Global Social Work

Chapter Objectives

• Identify the values of the social work profession from a global perspective;
• Explore the internationality of social work;
• Define the roles of Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) and Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs) in social work;
• Outline details that should be considered when considering international volunteering and employment.

Introduction

With the technological advances that have been made within the last two decades, communication between nations has become more interconnected. With the press of a button or the click of a remote, a person can find out what is happening on the other side of the world. In addition to facilitating communication, technology has resulted in more economic and resource interdependence. The tourism industry, for example, which has emerged as its own form of economy in many smaller nations, is based on the business of people from outside those communities (Becker, 2011). The exchange of resources and the effect this exchange has on international economies is one matter that is of the utmost importance for those with an interest in global social work. As citizens of the United States, many of us have been privileged to not want for many things. Though it is often restricted and/or difficult to access, health care and access to shelters are available even to those living in poverty in the United States. The United States, among various other elite nations, makes up one-eighth of the world’s population, yet we utilize seven-eighths of the world’s resources (Laughlin, 2006). Conversely, this means that the remaining seven-eighths of the world’s population accesses one-eighth of the world’s resources. This social inequity is something that social workers are committed to rectifying, as delineated by the values that govern the social work profession.

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