, and cooperation can grow across social, cultural, and political divides.
The spirit of Harambee invites us to recognise that meaningful change happens when people work together. It calls us to move beyond charity towards genuine solidarity, beyond individual efforts towards collective action, and beyond division towards a shared commitment to justice and inclusion.
Across Africa there is a powerful ethic often expressed in the idea of Ubuntu: I am because we are. Harambee gives this idea practical expression. It reminds us that each of us has something to contribute, and that together we can build stronger, more resilient communities.
World Social Work Day is therefore not only a moment of celebration. It is also a global call to action. A call to heal divisions, strengthen solidarity, and co-build a more just, peaceful, and sustainable future.
As an African proverb reminds us, wisdom is like a baobab tree. No one person can embrace it alone.
In the same spirit, the challenges facing our world cannot be solved by any one person, profession, or nation. But when social workers, communities, and partners come together in the spirit of Harambee, we can create the hope and harmony our world so urgently needs.
To all social workers everywhere, thank you for your dedication, your humanity, and your unwavering commitment to building a better world.
Happy World Social Work Day!
Pascal Rudin, IFSW Interim Secretary-General