Every year, the Alliance hosts Social Service Workforce Week to advocate for social service workers and raise awareness of workforce strengthening efforts across the globe. This year, Social Service Workforce Week will be held from 23-27 October under the theme: A Decade of Progress, A Future of Promise. To commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Alliance, the week will celebrate global-, regional- and country-level progress in strengthening the social service workforce over the past decade. It will also explore remaining and emerging challenges in relation to strengthening the workforce and put forth a vision of what the next decade of social service workforce strengthening may look like.
Content from the Week
Day 1: Launching a Global Movement Around Social Service Workforce Strengthening
- Putting Together Puzzle Pieces, by Maury Mendenhall, Senior Advisor on Orphans and Vulnerable Children, United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Office of HIV/AIDS
- What a Small Group of Committed Citizens Can Achieve: Reflecting on 10-years of Impact by the Alliance, by Kathryn Conley Wehrmann, Global Social Service Workforce Alliance Steering Committee Chair
Day 2: Guiding Efforts to Plan, Develop and Support the Social Service Workforce
- Envisioning the Future of Social Service Workforce Planning: A Data-Driven Approach, by Alex Collins, Senior Technical Advisor, Data for Impact (D4I) project, Palladium
- The Power and Potential of Social Work in South Africa, by Dr. Vishanthie Sewpaul, PhD, MSW, Emeritus Professor, University of KwaZulu Natal, South Africa, and Professor II, University of Stavanger, Norway
- Malaysian "Heroes Among Us" Campaign Drives Support for Social Workers, by UNICEF Malaysia
- Can Paid Internships Save Social Work?, by Pilar O. Bonilla, MSW, and Elana Metz, MSW/MPH
Day 3: Strengthening Systems that Improve the Well-Being of Children and Families
- The Inshuti z’Umuryango: The Volunteers Helping Keep Children Safe in Rwanda:
- Elisa and Innocent Support a Child-headed Household
- Immaculee and Naphtal Help Laura Escape Child Labour and Abuse
- IZU Emmanuel and Genevieve Support a Young Person Living with Disabilities
- Cyriaque Supports a Grandparent-headed Household During the COVID-19 Pandemic
- The Story of Efua: How Ghana's Integrated Social Services (ISS) Provide Comprehensive Assistance to Child Survivors of Sexual Violence, by Young Joo Lee, Child Protection Specialist, UNICEF Ghana
- Harnessing the Community and Leaders to Protect Children in Timor-Leste, by Child Frontiers
- Impact of Case Conferencing on an HIV-affected Youth in Zimbabwe, by Miriam Chadzingwa and Lispoh Rugaro, FACT Zimbabwe
Day 4: Equipping the Workforce to Meet the Needs of all Populations
- Equipping the Social Service Workforce to Meet the Needs of Children with Disabilities, by Lucy Marie Richardson, disability inclusive child protection expert, lead author of UNICEF's DICP Competency Framework.
- Breaking the Silence: Weekly Campaigns Shaping Mental Health Awareness in Nepal, by Aishworya Shrestha, Deputy Chairperson at Antardhoni Nepal
Ways to Advocate and Celebrate
As a global network, we rely heavily on our members and the public to advance our advocacy efforts. Throughout the week, help us increase attention and support for the social service workforce by:
- Posting content on social media: Share our pre-written content and graphic found below throughout your social media channels or post your own content using the hashtag #SSWWeek. Be sure to also follow the Global Social Service Workforce Alliance on Facebook, LinkedIn and X (formerly Twitter) for easy-to-share posts throughout the week.
- Sharing resources and blog content: Each day, we will post blog content and social service worker profiles on this page as well as through daily email campaigns. Share the content across your networks. Be sure you are registered as a member to receive the daily email campaigns.
- Taking part in our Annual Symposium: Join us on 26 October (12:00-14:00 UTC / GMT, 8:00-10:00 U.S. Eastern Time) for our Annual Symposium. Learn more and register.
Social Service Workforce Week is made possible through the generous support of the American people through the U.S Agency for International Development (USAID) by the Global Social Service Workforce Alliance, under Partnerships Plus cooperative agreement number 7200AA18CA00032, funded September 28, 2018, and implemented by JSI Research & Training Institute, Inc. The contents are the responsibility of Global Social Service Workforce Alliance and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.
