Abstract
The paper examines the possible positions taken by social workers in the United States and the United Nations. The demography and characteristics of social workers are considered. The work compares ambitious projects to improve the public future and finds similarities between them. The personal ambitions of the employee and their compatibility with the general ideas about the tasks of the social worker are found. The paper also examines the applicability of the plans of both organizations in the future, and the similarity and global nature of their tasks. In the process of analysis, it turns out that the goals of both organizations are far-reaching and have a planetary scale. The tasks set for the next ten years include overcoming social isolation and saving the world’s population from poverty. These tasks are a reaction to the main problems that bother human civilization at this stage, and they require the intervention of each individual person and a sense of collective responsibility.
Characteristics of Social Workers in the United States
The work of a social worker should yield to multifaceted comprehension and be perceived not only from the practical but also from the ethical point of view. In general, the tasks of social workers are to build connections between people and society. A social worker in America can solve the problems of a person’s adaptation to the world, and even solve family and psychological problems. Many social workers function in an interdisciplinary field that includes different fields of expertise and the combined application of different practices.
Social workers may not be formally identified as such, but still engage in the work or claim to be doing it. Their status is not fully determined, since only less than half of social workers in the States are officially registered (Assuring the sufficiency of a frontline workforce, 2006). Social workers are generally much older than generalized members of society. Their geographical distribution across the country is problematic since their presence in rural areas is insufficient and is especially acutely felt. The fact that I am significantly younger than most social workers can be seen as an advantage, although I do not fit their general description. While my position may be perceived as an anomaly, a younger social worker is likely to be able to handle a greater workload and use modern technology to accomplish tasks.
United Nations Goals
Looking at the projects of the United Nations and the Community of Social Workers, it is safe to say that their plans are ambitious with goals as specific as they are universal. They require the solution of basic tasks, the realization of which, in essence, reveals the problems of human society as it is now. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the plans of both groups of thinkers are truly utopian. All of them serve to build a better society free from shortcomings that sometimes seem ineradicable to an ordinary person.
Utopian coloring of theses presented on the websites of both communities is also given by their futuristic thrust. These are precisely the goals that must be realized by a specific time in the future (Transforming our world, 2021). In general, it is safe to say that the goals pursued by organizations are similar, for example, to those that a volunteer or charitable organization would be engaged in, with one significant difference. The communities described here offer global-minded projects on a grand scale. Representatives of these communities are philosophers, that is, social workers with large tasks.
The project to include people with disability in a full-fledged society, written in the framework of the UN, seems to be noteworthy. It describes what countries should do regardless of specific conditions, that is, the project implies such necessary actions that any state can and should implement (Disability and development report, 2021). The project requires the execution of work of such ethical and social importance that thinking in utopian categories seems to be comprehensible within the framework of overall justice. The creators of the project offer solutions that are, in essence, reminders to people that people with disability should receive absolutely the same rights as a person who is not burdened by them.
Social Worker Challenges
Similar theoretical constructions of a deeply ethical nature are being dealt with by the association of social workers who own the plan for a grandiose project called the Grand Challenge 2030. It seems no coincidence that the project is called the Challenge because it essentially challenges modern human society. Challenge invites people to fulfill the elementary things necessary to achieve greater harmony on Earth, which in practice turns out to be difficult to achieve.
The Grand Challenge, among other large, utopian challenges, offers strategies to overcome the problem of social exclusion. The alienation of a member of society from other people now seems to be an extremely urgent problem, which is all the more acute in the era of the global pandemic. At this stage of civilization, elderly people and members of society who are vulnerable due to physical disabilities are especially affected. Members of this Challenge’s Network have devoted sufficient time to collect clinical information on the issue of social exclusion and have organized summits on how to overcome this tragic phenomenon (Progress and plans for the grand challenges, 2021). It is noteworthy that the debaters perceive as a painful problem not only the social systemic complications that took place in the Covid era, but also stress and mental pressure. The long and productive life of every member of society is an immediate challenge that the project takes extremely seriously.
It should also be noted that the Challenge project is extremely inclusive. In addition to members of the community with health problems and retirees, the project is concerned about the problem of overcoming homelessness. It is clearly seen that the plans of both groups are deliberately vivid, they strive for clarity as they need the help of each member of society to get closer to implementation. The 17 meta-goals of the project include overcoming inequalities of any type and creating a comfortable and equal world for people with disabilities (#Envision2030, 2021). Gender equality is one of the priorities, and the end of poverty even comes first as it is seen as the obvious root of social imbalance.
The Role of the Human Unit in Organizations
There is definitely a certain number of professions that could be extremely in demand in solving the social problems posed by the projects of both communities. First of all, of course, a large number of volunteers are required who are ready to provide social ties with members of society who have lost the ability to actively communicate with it. The work of psychologists of social adaptation and specialists involved in professional retraining is important here. One point of the Challenge Project calls for slow decarburization, and the social adaptation of marginalized members of society is a necessary step towards building a safer world in the future. The ability to work with those detached from society and fit them back into active life seems to be fundamental on the way to building a healthier reality.
References
#Envision2030: 17 goals to transform the world for persons with disabilities. Web.
Assuring the sufficiency of a frontline workforce: A national study of licensed social workers. NASW Foundation, 2006.
Disability and development report. Realizing the sustainable development goals by, for and with persons with disabilities [PDF document]. Web.
Progress and plans for the grand challenges: An impact report of year 5 of the 10-year initiative. Web.
Transforming our world: The 2030 agenda for sustainable development. Web.