INTRODUCING...THE PRIDE OF SOCIAL WORK AWARDS!

Every day, social workers across the globe get up and go to work, their ‘ordinary’ days extraordinary by anyone else’s count.

The work is hard, intense, but they ask for no recognition, and no reward.

As they forge ahead through massive caseloads and emotional burnout, their motivation remains the people they support, and the essential work they continue to do quietly, year-after-year.

But now, a new annual celebration is set to unite social workers all over the world, elevating the public profile of the profession, and celebrating its success stories like never before.

“We chose the name, The Pride of Social Work Awards, because we felt nobody was shouting our success stories from the rooftops and, more importantly, the success stories of the people we support,” says Vince Peart, one of two UK social workers behind the new international evening of celebration, which will launch in 2022.

“That’s really important for me - to remember that we are only ever facilitators and advocates of change, and that the hard work is put in by the people we go to work for every day. “I engage with social workers from all over the world and there is a clear sense that our profession needs to be better celebrated and better promoted.

Vince joined forces with Tilly Baden, an adult social work team manager and Best Interests Assessor, after the pair came up with the idea back in 2020, while considering ways they could help to celebrate the achievements of their fellow social workers and people supported by them during the darkest days of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“There are countless unsung heroes out there with uplifting tales to share,” says Tilly.

“The public never gets to hear about these, as much of the media coverage around social work focuses on the negatives when there is a tragedy.

“Taking initial inspiration from The Pride of Britain Awards, Vince and I agreed that this could be just what our profession needs!”

Offering some insight into how the awards will work, Tilly added: “Our awards will enable social workers, students, academics, leaders, and the people we support to tell the world about their social work successes.

“These will inform and inspire fellow and future generations of social workers whilst ensuring that those individuals achieve the recognition and prestige they deserve.

“The chosen award winners will not be ranked, and each person will be celebrated equally for their positive contribution to society. We want to celebrate stories from people from all over the world, from all different backgrounds, cultures, ages, genders, religions, sexualities, races, abilities, and circumstances.

“Unlike other awards, we haven’t created specific categories to enter as we recognise that social work is a broad profession and different countries practice in different ways. Some countries protect the professional title of a social worker, whereas some use this title to cover a variety of roles and the title isn’t protected by law.

“To be as fair as possible, we’ll accept nominations regarding anyone who is practising in the field of social work including community work, research, academia, protective services, charity and voluntary services, local government, care, fostering and adoption work, and humanitarian work.

“We are also accepting nominations for people who use these services if they have contributed to society or the development of social work.”

Vince and Tilly confirmed they are currently setting up formal processes in relation to nominations and the selection process for winners, and will soon begin recruiting judges and partnering with sponsors.

In discussing the legacy they hope to leave, Tilly added: “This is the first award ceremony of its kind in the field of social work.

“We want to ensure that social workers and people supported by social work services receive the recognition and admiration that they deserve.

“We’ve been supporting and empowering individuals, families and communities for years, but the majority of people still have no idea what social workers actually do. We hope to change that, making the winners’ stories public, and celebrating them all over the world.”