The International Association of Schools of Social Work (IASSW) is a non-governmental organization in consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council since 1947. IASSW is particularly having a team at New York and Geneva and in process of representations at Bangkok, Nairobi, and Vienna.
The IASSW representatives at United Nations (UN) headquarters in New York are active in NGO committees and participate in UN meetings. As permitted through our consultative status with ECOSOC, representatives attend UN meetings of interest to IASSW, organize side events at UN Commissions, including the Commission on Social Development, the Commission on the Status of Women, and the High Level Political Forum, submit policy statements for the Association, and advocate for social work values and priorities. Members participate actively in NGO Committees including the Committees on Migration, Women, Social Development, Mental Health, Aging, the Family, and Children. These memberships provide additional opportunities for co-sponsorship of side events and involvement in advocacy with member states on global policy issues. In our work, the team often collaborates with the International Council on Social Welfare and the International Federation of Social Workers. We are guided by the mission and policy statements of the IASSW, especially the Global Agenda for Social Work and Social Development and the Global Social Work Statement of Ethical Principles (IASSW), and report regularly to the Board of Directors.
