The event, held from 10 to 12 September 2025 at the UFS’s Modular Lecturing Space and Assessment Centre (Modlec Building), brought scholars from different schools together to “reflect on shared professional challenges and transformation” under the theme ‘Advancing Social and Environmental Justice, Peace Building, and Sustainable Development through Teaching, Research and Practice’.
The keynote address on day one, 10 September, was delivered by Prof Sibonisile Zibane of the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s School of Applied Human Sciences, who spoke on the topic ‘Peace Building, Conflict Resolution and Social Work in the Face of Climate Change.’
Prof Abraham Francis from the University of Notre Dame in Australia delivered the keynote address on day two, titled ‘Innovative Global Partnerships and Research-Driven Practices: Advancing Social Work Education Through Reciprocity and Evidence-Based Learning’.
To close off the conference on day three, Prof Zibonele Zimba, Deputy Head of the University of Johannesburg’s Department of Social Work and Community Development, delivered his keynote speech, titled ‘Practising What We Preach: A Unified Approach to Sustainable Development in Social Work’.
In addition to academic discussions, delegates also planted 100 trees on the Bloemfontein campus, led by Premier Letsoha-Mathae and other officials.
Day two, 11 September, concluded with a Multicultural Evening & ASASWEI Awards Celebration, which brought together more than 400 delegates. A standout moment was the posthumous Lifetime Achievement Award presented to the late Associate Professor Thulani Gxubane of the University of Cape Town.
New leadership elected
The conference concluded with Prof Ncube’s election as the new ASASWEI President for the 2025–2027 term, with Prof Zimba as his deputy. Reflecting on his new role, Prof Ncube said, “Together with the executive committee, our responsibility is to build and strengthen strategic partnership across the government, private, and NGO sectors… We want to ensure that social work education remains responsive to the material conditions of the communities we serve.”
He stressed the importance of work-integrated learning, saying it would “remain a priority through collaboration with sector education and training authorities”.
The conference closed with delegates reaffirming the profession’s collective commitment to socially responsive, transformative, and collaborative approaches that advance social justice in South Africa and beyond.