Once a year, we are invited to pause and to reflect upon our practices, the ethics of those practices, and the growth that we envision for ourselves and the Social Work profession as a whole. This is the time to be curious about our own identities within this profession. It is also a time to consider what impact we, as a collective, can have in the world. We stand in this moment, with a history to acknowledge with actionable accountability, with change making efforts aimed at the institutions we inhabit that have been built to serve colonial and discriminatory agendas, and alongside multiple and diverse communities into which we can immerse ourselves in the here and the now. Please take this moment to consider the ground you are standing upon, the vast world of lives and energies, intertwined like roots, forging narratives and shaping relationships like starry constellations.
Remember also the power of action, as each and every gesture has impact. I recall standing at the mouth of the Grand River in Ontario, where the river flowed into Lake Erie. And elder took some tobacco to the edge of the river, and released it into the water. He reminded us that the water flowed into the lake, which flowed into an ocean, which then flowed in and out of many, many waterways. That small pinch of tobacco had become part of the water systems of the world, whose reach, therefore, had become wide and profound. Our actions, as well, even the smallest of the small, can reach far. Let’s make sure that our every gesture is energized by respect, love, commitment, and, above all, a humility that can allow us to interrogate those very gestures in the name of always doing better.
On behalf of the School of Social Work, and With deep appreciation,
Trish Van Katwyk, Associate Professor and Director, School of Social Work