Elections 2024: Candidate Antoinette Lombard English

Vision for the Presidency of the International Association of Schools of Social Work (IASSW)

Antoinette Lombard

Antoinette Lombard (PhD) started her academic career in 1988 at the University of Pretoria where she became a full professor in social work in 2002, the head of the Department of Social Work in 2004 and the Department of Social Work and Criminology in 2005.

She was the Vice President of the Association for Schools of Social Work Education Institutions (ASASWEI) (2007 – 2009), and represented ASASWEI on the IASSW Board of Directors from 2009 – 2014. She is the IASSW Chair and representative of the Global Agenda for Social Work and Social Development on the Taskforce of the Global Agenda. She served on the executive of the Association for Schools of Social Work in Africa (ASSWA) (2012 –
2016) and coordinates the Global Agenda in the Africa region since 2012.

Prof Lombard served for 15 years in various professional bodies, including the South African Council for Social Services (SACSSP), and six years on the Professional Board for SocialWork (PBSW), chairing the Education and Development Committee, the Continuous Professional Development Committee, and the Standard Generating Body. She is involved in study abroad programmes, guest lectured at universities in the USA, Europe and Africa and involved in international research projects with colleagues across continents. She is the author of numerous publications and received international and national awards for her role in education and research.

Vision for the Presidency of the International Association of Schools of Social Work (IASSW)

I am honored to stand for the position of IASSW President. The organization has come a long way since its launch at its first international conference in Paris in 1928. I recognize and plan to build on the commitment, work, and achievements of the past leadership and the current President.

Rapid changes in technology, especially artificial intelligence, directly affect our work, how and what students learn and practice to become leaders in social transformation. Increasingly, countries face unexpected disasters, including wars, hunger, deepening poverty and inequality. Against this background, my vision for the IASSW is for it to be recognized as a global leader that is responsive to society’s realities and challenges, reflected in its membership engagement and the facilitation of relevant research, publications, and educational programmes to prepare social workers to be at the frontline of social change.

Acting on this vision requires multi-level partnerships and deep commitment to human rights, and social justice for vulnerable and oppressed groups who are disproportionally exposed to economic exclusion and environmental injustices. The IASSW must play a role in shaping research, educational programmes and curricula that are internationally, regionally, and locally contextualized. I embrace and strongly advocate for the integration of technology in social work education and practice to promote inclusion. I will prioritize ethics of learning in a digital environment, education for social transformation, including sustainable development for social, economic, and environmental justice, local and indigenous social work curricula and best practices.

Maintaining current partnerships and developing new ones is a key role of the IASSW. One global partner is the UN. The voices of practitioners and communities, academics, students, and employers are also central to joint action. The partnership between IASSW, IFSW and ICSW must be strengthened to enhance the visibility of social work on international, regional, and local platforms to contribute to a just, inclusive, and peaceful world.

We must revitalize collaboration on the Global Agenda for Social Work and Social Development 2020-2030 to honour the commitment of these three partners to co- building inclusive social transformation. The three organizations must jointly strengthen their global connectedness and accelerate building bridges for action across language, socio-economic and political divides to co-build a new eco-social world where no one is left behind, and diversity is respected in the spirit of Ubuntu.

International organizations are only as strong as their membership. I envisage growing our membership, building on a bottom-up approach where regional and local schools contribute context-based expertise and experiences in social work programmes, curricula, and research to the IASSW’s international and local relevance. If I am elected, I commit myself to a collective journey with the leadership of IASSW,

our members and partners, including IFSW and ICSW, to be a visible and valuable co-builder of a just, inclusive, sustainable and peaceful world.