Editorial

Welcome to the 30th edition of social dialogue, an open access social issues magazine sponsored by International Association for Schools of Social Work (IASSW). This edition focuses on: The politics of social work: A need for courage and action in an unfair world. This topic is timely given the state of unrest and injustices being experienced across the globe. We face challenges from many fronts and in many countries: war, famine, genocide, authoritarian drift, disinformation and digital repression, judicial capture and restrictions on civil society and press freedoms, ecological disasters, gender violence, loss of labour protections, and resurgence of hardline immigration enforcement to mention the most obvious concerns.

This is quite a list of challenges, especially for social workers who find themselves on the front lines in addressing the needs of marginalized communities that are directly impacted because of these political upheavals and injustices. In fact, they are uniquely positioned to advocate for social and political social change for women, minorities, migrants and the poor who face heighten risk of violence, exclusion, rights violations especially when democratic and legal institutions fail to protect the most marginalised and vulnerable.

This edition gives testament to the courage and political advocacy of social work in fulling its mandate and ethical responsibilities to social and political action for social justice. We have contributions from Alaska, Canada, USA, Uganda, Malta, NZ/Aotearoa, Slovenia. India, Spain, Puerto Rico, Pakistan, Japan, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Chile, Ukraine, Portugal, Nigeria, South Africa, Georgia, and Australia to inspire, practitioners, students, researchers, and academics to remain committed to social justice and human rights agenda and shine a light on how successful action can empower and protect those most vulnerable. Thank you to all the contributions and for their courage in tackling systemic discrimination and institutional injustices. Enjoy!