President’s Report

I hope you've had a positive start to the new year despite the challenging global circumstances, including natural disasters, conflicts, and wars.

Regarding our association's achievements, I would like to emphasize some important aspects. The Global Standards for Social Work Education, endorsed in 2020 by both IASSW and IFSW, notably incorporate user perspectives across various points. There's a dedicated paragraph advocating for schools to integrate the rights, viewpoints, and interests of service users and broader communities into their curriculum development, application, and delivery. It emphasizes making reasonable adjustments to facilitate user participation, thereby fostering personal and professional development opportunities.

As the IASSW, we're deeply committed to promoting this mindset in global education and supporting social work schools that aim to adopt these principles, we've partnered with Power Us, an organization focused on transforming social work practice to better support marginalized groups. Together, we've curated a series of 12 webinars, available on our website (https://www.iassw-aiets.org/iassw-power-us-jointr-webinars-2023/), engaging colleagues and experts through experience.

Power Us comprises an international network of social work educators, researchers, and representatives from various service user organizations. They facilitate mutual learning methods to enhance social work practice's effectiveness in empowering marginalized groups. Service users' lived experiences offer invaluable perspectives on living with illness, oppression, or exclusion. Their insights into needed support, effective approaches, and feedback on social services and professionals are crucial for shaping students' skills and knowledge for competent practice. Their experiences and challenges provide unique opportunities for students' growth while improving the quality of social services and contributing to the professional development of future social professionals. Additionally, involving users is a potent tool for empowering vulnerable groups and combating social exclusion and discrimination.

We're planning a Social Dialogue volume on this topic and intend to sustain and enhance our cooperation in the future, involving the Presidents of our different regions.

To disseminate the content of the Global Standard, we have established a task force dedicated to developing an e-learning program, with technical support from Hong Kong Polytechnic University (HKPU). They will assist us in creating an engaging, interactive platform. Our goal is to launch this program around May/June.

Another important achievement is the agreement signed with SpringerBriefs to create two significant book series. These series are designed to spotlight prominent national and international scholars who will offer insights into crucial social work practices, issues, debates, and innovative developments in social work education worldwide. The primary focus of these book series is to compile the work and ideas of leading scholars, creating a resource that reflects the current landscape of social work education. The intention is to produce research-based publications that not only look ahead but also make substantive contributions to professional practices and curriculum development across various facets of social work—be it education, policy, research, training, or professional development. By convening renowned authors and experts to address a spectrum of issues and concerns, these series aim to strengthen the global presence of social work and to make substantial contributions to the crucial realms of social welfare policy, education, and practice.

Moreover, these book series are envisioned to offer a platform for social work professionals and educators from regions where their perspectives are less frequently heard on an international scale. This inclusion aims to provide these individuals with an opportunity to actively participate in this collaborative endeavor. The two main themes of the series are: Advancing Social Work Practice, Policy, and Research and Advancing Social Work Education

These book series are poised to become instrumental resources for professionals, educators, and researchers in the field of social work, fostering a deeper understanding and advancement of the discipline globally.

In August 2023, we have signed an agreement with CASWE (China Association of Social Work Educators) on 'Enhancing the High-Quality Development of MSW education in China'. Currently, IASSW has produced ten lectures on Global Standards that have been translated into Chinese and distributed through CASWE. Additionally, we've initiated the peer review process for the first 4 Social Work Masters programs in Beijing, Shanghai, Changchun, and Lanzhou between the end of November and the beginning of December. This remarkable endeavor serves as an exemplary model of how we can utilize the Global Standards document to elevate the quality of social work education. We hope that other national associations or individual schools will consider following suit!

We are collaborating with the International Council on Social Welfare (ICSW), the International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW) and the local organisers for a conference in Panama. taking place from 4th to 7th April. In this occasion we will also hold the IASSW board meeting and the general assembly where we will have the opportunity to announce the newly elected President, Secretary, and members at large. The conference will likely be a fantastic opportunity for networking, learning, and sharing insights around the topic "Respecting diversity through joint social action". I'm eager to see many of you there!

As I approach the conclusion of my final term, I would like to share some personal thoughts.

It has been an honor serving as President, and I sincerely hope that I have fulfilled the commitment I expressed during my candidacy for this role.

It has not been a easy period with a lot of different challenges, while I had hoped to expand more our membership and increase the participation of non-English speaking countries, I am immensely gratified by the achievements we have collectively accomplished.

Let me extend my heartfelt gratitude to the remarkable collaboration of colleagues who have made this journey possible. It is through the collective efforts, engagement, and expertise of our Board members, dedicated colleagues, and the executive manager Rashmi Pandey, that we have achieved many remarkable results. I express my sincerest gratitude to all who have contributed their time, energy, and expertise towards the success of the International Association of Schools of Social Work (IASSW). Together, we have laid a solid foundation for the future, and we eagerly look forward to continued collaboration and shared accomplishments in the years ahead.

As July approaches, I eagerly anticipate a bright future for the International Association of Schools of Social Work (IASSW) under the leadership of our newly elected President. May their tenure bring forth even greater progress and success for the organization. Here's to a remarkable journey behind us and an even more promising one ahead!

In the meantime enjoy this latest edition of our Social Dialogue with is emphasis on Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and their relevance to our practice and educational enterprises.