Fundamental rights in daily actions of social workers

Vi har tilsluttet oss «F.R.I.D.A.S. - Fundamental rights in daily actions of social workers» som assosiert partner, og vi gleder oss over å kunne støtte dette utrolig viktige prosjektet! Det har fokus på menneskerettighetsbrudd sosialarbeidere møter i arbeidet sitt, og målet er å styrke koblingen mellom menneskerettigheter og utøvd praksis.

F.R.I.D.A.S. utvikler nå online læringsmoduler for studenter, og i den forbindelse trenger de testpersoner blant sosialarbeiderstudenter, sosialarbeidere og undervisere. Vi håper du vil bli med! Registrer deg ved å scanne QR-koden på bildet under, eller følg denne lenken: https://shorturl.at/v483J

Today, on the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, we are reminded that people who challenge traditional gender roles and stereotypes — particularly LGBTQI+ individuals — are still too often denied their humanity, dignity, and equal rights.

The prohibition of discrimination and the protection of human rights are fundamental principles of the EU legal order. Yet discrimination against LGBTQI+ people persists across the EU in many forms, including verbal abuse, exclusion, and physical violence.

Discrimination does not only come from anti-gender movements or acts of open hostility. We must recognise that many LGBTQI+ people also face barriers and unequal treatment in everyday interactions with professionals such as healthcare workers, social workers, educators, and public institutions.

Equality, dignity, and safety must be guaranteed not only in law, but also in everyday life!

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In the F.R.I.D.A.S. project, we have listened to many stories of human rights violations shared by social workers across Europe — including Italy, Spain, Albania, and Norway.

On this day, we encourage educators to use one of the didactic case cards from Italy (Card 4: “Adolescent’s Gender Affirmation”). In this case, students are introduced to a 17-year-old who wishes to begin a gender transition, while their parents are opposed to it.

The card is designed to be used in group settings and facilitated to ensure the best possible learning experience. You can access the complete case card here:
https://studntnu.sharepoint.com/:b:/s/FRIDAS/IQDscDgSSLL_TJ271nkqcFJ0AUbRpvx1UXbvIEucWjeezgU?e=wplZo3

For guidance on how to use the cards in educational sessions with students, please refer to the user guidelines here:
https://studntnu.sharepoint.com/:f:/s/FRIDAS/IgBB1OEMGwAOQ4l3W_-TbHzMAZ-mrXcqij7fQ42-DfPghdQ?

All material is available in English, Italian, Spanish, Albanian and Norwegian.

Last week, from 4 to 5 May, the F.R.I.D.A.S. consortium held its Coordination Meeting in Granada, Spain — and what an incredible two days it was!

Partners from Albania, Italy, Norway, and Spain came together at the University of Granada’s Faculty of Social Work and Faculty of Labour Relations and Human Resources to take stock of the project’s progress and chart the path forward.

The consortium was warmly welcomed by the Spanish partner, represented by Aránzazu Gallego Molinero, as well as Mr Mourad Aboussi, Dean of the Faculty of Social Work; Ms Irene Pedreira Romero, Director of Projects and International Networks; and Ms Cristina García López, representative of the Official College of Social Work of Granada.

On the first day, Prof. Andrea Bilotti, Scientific Coordinator of the F.R.I.D.A.S. Project, guided us through some of the project’s core achievements and reminded us of the importance of shifting the focus from individual needs to a rights-based approach.

Across the two days, the team moved forward on several key topics:
• validating and refining the online training course on Human Rights in Social Work
• defining the action plan for the coming months, including preparations for a grassroots social advocacy campaign
• focusing on the road ahead and working on both national and international scientific publications
• further planning a symposium on teaching human rights in social work education at the 5th Italian Conference on Social Work in Catania

The University of Granada shared an especially creative initiative — a podcast series based on the case cards, developed in collaboration with the Official College of Social Work of Granada, featuring Social Work students at the microphone. 🎙️
A huge thank you to all speakers, institutional representatives, students, and project partners who contributed their time, expertise, and passion to these two days. Special thanks to the University of Granada for hosting us so warmly.

The FRIDAS Project is moving forward with energy and purpose — and the best chapters are still to come. 👉 Follow our page to stay updated!

Photos: Arantxa Wencesla Sánchez Duarte

✨ FRIDAS Project – Newsletter No. 2 is now available! ✨

- Click on the letter to find your preferred language (English, Italian, Spanish, Albanian or Norwegian)

Dive into our latest updates, including:

📍 The collection of case studies
🤝 Highlights from our partner meeting in Albania
📚 Progress on our Human Rights Competence Framework
💻 Upcoming teaching modules and virtual community

We are working to empower social work students and professionals to place human rights at the center of their practice 🌍

Newsletter, April 2026 Check out this Doc (Digital) designed by Malin Jørgine Fævelen.

Today is The International Roma Day.

A day to celebrate Roma culture, history, and resilience — but also a day to learn and reflect.

The Roma are the largest minority in Europe, yet they remain among the groups most affected by prejudice, discrimination, and racism. This specific form of racism even has its own name: antiziganism.

For centuries, Roma people have faced systemic injustice. In Wallachia, Roma people were enslaved until around 1850, and across Europe they were often labeled “unwanted.” This history laid the groundwork for devastating consequences — during World War II, large parts of the Roma population, in some places nearly entire communities, were killed. In total, an estimated 500,000 Roma were murdered in the Porajmos, the Roma Holocaust.

Working for social justice today also means understanding how Roma communities are still affected by antiziganism, as well as by a long history of exclusion and assimilation policies.

How can social workers ensure they do not contribute to systemic oppression when working with Roma individuals and families, but instead actively promote social justice?

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Social workers across our partner countries have shared stories in which people of Roma background have had their human rights violated.

The case in this post is from Albania.

What do you know about the Roma minority in your country?
Which human rights are violated in this case?

How would you act in a similar situation, in your context?

See the comments for a link to the complete case.

Yesterday was the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. A day to reflect — and to act.

"The ancient poison of racism is alive and kicking in every community, society, country and region of the world… Today, and every day, we must take a stand. We must fight for the dignity, rights and belonging of every person on earth, and erase the stain of racism from our world."
— UN Secretary-General António Guterres

Sixty years ago, on 21 December 1965, the UN General Assembly adopted the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) — a landmark commitment to guarantee equal treatment for every person, regardless of race, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin.

Yet decades on, violations persist. Through the F.R.I.D.A.S. project, social workers across our partner countries have documented cases where people face discrimination in employment, access to services, and everyday life — simply because of who they are.

Our work is rooted in the conviction that human rights are not abstract ideals — they are tools for change in the hands of social workers, communities, and individuals. F.R.I.D.A.S. trains social workers to recognise, document, and respond to rights violations, because awareness is where justice begins.

In our case collection, you will find several disturbing examples of violations of ICERD. One is from Albania:

A highly qualified Roma woman outscores all other candidates for an economist role — and is still rejected. Ethnic discrimination suspected. A social worker steps in, but the woman chooses not to pursue the case. She is referred to other jobs. She waits — for work in her own profession.

A potential violation of ICERD Article 5: the right to equal treatment in employment, regardless of race or ethnic origin.

👉 Read the complete case: F.R.I.D.A.S. – Albania, Card 9: https://studntnu.sharepoint.com/:b:/s/FRIDAS/IQC8e7Wz8bnDRLSAtCPQDzPsAeCS4Ejn_veYd8vQAekUVlA?e=iTARZg

💬 How would you have acted as a social worker in this situation?

This is one of 46 cases in our F.R.I.D.A.S. booklet — each one an invitation to reflect on rights, practice, and human dignity. Link: https://studntnu.sharepoint.com/:b:/s/FRIDAS/IQAnfH34XjX-QYpKjMVwizd-AdqCri6rgpYVVQYfx5DNJzM?e=MB3Llv

Explore the booklet with all cases:
Do you recognise other violations of ICERD? How would you as a social worker respond to these violations?

You can also acess all our material, in five languages, from our website: thefridasproject.eu

Get more website visits

Today we mark World Social Work Day 🌍📣

Social work is a profession grounded in the principles of human dignity, social justice, and collective responsibility. In a time characterized by growing inequality, social fragmentation, and widespread uncertainty, the role of social workers remains essential in strengthening social cohesion and supporting inclusive communities.

This year’s theme draws inspiration from the concept of Harambee, a Swahili term meaning “all pull together” — a collective effort for the common good. It highlights the importance of solidarity, mutual support, and shared responsibility in addressing the complex social challenges societies face today.

This perspective is closely connected to the protection and advancement of human rights. Social work is not only about addressing immediate needs, but also about enabling participation, safeguarding dignity, and promoting equitable opportunities for all members of society. When human rights are upheld in practice, they contribute to more resilient, just, and inclusive communities.

We extend our sincere appreciation to social workers everywhere whose daily efforts help sustain hope, solidarity, and justice.

Read more: https://www.ifsw.org/social-work-action/world-social-work-day/world-social-work-day-2026/

📢The F.R.I.D.A.S. project is finally launching the Case Collection!

Find the cards here: https://shorturl.at/2BD4X

Guidelines for users (including annexes with text version of cards in Word and a table of contents of the cards): https://shorturl.at/cinW1

A huge thank you to all the social workers across Italy, Albania, Spain, and Norway who have shared their experiences of human rights violations in social work practice. Your insights have made this collection possible.

A special thank you to our Albanian partner at the University of Shkoder for leading this work package, together with the civil society expert RE.DU – Human Rights Education Network.

We would also like to thank all the social workers, students, professors, youth workers, and educators who tested the cards and provided such valuable feedback. Your contributions have helped strengthen this resource for education and practice.

F.R.I.D.A.S. would like to congratulate everyone, especially grassroots organizations and all those who have fought for this important advancement in the rights of persons with disabilities in Norway!

With incorporation into the Norwegian Human Rights Act, the CRPD will have the same status as other key human rights conventions and will take precedence in case of conflict with other legislation in Norway.

This is an important step toward ensuring full equality, self-determination, and equal participation in society for persons with disabilities.

💭Throwback to our memorable consortium meeting in picturesque Shkoder (Albania) 🇦🇱, when our partnership met again one year after the FRIDAS project began.

Welcomed by the Vice Rector Blerta Dragush and Professor Visar Dizdari in the inviting setting of the university library 📚, partners engaged in a rich and critical reflection on the work carried out so far to strengthen the connection between human rights principles and concrete everyday practices✊, and support ethical reasoning and professional decision-making in social work. 🧩

Each national team shared preliminary findings on the usability and adequacy of the collection of case studies on human rights violations in social work, gathered through focus groups held in Albania, Italy, Norway, and Spain, as well as through online interviews with relevant stakeholders across Europe 🌐. In all contexts involved, it clearly emerged the theoretical significance and practical relevance of the human-rights-based approach, instrumental in helping students, professors, and professionals overcome ethical dilemmas and better understand the central role of social workers in upholding social justice, human dignity and autonomy. ⚖
The didactic cards, thus, represent a pedagogical and practical tool with real added value for both academic and professional training in social work. These results prompted partners to consider how best to incorporate stakeholders' suggestions 💡 into the human rights collection and teaching methods.

During the meeting, partners also outlined the roadmap 🖊 for developing new
training modules on human rights within the social work curriculum, thus complementing formal education with non-formal and participatory tools that fosters critical awareness, empathy, and active citizenship 🙌.

Interspersed with moments of conviviality and sightseeing 🏞️, the meeting became a space for strengthening synergies, boosting shared responsibility, and building joined-up action towards our common goals.

Dipartimento di Scienze della Formazione - Università degli Studi Roma Tre