Opening Remarks: IFSW President – SWSD2024 Joint World Social
Work Conference 4.4.2024
Panama City
Ladies and Gentlemen, allow me to ride on the already establishedprotocols. Colleagues, we last met in 2018, Dublin, Ireland. During
COVID-19 in 2020, we resorted to meeting virtually and learnt a great
deal from that experience that we could still connect virtually. The
experience was different. You may have heard an African proverb
which says, “Knowledge is like a garden; if it is not cultivated, it cannot
be harvested.” This proverb holds true, especially as we gather today
for our global conference under the theme “respecting diversity
through joint social action.” You may be wondering why I am somuch in love with Proverbs, especially African proverbs? Proverbs
are endowed with a lot of wisdom, teachings and deep meaning. Inaddition, proverbs are an integral part of African cultures passed down
through generations for centuries. They reflect the cultural values,
beliefs, and wisdom of African societies, providing insight into theirhistory, customs, and way of life. African proverbs and sayings areoften used in storytelling as a way of conveying messages, lessons, andwisdom to listeners.
Dear conference delegates, respecting diversity requires a conscious
inclusion and involvement of all people, regardless of theirbackgrounds and differences. It requires a profound acknowledgementthat as a people, although different, we can still work collaboratively
together to transform the world.
Diversity is important as it recognises unique contributions that eachbrings; yes respect for diversity calls for the type of leadership andsocial work profession which is evidenced on ability to learn fromothers, develop a shared vision, and build cultural bridges. As aFederation; as a Tripartite Partnership; as a Profession and as a People
we congregate in Pamana City today for this hybrid conference toacknowledge and celebrate our diversity. Respecting and promoting
diversity has always been a key objective of social work. Social

1|Pageworkers operate in different practice settings working and intervening
at individual and community levels.
Ladies and gentlemen, the theme, ‘Respecting diversity through jointsocial action’ stems from the People’s Charter for a New Eco Social
World and recognises that transformative change happens locallythrough our diverse leaderful communities. Over a period of thisconference, we are going to listen to practice stories from social work
practitioners about how social workers have partnered with local
communities to undertake joint social action that have led to inclusive
social transformation. As IFSW, we continue to impress upon social
workers to tap into the wisdom and potentials of the people we serve,
local communities and other stakeholders in order to realise an ecosocial world that leaves no one behind. Colleagues, we note thatsometimes diversity may pose complications as well as create someopportunities. This is because people’s differences mean that they havevaried strengths and perspectives and therefore, using and coordinating
differences can result in better overall outcomes. The net effect may bethat diversity results in innovation, better performance and improved
growth at the individual and community levels.
Understanding, respecting and celebrating diversity is a crucial
ingredient in sound, ethical social work practice. Colleagues, this is afundamental requirement for social workers to engage effectively withpeople from diverse backgrounds and life experiences. This requires anunderstanding that people are different and consequently exhibit
behaviours, attitudes and views that are different from the majority’s.
As I conclude, allow me to remind us that the aim of the People’s
Charter for an Eco-Social World is to enable everyone to live withconfidence, security, and peace in a sustainable world. The People’scharter drafted during the 2022 People’s Global Summit initiated by 26
diverse global organisations is a living document, which means it cancontinuously be edited and updated.
The People’s Charter highlights five critical values, which includes;

2|Pagea) Buen Vivir, love and care for people and the planet,responsibilities and holistic rights.
b) Respect, dignity, harmony, and social justice.
c) Diversity, belonging, reciprocity and equity.
d) Ubuntu, togetherness, accountability and community.
e) Solidarity, equality, inclusion, and collaboration.
To attain these values, there is a need for people and all of us to beinclusive in our everyday actions. This calls for adjusting how we liveand interact with others around us. The underlying assumption is that,while there is diversity, we are all interdependent and cannot create asustainable future without cooperation which means co-developing
reciprocity, co-building peace, co-creating social justice, co-realisingequality and co-living with nature in a sustainable manner.
Ladies and gentlemen, I will be failing in my duties if I do not recognise
the political will of the Government of the Republic of Panama, ourhost through the local organising committee led by Kenia Batista andteam – thank you so much, the International Programme Committee ledby my Predecessor – Silvana Martinez, a big thank you, Vishanthie
Sewpaul - the conference coordinator – you have been amazing
shepherding all of us in making this a reality – here we are now, thankyou so much. To our tripartite partners (IASSW, ICSW and IFSW),
Where I come from, we say “Knowledge is like a baobab tree; no one
person can embrace it with both arms.” This speaks to partnership andcollective engagement you both exhibited, on behalf of IFSW, I am
profoundly grateful to you Annamaria and Sang-Mok Suh for yourleadership and making this work. This is a demonstration that we havemanaged to embrace a baobab tree as a collective. And to all thedelegates, we would not have had this conference without you, thankyou very much for making it - both in person and virtually and forelecting to share your practice stories. This assures us of theunmeasured growth of our great profession. We look forward to seeing
you all in 2026 in Nairobi – Kenya,Karibu Kenya the Pride of Africa mwaka wa 2026

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