President’s Report

Dear colleagues,
We are looking forward to welcoming in the new year and providing an update on IASSW activities. First of all we would like to report about the Joint World Conference on social work education and social development sponsored collaboratively by IASSW and ICSW held on October 26-28, 2022, in Seoul, South Korea. In short, it was an amazing experience using hybrid technology opening up the conference to colleagues around the world who could not attend in person.

The conference opening with remarks from Dr. Sang-Muk Suh, President of the International Council on Social Welfare and Dr. Annamaria Campanini, President of the International Association of Schools of Social Work. A congratulatory message was delivered by Kyoo-hong Cho, Minister of Health and Welfare, Republic of Korea.

During the opening ceremony, we experienced a fantastic digital show, and skilled Korean traditional musicians and dancers.

Two plenary lectures were delivered. The first by Dr. Gloria Kirwan from the Graduate School of Healthcare Management, Royal College of Medicine and the second, the Katherine Kendall Lecturer, Dr. Julia A. Watkins, Co-director of the Southeast Europe Academic Women's Leadership Initiative. Four special lectures were delivered by Sang-Mol Suh, Neil Gilbert, Chaime Marcuello-Servos and Darja Zavirsek, the Eileen Younghusband lecturer. During the Opening Ceremony, President Campanini presented Dr. In-Young Han, an award from IASSW in appreciation for her long-time service and commitment to IASSW.

IASSW extends it heartfelt thanks to the local management committee, the global management committee (Annaline Keet, Alexandra Mustafa and Junko Wake representing IASSW) and the scientific committee for organizing and putting on this amazing world conference.

All sessions were recorded and broadcast synchronously. Over one hundred and twenty-seven presentations, workshops, and posters were delivered on day two with several hundred presenters. The range of topics was extensive, all contributing to the consideration of social work education and social development post-pandemic.

Following presentations on day two, IASSW and ICSW held a book launch featuring two books, Remaking Social Work for the New Global Era, edited by Tiong Ngoh Tan and. P. K. Shajahan. This book was the product of work completed for the Rimini World Conference that was cancelled due to COVID. Digital Transformation and Social Well-being: Promoting an Inclusive Society edited by Antonio Lopez Peaez, Sang-Muh Suh and Sergei Zelenev was also launched. Two books The Origins of Social Care and Social Work: Creating a Global Future and HIV, Sex and Sexuality in Later Life were presented by Mark Henrickson.

The final day of the conference included a field site visit to the Social Welfare Corporation Angel's Haven which cares for children and also provides services to the elderly in the community.

Delegates traveled to Seoul from many different countries, and all indicated their appreciation of returning to in-person meeting to strengthen old relationships, build new ones and have the opportunity to collaborate and network with likeminded colleagues.

SWESD 2022 Seoul was a major success. All involved must celebrate the accomplishments. We are looking forward to the next tripartite world conference to be held in Panama, April 4-7, 2023. I hope to see you all there!

IASSW in collaboration with IFSW has launched the Global Standards for Social Work Education and Training (2020). IASSW plans to work with schools of social work across the globe to implement these standards to achieve excellence in social work education, grounded in deep respect for cultural and regional contexts. Since launching the revised Global Standards, IASSW has disseminated them through workshops, webinars and conferences. IASSW has convened a Task Force of thought leaders to develop ways to support the adoption of the standards as a framework for social work education across the globe.

A reminder: IASSW Capacity Building Committee offers Peer Review Consultation services intentionally and explicitly aligned with the Global Standards: https://www.iassw-aiets.org/capacity-building/" https://www.iassw-aiets.org/capacity-building/. In 2023 IASSW plans to launch an online certificated course for educators worldwide to comprehend and reflect on the Global Standards. Details to follow. Follow IASSW on https://www.iassw-aiets.org/news/

International Association of Schools of Social Work (IASSW) has launched its student membership for all social work students. The membership is available at 20$ for all students. We are very excited about welcoming students, particularly doctoral students, into our global network. Student member have access to:

• A worldwide network of social work educators through conferences, seminars, exchanges, and listservs.
• The IASSW Virtual Knowledge Center.
• Monthly & Weekly updates from social work schools and associations through newsletters.
• Opportunities to apply and benefit from IASSW projects and funds for enhancing social work education.
• Eligibility to participate in the proceedings of the United Nations (UN)
• The IASSW website, Social Dialogue online magazine
• Free access to monthly webinars on discussions around social work-relevant themes.

2022 was a busy year for IASSW, please review our newsletter, participate in the webinar and join IASSW to be part of the Global community educators and scholars.

We are also proud to introduce to the 27th edition of the Social Dialogue guest edited by members of the IASSW Human Rights and Social Justice Committee that addresses the topic: Wars and Armed Conflict: Voices of the Unheard. There are some very important and sobering articles in this edition.