The International Association of Schools of Social Work (IASSW), the International Council of Social Welfare (ICSW), and the International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW) have jointly announced the theme for the 2025 World Social Work Day:
‘Strengthening Intergenerational Solidarity for Enduring Wellbeing’.
This theme underscores the importance of intergenerational care and connections as fundamental to everyone’s well-being and the creation of functional economies and societies. Despite their critical role, these connections are often overlooked or ignored by governments and policymakers. Through this theme, the social work profession emphasizes the need for societies to actively support and strengthen respectful intergenerational solidarity to ensure the enduring well-being of all.
The 2025 theme builds upon recent World Social Work Day themes, such as Ubuntu and Buen Vivir, by acknowledging the interdependence of people and expanding these concepts to focus on intergenerational caregiving. It highlights that caregiving is a shared responsibility and challenges societal norms that often frame care as solely ‘women’s work’.
Intergenerational solidarity also addresses economic and environmental challenges, recognizing the need for each generation to act responsibly within their environments to ensure future generations inherit sustainable and healthy economic and ecological conditions. The theme celebrates the transfer of knowledge across generations, valuing the wisdom of elders and ancestors, while also recognizing the role of younger generations in reinterpreting this wisdom to address contemporary challenges and develop innovative solutions for the future.
At its core, this theme centers on care between individuals and communities. As social workers, we recognize our role in illuminating and supporting the diverse range of care arrangements that contribute to well-being and solidarity across generations.
In preparing the 2025 poster, the designer commented:
“The central figure represents the caregiver in all of us, helping all kinds of people across the waterfall. The figure is our mother/father/brother/sister/aunt/uncle/child/or chosen family. It has no gender or features because it represents everyone. Whether it’s through support, a helping hand, finding an alternate path, or just being there. Compassion is the catalyst to helping families, friends, and neighbours. It’s also showing that the caregiver is being re-energized and fortified through helping. The colours are bright and bold to show their resilience. The people come from all walks of life all around the globe and the landscape isn’t meant to be any one place, but rather a symbol of the journey we all travel.”
