IFSW Update 2007

IFSW Update 2007

Fiona Robertson
IFSW Treasurer
August 2007

It is now a year on from the IFSW Global Conference in Munich 2006. This was a great Conference and a success for both the organizer and international social work.

Since then I have met with the organizers in Munich in February this year for a follow up on the 50th Jubilee Fund Raising Project prior to the IFSW Steering Committee Meetings. The planning for the Global Conference in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil is continuing, and this year at our IFSW Executive meeting I was able to assist the Brazilian Social Work Association - Conselho Federal de Serviço - to sign off the contract. They have set the themes and are now working on the speakers and programme layout.

They expect al least 3,000 social workers from Latin America and the Caribbean and 1,000 from other countries. Brazil is not a cheap travel location for Kiwis but I would still encourage you to attend and take part in the experience. The main language is Portuguese and not Spanish - I have given up on learning beginners Portuguese.

However at the IFSW Executive Meeting in Luzern in July this year South America's Executive Members introduced me to Caipirinha the national drink of Brasil. This is made with cachaça (pronounced - kuh-sha-suh) and is technically a brandy made from sugar cane. With the addition of limes, sugar and ice. While my position is Treasurer for IFSW I also have a number of other portfolios and this all added up to a very busy year; the year ahead will provide more of the same until my ‘retirement" as Treasurer in Brasil.

This will see the completion of an 8 year commitment as IFSW Treasurer during which I have seen a number of and been part of a number of changes. In Berne the General Secretary Tom Johannesen has been suffering on-going health problems which have resulted in him taking extended sick leave. The consequence is that the IFSW President David Jones and I have taken on the responsibility of running of IFSW.

It has been a challenge running an organization when not located in the country, but with assistance from the Swiss Social Work Association we organized the July Executive Meeting in Switzerland. With the use of email and Skype technology David and I are able to keep in close contact and progress the tasks which need to be completed. With the use of Google language translation I have also been able to improve my translation skills.

In 2006 I developed the concept for the Social Work Making a World of Difference Photo Competition. The photo competition winners were announced in Munich and the photos are displayed on the IFSW website. The winning photo also has the history behind the photo. The photo was taken of a young woman greeting the only social worker who was part of a Philippine Humanitarian Contingent to Ache, Indonesia. The woman was not just the sole survivor of her family but of the entire village in which she lived. The judging panel voted the photo as a clear winner.

There was agreement to hold the competition again to co-incide with the Global Conference. The IFSW Executive Meeting in July 2007 was to progress the decisions and the work programme set at the Munich IFSW Executive Meetings and two yearly Annual General Meeting in 2006.

The three priority areas for the IFSW continue to be - Poverty Reduction, Human Rights, and the Professional Image of Social Work/ Promotion of Social Work. The review process for the Definition of Social Work is due to start with completion in expected in 2010. IFSW has placed an emphasis on having a contemporary, well researched and articulated policy position on critical social issues and matters central to social justice and the aims of IFSW.

A Policy, Advocacy & Representation Commission has been set up to help achieve this. It is charged with the task of developing a comprehensive programme or platform of social policy that is reflected in the IFSW policy statements. The Commission will also review existing policy statements, develop ones and also consider appropriate formats for presentation of policy statements.