 |
Sang-Mok Suh
|
The New Year 2021 has come. I extend my best wishes for a happy new year to all of ICSW members. Due to COVID-19, 2020 was a year when we realized the importance of normal life, and there have been many changes in our society.
We have endured a tougher time than ever before.
However, various social problems have also emerged in the era of COVID-19. The most prominent issue is the rising inequality problem. Social polarization will intensify in the coming months due to the economic recession caused by the COVID-19, and we will face a more unequal society than ever before. In developing countries, widening poverty issue also rises rapidly as economic activities get sluggish. Many such as the World Bank Poverty Report predict that recent achievements made during last 20 years under the MDGs and SDGs will be wiped out completely in just one year.
I believe it is our duty, as an international NGO specializing in social welfare and social development, to take concrete measures and actions, including setting agendas on social problems raised in the new COVID-19 era.
I am confident that social welfare community will change and adapt successfully in the rapidly changing era of COVID-19. In this context, ICSW will do our best and take the lead in creating fields for global discussion and fields for exchange and cooperation to achieve our common goals in close cooperation with various international organizations.
Stay safe!
Sang-Mok Suh
ICSW President
