Global Agenda for Social Work and Social Development: Second Report Promoting the Dignity and Worth of Peoples Citation: IASSW, ICSW, IFSW (2016) “Global Agenda for Social Work and Social Development: Second Report. Promoting the Dignity and Worth of Peoples” Designed by Pascal Rudin Published by IFSW Printed in Germany ISBN 978-3-906820-0 - Copyright © 2016 by International8 8 Federation of Social Workers, Berne, Switzerland Contents Global Overview ................................................................................................. 5 Africa Region ..................................................................................................... 35 Asia Pacific Region .......................................................................................... 61 European Region ............................................................................................. 71 Latin America and Caribbean Region (Spanish) ................................ 101 Latin America and Caribbean Region (English) ................................. 125 North America and Caribbean Region ................................................... 137 Appendix I: The Partner Organisations ........................................................... 157 Appendix II: History and Process ....................................................................... 159 Appendix III: United Nations Conventions and other Instruments relevant to this Theme .............................................................................................. 165 Appendix IV: Agenda Coordinators ................................................................... 169 Global Overview Respect for ‘the dignity and worth of peoples’ is the second pillar of The Global Agenda for Social Work and Social Development. The concept is at the heart not only of professional ethical codes (e.g. International Federation of Social Workers and International Association of Schools of Social Work 2004) but also of international conventions and statements on human rights and peaceful coexistence (United Nations 1948; United Nations 1989; International Federation of Social Workers, International Association of Schools of Social Work et al. 1994; United Nations 2006; United Nations 2012). These aspirations aim to shape environments in which people can live without fear, give expression to their identity and personality as they wish whilst showing respect to others, care for their family and community members, practice their beliefs and religions, participate in and shape their communities through social as well as political engagement and have access to the resources needed for a dignified and secure life. This is the second of a series of four reports on The Global Agenda for Social Work and Social Development from IASSW, ICSW and IFSW (International Federation of Social Workers, International Association of Schools of Social Work et al. 2012; Jones and Truell 2012b; Jones 2013; Zelenev 2015). It presents the findings of 5 Regional Observatories that have examined social work and social development practice related to this second pillar of the Global Agenda for Social Work and Social 5 Development. These observations are, set in the context of the social, political and economic realities of 2014-16. The background to The Global Agenda process is summarised in Appendix 3 (Jones and Truell 2012a; Abye 2014). This section draws together common themes from the Regional Observatory reports alongside description of some activities of the three global partner bodies over the past two years aimed at ‘promoting the dignity and worth of peoples’. It presents some conclusions about the relationship between social work and social development and the discourses around human dignity. A clear message from each of the regional reports is that sustainable development is best achieved by people and professionals working together with mutual respect: ‘co-construction’ of solutions to difficult issues, involving those affected whether by community, family or personal trauma, calamity, disaster or mistreatment. Those contributing to the Regional Observatory processes, reflecting wider experience, show that dignity and worth are respected when people have self- determination and influence over their own futures. The process The 2010 world conference on social work and social development in Hong Kong (Jones, Yuen et al. 2008; Sha 2010) identified four pillars of social work and social development. These were subject to further consultation and refinement, concluding with the following: Promoting social and economic equalities Promoting the dignity and worth of peoples Promoting environmental and community sustainability Strengthening recognition of the importance of human relationships The 2012 conference in Stockholm (Dominelli and Hackett 2012; Stockholm World Conference 2012) reviewed, refined and reaffirmed these pillars and the 2014 conference in Melbourne focussed on the first pillar (equalities) (Bailey 2014; IASSW, ICSW et al. 2014). Activity during the two years leading up to the 2016 conference in Seoul has focussed on the second pillar. 6 The 2010 conference was held as the first reviews of progress to achieve the Millennium Development Goals were published (United Nations 2010; World Bank 2010). The synergy between the Millennium Goals and the Global Agenda was noted and welcomed by UN leaders and others (Sha 2010; Clark 2012). The debate about what should follow the Millennium Goals continued through the early years of The Global Agenda process (Fukuda-Parr 2012). It is interesting to note that The Global Agenda connected social development and environmental sustainability before this surfaced as a significant element in the debate about the Sustainable Development Goals (Dominelli and Hackett 2012; High-Level Panel of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda 2013; United Nations 2015a; United Nations 2015b). For this second stage of The Global Agenda process, the three global organisations invited bids or proposals for leadership of five Regional Observatories to report on the second pillar (Zelenev 2013). It was hoped that this process would not only identify organisations and individuals who would take on the research challenge of gathering information about practice across those regions but also that they would attract new resources to underpin and strengthen the process. Bids were received from all regions and Regional Observatories and lead people were identified. The final regional structures were very different. As the process continues, more work is needed to identify resources to provide robust, sustainable structures to undertake the full remit of Regional Observatories on Social Work and Social Development. The Regional Observatories were asked to gather information from across their regions to illustrate how social work and social development promoted respect for human dignity and worth of peoples. They chose to do this in a variety of different ways, sometimes in different configurations: organising a regional conference which examined the theme and its implications for practice, a qualitative on-line survey, a call for direct submissions of practice examples and/or relevant studies or publications and a consultative process between national or regional groups of associations or academic institutions. The outcomes from the process in each region are included in this report. The regional reports drew on published and unpublished papers, videos, poster presentations, course syllabi, website links and conference literature, ranging in scale from very local community projects to ambitious national strategies and political lobbying by a professional association. 7 The Global Agenda process has energised and united social work and social development around the world. The process started with discussion papers published before the 2010 Hong Kong conference and has since developed and broadened. The themes for World Social Work Days (including Social Work Days at the United Nations (Clark 2012)) and the global conferences in the years since 2010 are derived from The Agenda. The work on The Agenda has continued alongside and has interacted with other activities of the three global organisations, including work on The Global Definition of the Social Work Profession (International Association of Schools of Social Work and International Federation of Social Workers 2014), The Statement of Ethical Principles (International Federation of Social Workers and International Association of Schools of Social Work 2004) and the Global Standards for the Education and Training of the Social Work Profession (International Association of Schools of Social Work and International Federation of Social Workers 2005). The Agenda process itself and its themes have been examined and critiqued in articles and publications, some examining the implications of The Agenda for local and regional practice and policy and others examining the global issues (Chenu, Sims et al. 2012; Gamble 2012; Hall 2012; Gray and Webb 2014; Healy and Wairire 2014; Lombard and Twikirize 2014; Nikku and Pulla 2014; Raniga and Zelnick 2014; Sims, Chenu et al. 2014; Spolander, Engelbrecht et al. 2014; Costello and Aung 2015; Lombard 2015; Sogren and Nathaniel 2015; Truell and Jones 2015; Stark 2016). This is the debate which the three global organisations had hoped to provoke and is very welcome. Global context The theme ‘promoting the dignity and worth of peoples’ is deeply embedded in the values and ethics of the