Climate change is changing social work
A ‘paradigm shift’ is happening in social work with professionals increasingly having to respond to disasters caused by climate change.
The warning comes from the International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW) amid growing evidence of the impact of global warming, including the recent catastrophic floods in Afghanistan.
Secretary-General of IFSW, Rory Truell said: "Nature is telling us that we have to do things differently.
“Social work has started a paradigm shift based on a vision co-evolved with communities… for a new balanced and harmonised eco-social world.
“Within this new paradigm, social workers are deepening their partnerships with others beyond the traditional role prescribed by governments.
“We are all moving from reactive models responding to individual need, to sustainable co-existence between peoples and nature. As social workers experienced in transformation, we know this can be done.”
The heralding of a new era came as IFSW issued a statement expressing solidarity with social workers assisting communities affected by floods in Afghanistan, Indonesia, and Brazil.
IFSW president Joachim Mumba said: "“The Federation stands in solidarity with all social workers facing these climate change challenges.
“They are not only responding to the immediate needs of communities resulting from the physical challenges, but also from the emotional trauma from the loss of life and the vision for new futures.
“This work has become a pillar in the profession’s changing skills and forms a part of the paradigm shift in modern social work practice.”
Mumba underlined the importance of aligning community with nature, adding: "Our World Social Work Day themes of Ubuntu and Buen Vivir are helping us as a global profession to share practices that reinforce the required paradigm shift. This centres on social workers working in their communities to promote harmony between people and nature.
“We know from the work particularly undertaken in Asia-Pacific in response to natural disasters that the surviving members of communities are the core workforce in the recovery process and their involvement in decision-making is critical for achieving sustainable outcomes, rebuilding infrastructure, local economies and local democracy into their shared futures.
“Social workers are often key co-facilitators in these processes."
Ruth Allen, chief executive of BASW, was recently appointed as the new president of IFSW Europe. BASW UK's annual conference this month takes as its theme this year A Sustainable Future for Social Work.
The association said: "In the future, social workers will have an increasing role in enabling people to access their rights in respect of environmental safety and wellbeing and tackling inequalities from climate change and environmental risks. Social work’s systemic approach and appreciation of social ecology are a vital perspective to challenges ahead and needs to include collaboration and partnership with wider social care and other colleagues.”
Book your tickets for the conference at the BASW website.