World Social Work day 2023: Why it is celebrated and what is its significance?

With World Social Work Day falling this year on Tuesday, March 21, the theme for this year is “Respecting Diversity Through Joint Social Action”. Notably, World Social Work Day is always observed on the third Tuesday of March each year. The day aims to celebrate the achievements of social work, along with raising the visibility of social services for the future of societies. 

World Social Work Day is commemorated to celebrate and promote the contributions of individuals and communities working for society. The day not only provides a platform to showcase the invaluable role of the profession in society but also to thank and appreciate the hard work of individuals working for the betterment of society.

The first World Social Work Day was celebrated in the year 2007 with the theme “Social Work - Making a World of Difference”. Notably, the initiative was approved by the member organisations of the International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW) at the General Meeting in Adelaide, that happened in 2004. 

The original idea behind the celebration of Social Work Day was to organise an event that could be a way of interpreting the work of the United Nations to the social work profession. The event also helps and alerts social workers to collaborate with the NGOs to work towards solving humanitarian issues.