National Association of Social Workers

From the Director

Social Work Around the Globe

By Elizabeth J. Clark, Ph.D., ACSW, MPH

In November, I had the extraordinary opportunity to lead a delegation of U.S. social workers to China where we participated in the historic 2006 U.S.-China Social Work Forum in Beijing.

The conference was part of the People to People Ambassador Program. While two previous delegations visited China under the leadership of past NASW presidents Ruth Mayden (2001) and Gary Bailey (2004), this was the first one structured as a joint conference with the China Association of Social Workers [story in this issue].

Compared to NASW, the China association is relatively new, having been founded in 1991. Its members are anxious to learn from the experiences of social workers in the United States. Our exchanges centered on important professional issues such as education and training opportunities and regulation and licensure.

We found there were numerous substantive areas where the similarity of the issues was much greater than our differences. One such area was how to provide adequate social services for our aging populations. Another area was child welfare. We explored health, hospice and end-of-life care, as well as the areas of commonweal and charity.

I am grateful to my three co-leaders, Patricia Volland, Katherine Walsh and Priscilla Gibson, for their expert assistance. NASW President Elvira Craig de Silva also accompanied the group.

In addition to our professional exchange, our Chinese colleagues held a dinner for us at the magnificent Great Hall of the People, and we were able to visit Tian'anmen Square, the Forbidden City and the Great Wall of China. Our hosts were gracious, our guides were efficient and flexible, and I believe all of the delegates had a great experience.

This past year has had a strong international focus for me. In addition to Beijing, I visited Hong Kong, Germany and Nova Scotia. In Hong Kong, I met with the International Work Group on Death, Dying and Bereavement and discussed the effects of pathologizing grief and the importance of community support for those who are bereaved.

In Nova Scotia, I attended the annual conference of the Canadian Association of Social Workers. Ellen Oliver, past president of the Canadian association, and I gave a joint presentation detailing our respective public education campaigns.

NASW worked closely with the International Federation of Social Workers, and several of us attended the World Congress of Social Work, held in Germany in July. We have also hosted numerous social workers from countries such as Korea, Japan and Australia.

While there may be differences in government structures, practice methods, educational programs, titles and regulation, social workers worldwide have similar goals. Whether the goal is referred to as fairness and quality of life (Canada) or social justice and elimination of disparities (USA) or a harmonious society (China), we all want basically the same thing for our constituents. It is comforting to realize that there are hundreds of thousands of social workers around the world working for the betterment of our global community.

The next Olympics will be held in Beijing. The slogan for the 2008 Olympic Games is "One World, One Dream." That seems a fitting slogan for our profession too.

As we begin a new year, I wish each of you rewarding work and the realization that social workers are making a difference all over the world. Happy New Year.

To comment to Elizabeth J. Clark: newscolumn@naswdc.org

From January 2007 NASW News. © 2007 National Association of Social Workers. All Rights Reserved. NASW News articles may be copied for personal use, but proper notice of copyright and credit to the NASW News must appear on all copies made. This permission does not apply to reproduction for advertising, promotion, resale, or other commercial purposes.