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New Asia Pacific Branch committee announced     |     Reflecting on 25 years as an ICSD Member: An interview with Jo Ann R. Regan, PhD, MSW     |     Meet ICSD’s UN Representatives: Dr Raj Yadav     |     Meet ICSD’s UN Representatives: Professor Manohar Pawar     |     Beyond Measuring Inequality: A Joint Call for an Inclusive International Panel on Inequality     |    
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Month: September 2026

New Asia Pacific Branch committee announced

September 23, 2026

We are pleased to announce the newly elected committee of its Asia Pacific Branch, led by Chairperson Prof Bipin Jojo. The election results have been confirmed by the election committee and the ICSD President.

The new committee comprises:

  • Chairperson: Prof Bipin Jojo
  • Deputy Chairperson: Prof Justin Nicolas
  • Secretary: Ms Varathagowry Vasudevan
  • Members at Large: Prof Kana Matsuo, Dr Lakshmana Govindappa, Prof Sanjoy Roy, Dr Sudhir Maske, Dr Ushnish Guha and Pof Shu Fang.

ICSD thanks all members who participated in the elections and congratulates the elected committee.

“We wish Prof Jojo and his colleagues every success as they work to grow and diversify the Asia Pacific Branch and strengthen its contribution to social development across the region,” said Prof Leila Patel, ICSD President.

No nominations were received for the Treasurer position in either round of nominations. The election committee will initiate a new nomination process for this role. In the meantime, the newly elected committee will proceed with its work.

Reflecting on 25 years as an ICSD Member: An interview with Jo Ann R. Regan, PhD, MSW

September 22, 2026

In our member interview series, we speak to the people who make up ICSD’s international community, sharing their stories, their contributions to social development and the connections they have built through membership.

In this interview, Jo Ann R. Regan, PhD, MSW, reflects on more than 25 years with ICSD—from a conversation at her first conference that led to her first faculty position, to the international partnerships that continue to shape her work. Now Dean of the National Catholic School of Social Service at The Catholic University of America and a newly appointed ICSD Board Member at Large, she shares what membership has meant to her and how she hopes to help others find similar opportunities.

  1. Please tell us a little about yourself, your current role, and your main areas of interest or expertise in social development.

I am the Dean of the National Catholic School of Social Service at The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC, USA, a role I’ve held since 2020. Before that, I served as Vice President of Education at the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE), the national association for social work education in the US, where I led accreditation, faculty development, and international collaboration through the Katherine A. Kendall Institute for International Social Work Education. My work centers on social work education, workforce development, and international social development, with a particular focus on culturally responsive and indigenous approaches to practice. I was a 2021 U.S. Fulbright Scholar in the Czech Republic and now serve as a Fulbright Scholar Alumni Ambassador.  I co-developed our Rome Institute on International Social Work Issues at our Rome campus, which brings together U.S. and international faculty and students from Italy, Korea, India, Peru, and the Czech Republic each summer.

 

  1. What first drew you to the ICSD? and how long have you been involved with the organisation?

As an international adoptee from the Philippines, and having lived abroad as part of a military family, I’ve always been drawn to international social development issues, which is the kind of work ICSD has championed as an interdisciplinary community of practitioners, scholars, and students since 1978. ICSD conferences have been a great place to meet international colleagues and learn from them, and that global perspective has shaped my social work practice and worldview ever since.  I became involved in ICSD as a social work doctoral student, when I attended my first ICSD conference in Portugal, which was over 25 years ago!

  1. How has being part of ICSD benefited you personally or professionally?

ICSD’s international scope has let me build partnerships with universities, researchers, practitioners, and policymakers across Europe, Africa, Asia, and Latin America.  These relationships have deepened my appreciation for culturally responsive approaches to social development and reinforced how much international cooperation matters for shared global challenges. Being part of a network committed to strengthening community capacity and promoting social, economic, and environmental well-being worldwide has continually pushed me to think beyond any one country’s system. The conferences themselves have simply been wonderful to attend as they provide a mix of scholarship, cross-cultural exchange, and genuine collegiality which makes them something I look forward to every time.

  1. Is there a particular ICSD experience, connection, or opportunity that has been especially valuable or memorable for you?

One that stands out goes back to my very first international conference, an ICSD conference in Portugal, which I attended as a doctoral student. During a bus tour at the conference, I struck up a conversation with Dean Frank Raymond, former President of ICSD and at the University of South Carolina (USC). That connection led directly to my first faculty job in social work education at USC. It’s a good reminder of how much ICSD’s informal, cross-institutional spaces can shape a career, sometimes as much as the formal sessions do. I have always been grateful for the opportunity to attend the ICSD conferences and this experience demonstrates the benefits that come from being able to participate in these conferences. I was also able to do my first international presentation and publish in the ICSD journal.

 

  1. You have recently joined the ICSD Board. What do you hope to contribute in this role?

As a Member at Large, I want to bring my experience in organisational governance, strategic planning, and international programme-building to the Board’s work. My work co-founding the Rome Institute showed me what it takes to build sustainable international programming, and I’d like to apply that same strategic and logistical experience to ICSD’s conferences, publications, and partnerships. I’m also eager to serve as an ambassador for ICSD, strengthening membership (particularly with students), engagement and the organization’s visibility, including through its consultative status with ECOSOC and its growing engagement with United Nations processes. I also want to help grow the North American branch of ICSD by re-engaging universities and other practitioners to get involved through membership and involvement in ICSD activities. I am grateful for the network of colleagues I have gained from my ICSD membership so I want to extend that network for others in the social development profession!

  1. What do you see as some of the most important social development issues or opportunities that ICSD should be engaging with over the next few years?

Building on the legacy of the World Summit for Social Development and the commitments in the Doha Political Declaration and the Sustainable Development Goals, I see real opportunity in expanding access to behavioral health and trauma-informed care globally; strengthening the social work workforce pipeline; centering indigenous and culturally grounded healing frameworks, and deepening ICSD’s UN engagement so that social development voices – the interdisciplinary practitioners, scholars, and students ICSD represents – are heard more directly in global policy discussions on social, economic, and environmental well-being.

  1. What would you say to someone considering becoming an ICSD member?

ICSD offers something increasingly rare – a genuine international network for building knowledge for social development worldwide, where you can trade ideas across regions and disciplines rather than staying within your own country’s system. Beyond the biennial conferences and the SDI journal, it’s the worldwide network of social work educators and practitioners that makes membership valuable, and, as my own experience shows, sometimes those informal connections open doors you wouldn’t expect. If you’re serious about social development work having global relevance, ICSD gives you both the relationships and the platform to make that real.

 

Meet ICSD’s UN Representatives: Dr Raj Yadav

September 16, 2026

The ICSD is pleased to introduce Dr Raj Yadav, Senior Lecturer in Social Work at Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Australia, and Secretary of the ICSD Asia-Pacific Branch, as one of our representatives supporting engagement with the United Nations.

Dr Yadav’s academic and professional work centres on social development, with a particular interest in developing approaches to social transformation that are grounded in Global South contexts while remaining relevant to global challenges.

He holds a PhD in Social Work from the University of Newcastle, Australia, and a Master of Social Work specialising in Rural and Urban Community Development from Christ University, India. His research has explored poverty, international development, climate change and disaster, technology and the digital divide, the Sustainable Development Goals, decoloniality and the politics of development.

Dr Yadav brings extensive international experience to the role, having worked across countries including Nepal, Australia, Germany, Thailand, the Philippines and India. He has also been involved with a range of academic institutions, international networks and civil society organisations.

As an ICSD UN representative, he “aims to strengthen ICSD’s participation in global social policy dialogue, support collaboration between ICSD’s regional branches and members, and help mobilise researchers and practitioners to contribute evidence and perspectives to UN processes.”

A particular priority of his will be ensuring that local and regional knowledge informs ICSD’s global contributions and strengthening partnerships across academia, civil society, government and other development actors.

His appointment builds on his existing leadership within ICSD as Secretary of the Asia-Pacific Branch and supports the Consortium’s commitment to sustained and meaningful engagement with the United Nations.

Meet ICSD’s UN Representatives: Professor Manohar Pawar

September 11, 2026

We are excited to announce that Professor Manohar Pawar, Professor of Social Work at Charles Sturt University in Australia and former President of ICSD, is the ICSD’s focal point representative to the UN.

Prof Pawar brings more than 40 years of academic and professional experience in social work, social development and social policy to bear on this role. He has worked across the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, La Trobe University and Charles Sturt University and has authored more than 200 publications, including over 20 books and monographs.

He is the founding Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Community and Social Development and Editor of the Springer Series in Social Development. His research and scholarship have made a significant contribution to the fields of international social work, community development and social development.

Prof Pawar served as President of ICSD from 2017 to 2025 and played an important role in the Consortium’s efforts to secure Special Consultative Status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).

He has subsequently represented ICSD at UN-related events and helped coordinate ICSD participation and side events at the Second World Summit for Social Development and the 64th Session of the Commission for Social Development.

In this role, Prof Pawar will draw on this experience to help establish a strong and sustained foundation for ICSD’s participation in UN processes. He say: “A particular focus will be on strengthening coordination, building the capacity of ICSD members to participate and developing partnerships that can increase the Consortium’s contribution to global social development dialogue.”

His continued involvement provides valuable continuity as ICSD moves from securing ECOSOC consultative status towards building a strategic and sustained programme of UN engagement.

Beyond Measuring Inequality: A Joint Call for an Inclusive International Panel on Inequality

September 4, 2026

The International Association of Schools of Social Work (IASSW), International Council on Social Welfare (ICSW), International Consortium for Social Development (ICSD), and International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW) welcome the international initiative to establish an International Panel on Inequality (IPI) within the United Nations system.

The proposed Panel represents an important opportunity to strengthen the global response to one of the defining challenges of our time. Inequality undermines human rights, social cohesion, wellbeing, sustainable development and the ability of people and communities to shape their own futures.

The initiative follows the work of the Extraordinary Committee of Independent Experts on Global Inequality, chaired by Nobel Laureate Professor Joseph Stiglitz during South Africa’s G20 Presidency. The proposal is being advanced internationally with the support of the governments of South Africa, Brazil, Spain and Norway, with a High-Level Leaders’ Event scheduled during the United Nations General Assembly in New York on 23 September 2026.

Our organisations welcome this initiative and call for broad international support for the establishment of the Panel.

Building on a longstanding commitment to addressing inequality

For decades, the international social work, social welfare and social development community has worked collectively to address the structural causes of inequality.

The Global Agenda for Social Work and Social Development, developed by IFSW, IASSW and ICSW, made promoting social and economic equality one of its foundational commitments. Its current overarching framework, “Co-building Inclusive Social Transformation”, continues the call for fundamental changes in the social, economic and political structures that shape people’s lives.

More recently, IASSW, ICSW, ICSD and IFSW strengthened this collective commitment through their collaboration at the Second World Summit for Social Development in Doha, bringing together social work practice, education and research, social welfare, social policy and social development to advocate for inclusive, rights-based and people-centred approaches to social progress.

Inequality cannot be understood through economics alone

Economic analysis is indispensable to understanding inequality. Income, wealth, taxation, employment and the distribution of resources are fundamental dimensions of the challenge. But inequality is far more than an economic issue.

It is also about power and participation, access to healthcare, education, housing and social protection, discrimination and exclusion, gender and intergenerational disparities, environmental and territorial inequalities, and whose voices and knowledge shape the decisions that affect society.

Inequality is ultimately experienced in people’s everyday lives—in their relationships, families, workplaces and communities. Its causes and consequences therefore cannot be fully captured by economic indicators alone. Understanding inequality requires an integrated perspective that brings together economic, social, political, environmental, and human rights dimensions.

We call for the emerging International Panel on Inequality to be genuinely interdisciplinary and participatory, bringing economic expertise into dialogue with social work and the wider social sciences, social policy and social development, human rights, public health, education and other relevant disciplines.

Equally importantly, global knowledge about inequality must not be produced only about people and communities. It must also be developed with them. Community knowledge, Indigenous and other knowledge systems, and the lived experience of people directly affected by inequality should have meaningful places within the Panel’s work.

Antoinette Lombard, President of IASSW, said: “Social work education and research have a critical role in deepening our understanding of inequality and developing transformative responses. They prepare socially conscious professionals and leaders who can recognize inequality in its intersecting forms and connect knowledge with action across practice, policy and communities. A global panel should connect knowledge across disciplines, regions and diverse ways of knowing, deepening understanding not only of the scale of inequality, but also its structural causes, lived consequences and the pathways towards more just and inclusive societies.”

Sergei Zelenev, President of ICSW, added: “Growing inequality within and between nations poses a fundamental challenge to social cohesion and international relations, undermining the long-term prospects for inclusive and sustainable development. The proposed International Panel on Inequality should integrate rigorous economic analysis with comprehensive and integrated social policy approaches to address the multiple and intersecting dimensions of inequality. By translating knowledge and evidence into effective policies, the Panel can help improve people’s well-being, strengthen social protection systems, advance greater equity, and ensure that no one is left behind.”

Leila Patel, President of ICSD, argued: “Inequality is a multidimensional challenge that requires an equally multidimensional response. Social development scholarship has long shown the importance of integrating economic development with social institutions, human wellbeing, participation and social and gender justice. A global Panel offers the opportunity to strengthen the relationship between research, policy, practice and community knowledge.”

Eva Ponce de Leon, President of IFSW, added: “Social workers across the world witness the realities of inequality every day, but they also witness the strength, knowledge and capacity of communities to create change. An International Panel on Inequality can help the world move from recognising inequality towards transforming the structures that produce it. Social workers stand ready to contribute their experience, their commitment to human rights and social justice, and above all their work alongside communities whose voices must be part of this global discussion.”

From evidence to social transformation

Our four organisations bring together social workers, educators, researchers, social welfare and social development practitioners, policymakers, institutions and communities across the world. Through our consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), we have consistently brought diverse civil society perspectives, knowledge and experience into United Nations policy dialogue.

We stand ready to contribute this collective expertise to the development and future work of the International Panel on Inequality and to engage with the United Nations, governments and other partners to help ensure that the Panel reflects the full complexity of inequality and the realities of people and communities across different contexts.

We encourage our members, partners and the wider social work and social development community to support the international call for the establishment of the Panel and share the initiative through their networks.

The establishment of an International Panel on Inequality should be more than an opportunity to better measure inequality. It should help the international community move beyond responding to the consequences of inequality towards transforming the structures that produce and sustain it. Finally, we call on the International Panel on Inequality to support research and integrated social innovation to find solutions to one of the key global challenges of our time.

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