Solidarities and Social Work SIG
Title: Reimagining Solidarity: Social Work in a Fragmented 21st-Century World
Speaker Dr. Poppy Masinga - Research Gate
Date: Wednesday 14th October 2026
Start time: 14:15 BST/ 15:45 CEST
Duration: 90 minutes
Register: https://forms.gle/htsakPbaEyN3cUQD6
Abstract: Reimagining Solidarity: Social Work in a Fragmented 21st-Century World
Solidarity has long been embedded in the values and aspirations of social work, reflected in its commitment to social justice, collective responsibility and respect for human dignity. Yet, in the 21st century, solidarity is being tested by widening inequalities, forced migration and displacement, armed conflict, climate and environmental crises, declining trust in institutions, individualisation, and growing social and political polarisation. These conditions invite social work to reconsider what solidarity means, whose interests it serves, and how it can be translated from professional aspiration into everyday practice.
This lecture critically explores solidarity as both an ethical principle and a practice of collective responsibility. It considers whether contemporary social work has become increasingly individualised and service-oriented at the expense of its historical commitment to collective action and structural change. Drawing on African relational philosophies, including Ubuntu, alongside broader international perspectives on solidarity, the lecture examines possibilities for reconnecting individual well-being with community, social and ecological well-being.
The lecture argues for a renewed conception of solidarity that moves beyond expressions of compassion towards shared responsibility, reciprocity, collective agency and action against structural injustice. It invites social work researchers, educators and practitioners to consider how solidarity might be reimagined across communities, generations, professions and borders, and how social work can contribute to rebuilding social bonds in an increasingly fragmented world.
