World Social Work Day takes place on 17 March 2026. This year’s theme is ‘Co-Building Hope and Harmony: A Harambee Call to Unite a Divided Society’, which highlights the vital role of social work in bringing people together across communities, cultures, and systems to shape a more inclusive and sustainable tomorrow.
As the UK’s independent voice of social work, we are proud to host a full month of activities and events to promote and celebrate our profession during March as part of World Social Work Month.
World Social Work Month will bring together leading voices in social work along with experts by experience through a programme of events and initiatives.
Take part in a programme of activity that presents a unique opportunity to come together as a profession - across borders, languages and cultures.
World Social Work Month Events Programme 2026
Events will appear here when available
Events will appear here when available
Joachim Mumba, IFSW PresidentSocial workers are present in every corner of society, standing alongside communities as they navigate adversity. We walk with people as they rebuild bonds, restore trust and strengthen resilience. The call to co-build hope and harmony reminds us that no challenge is too great when we move forward together.This is the spirit of the People’s Charter for an Eco-Social World: an invitation to connect humanity through shared values, shared responsibility and shared hope. It urges us to work collectively for a world where dignity, participation, sustainability and peace form the foundation of our common future.
History of World Social Work Day
"World Social Work Day is a celebration that aims to highlight the achievements of social work, to raise the visibility of social services for the future of societies, and to defend social justice and human rights. Every year, World Social Work Day is celebrated the third Tuesday of March, it is a celebration that has become a highpoint in the social work calendar with social workers all over the world celebrating and promoting the contributions of the profession to individuals, families, communities and wider society". IFSW website. Find out about the history of World Social Work Day on the IFSW website.
Looking back - World Social Work Month highlights
An anti-racist Wales through a social work lens- with the Cymru Anti Racist Network. Podcast.
A special episode was released on the 'Let's Talk Social Work' podcast webpage
Focusing on the distinct Welsh context, this podcast will not only look back at Wales’s history but future too. We are proud to have the longest settling Somali population in the UK and celebrate our richness in culture, diversity, and inclusion.
This podcast will also address recent developments, such as the development of rights-based approaches in social policy and legislation, the mandatory inclusion of black history in education and the Welsh Government’s aim to becoming an anti-racist nation by 2050.
We will explore the importance of language and culture in our practice and how we must focus our attention on these to promote inclusion for everyone.
Wales has long been a nation of sanctuary and we will look at its national response to refugees and discuss how racially based differences in overseas conflicts are addressed which will mean exploring where there is public outrage and where there is silence and why.
Social Work in Zones of Conflict. Podcast.
An episode released on the 'Let's Talk Social Work' podcast webpage
Across the world social workers practice in situations of armed conflict, or deal with the aftermath of armed conflict. Dr Rea Maglajic, a social worker and researcher has written extensively on the subject and will be joined by Professor Janet Walker (Chair of BASW’s International Committee) and other guests to discuss what we know about social work in zones of armed conflict and dealing with the aftermath. There will be a time of solidarity as part of the event to acknowledge those social workers who practice in zones of armed conflict.
An evening with Margaret Humphreys (2021)
View a recording of 'An evening with Margaret Humphreys'
Speakers
Margaret Humphreys CBE, AO is the International Director and Founder of the Child Migrants Trust. Born and educated in Nottingham, Margaret Humphreys has been employed as a qualified Social Worker throughout most of her working life. After developing a pioneering approach to post- adoption work, Dr Humphreys established Nottingham’s only international, humanitarian charity in 1987 - the Child Migrants Trust.
Over the past 30 years, Dr Humphreys has made frequent working visits to Australia. Margaret Humphreys’ work on behalf of former Child Migrants who were sent abroad from Britain as young, vulnerable children, often without the knowledge of their parents, has reached an extremely wide audience through her many T.V. and radio appearances in Britain, Europe, the U.S.A. and Australia.
Jim Loach was born in north London in 1969 and studied philosophy at University College, intending to pursue a career in journalism. He joined the BBC, where he worked as a researcher and producer and eventually won a place on the BBC director’s course. Jim got his first break directing in 1996 while working on the British current affairs programme World in Action. He went on to direct episodes of Coronation Street in 2000, and subsequently Bad Girls, Hotel Babylon and Shameless.
Jim made his feature debut in 2011 with Oranges and Sunshine. Written by Rona Munro, it starred Emily Watson as Margaret Humphreys, the social worker who exposed the scandal of child migration from the United Kingdom. He was nominated for the Golden Marc'Aurelio Award at the 2010 Rome Film Festival and the film scored over twenty nominations, including the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards for Best Film, the AFI Member’s Choice Award and Australian Film Critics Association Award for Best Australian Film. It also picked up a succession of Best Actress awards for Emily Watson and Best Supporting Actor awards for Hugo Weaving and David Wenham.
BASW want to help raise awareness of the work that continues for former child migrants and raise funds for Margaret’s amazing charity ‘The Child Migrants Trust’.
