Anne Deepak, Ph.D., associate professor in the School of Social Work, co-authored a policy paper that was recently adopted by the International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW) as part of the 2022 IFSW General Meeting.
“The Role of Social Workers in Advancing a New Eco-Social World” was written by IFSW United Nation Commission members Deepak, Evelyn P. Tomaszewski, MSW, and Shenae Osborn, LMSW, representing the North American Region, and Sebastian Cordoba, Ph.D., representing the Asia Pacific Region.
“I am thankful for the opportunity to be a part of writing this policy with my colleagues from the IFSW UN Commission to affirm the role of social workers in advancing an eco-social world using a holistic human rights framework. It was amazing to be an observer during the IFSW General Meeting as social work associations from all over the world considered the policy and then voted to adopt it. Social workers have been on the frontlines doing this work in collaboration with local communities, and this policy affirms and amplifies that work even further,” Deepak said.
The newly adopted policy articulates and supports the development of the IFSW’s position on co-building a new eco-social world grounded in a holistic human rights framework and serves as a call-to-action for governments and key stakeholders to assure a more sustainable and just world. It also provides solutions to help co-build a new eco-social world through creating relationships and partnerships between civil society, global bodies, governments, and United Nations agencies.
This work will continue through the upcoming IFSW online conference from June 29 to July 2, Co-Building and Eco-Social World: Leaving No One Behind, The People’s Global Summit. The summit will bring together individuals and communities, people of lived experience, and global organizations to co-build a combined global conversation on the creation of globally shared values for a new eco-social world that leaves no one behind. Summit partners include: United Nations Research Institute for Social Development, World Federation of Public Health Associations, International Federation of Medical Student Associations, Green Economy Coalition, UNICEF, Consejo Latinoamericano de Ciencias Sociales (Latin American Council of Social Sciences), and Global Social Service Workforce Alliance, and others.
