Welcome to the United Nations
This program is made possible by the financial support of IASSW, ICSW, IFSW, NASW, CSWE, Fordham University Graduate School of Social Service, Monmouth University School of Social Work and Rutgers University School of Social Work.
As we prepare to come to back in person to the UN for SW Day, take a few minutes to watch our video.
Concept Note for This Year’s Social Work Day at the UN
Working towards eliminating social barriers and promoting the empowerment of persons with disabilities figures prominently on social workers’ agendas worldwide. An inaccessible or inadequate physical environment often undermines the ability of persons with disabilities to participate meaningfully in society, becoming an obvious impediment and contributing to social discrimination and exclusion.
Identifying the multitude of visible and invisible barriers that limit access by people with disabilities to education, employment, health care, housing, and other social services is a first step on the road toward creating a more inclusive world, a “society for all”. Disability is a human rights and development issue. Social workers are crucial stakeholders in building awareness of these issues and exploring ways to make social institutions more responsive to human needs, promoting the integration of persons with all abilities in society to the fullest extent.
The 2023 Social Work Day at the United Nations in New York aims to further our understanding of disability issues in human rights and developmental contexts. It seeks to highlight a full spectrum of this discourse, tackling theoretical aspects and down-to-earth issues encountered by practitioners and policymakers. The presentations on promoting enabling environments will identify ways in which socially discriminatory barriers can be reduced or eliminated.
Source: IASSW, ICSW, IFSW, NASW, CSWE, Fordham University Graduate School of Social Service, Monmouth University School of Social Work and Rutgers University School of Social Work