In October, NASW Executive Director Elizabeth J. Clark will lead a People to People social work delegation to Brazil.

The eight-day trip will include visits to São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. In addition to better understanding social work practice in Brazil, participants will hear from local experts and visit facilities to learn about women’s rights, racial inequality, services for the aging, crime and prisoner re-entry into communities, and violence against homeless children.

The trip is open to NASW members and their guests. Those attending will receive 30 continuing education credits from NASW’s Continuing Education Approval Program.

“Social work is now a global profession,” Clark said in an invitation letter sent Feb. 17. “Around the world, social workers have a common core of values, yet social work may be practiced differently in different countries. Across nations, there may be similarities in social problems, but the focus of concern can differ within borders and within cultures. As a result, competency in social work now requires an understanding of the impact of the global context on human rights and social justice.”

Clark also has led delegations to Russia, Cambodia, China, Egypt and South Africa as part of the Social Workers Across Nations initiative, or SWAN.

President Dwight D. Eisenhower created People to People in 1956. Its goal is to encourage international understanding among citizens by having them visit each other’s countries. NASW has worked with the organization since 2000, when then-NASW President Ruth Mayden and more than 80 social workers went to China.