The 2026 World Social Work Day Masterclass, hosted jointly by the Association of Schools of Social Work in Africa (ASSWA) and the Africa Social Work and Development Network (ASWDNet) on 13 March 2026, focused on the theme “Co-Building Hope and Harmony: A Harambee Call to Unite a Divided Society.” The one-hour session brought together social work educators, practitioners, and development professionals to explore the principles and applications of Harambee within the context of Ubuntu philosophy. The program featured opening remarks by Susan Muchiri (ASSWA) and Dr Rugare Mugumbate (ASWDNet), followed by short talks from key speakers: Dr Rugare Mugumbate on contextualizing Harambee in Ubuntu, Dr Wilkins (East African ASSWA representative) on tools and demonstrations from East Africa, Corlie Giliomee (ASSWA President) on lived experiences of Harambee, and Olabisi Adebawo (AIEC Ethics Officer) on Harambee in global social work and development. The session concluded with an interactive questions and discussion segment and closing remarks from Susan Muchiri and Dr Rugare Mugumbate, offering participants practical insights and strategies for integrating Harambee principles into social work education, practice, and community engagement. Below we provide the questions asked and answers in themes.

Conceptual understanding and scope of harambee

This theme focused on clarifying the meaning, scope, and theoretical positioning of harambee within social work and community development.

Key questions

• Does harambee operate at both the micro/meso level and the macro level of social work practice?
• Should community-level activities automatically be considered harambee, or only those that contribute to broader societal development?
• How can harambee be understood beyond the simplified idea of people merely “coming together”?

Key insights

Participants emphasized that harambee should not be reduced to simple community cooperation. Instead, it should be understood as a societal-level framework for collective development capable of influencing policy, national progress, and structural transformation. Community initiatives may reflect harambee, but they fully embody it when they contribute to societal-level change. Harambee happens at all levels of society, however, in social work and development, societal harambee provides many opportunities to foster social development, human rights and dignity, decolonise, policy development and make leaderships more accountable, at both societal national, regional, continental and global levels.

Government responsibility vs community action

A major discussion centered on the tension between citizen-led initiatives and state responsibility.

Key questions

• Can the speakers address the contradiction when harambee shifts government responsibilities back to citizens? For example, when citizens pay taxes but are still responsible for community security, infrastructure, or social services.

Key insights

Panelists acknowledged that governments may sometimes exploit community solidarity to avoid their obligations. However, participants emphasized that harambee should not replace government responsibility. Instead, it should empower communities to hold governments accountable. Social workers have a role in advocating for policies that ensure governments fulfill their duties while still encouraging community participation.

Universality of collective solidarity

Participants debated whether concepts like Ubuntu and harambee are uniquely African or universally human.

Key questions

• Do we risk reinforcing ethnocentrism by emphasizing African values such as Ubuntu and harambee?
• Do these values not exist in other parts of the world under different names?
• How can these concepts be introduced in cultures that are not traditionally familiar with them?

Key insights

Panelists agreed that collective solidarity exists globally, but different cultures articulate it through different concepts. The aim of discussing harambee is not cultural exclusivity but recognizing African intellectual contributions to global social work and development theory.

Sustainability of harambee in contemporary society

Another theme examined whether African communal practices can survive in modern societies.

Key questions

• Can harambee still be sustained in modern contexts characterized by urbanization, individualism, and technological change?

Key insights

Examples were provided showing that harambee is already evolving. For instance, digital platforms such as WhatsApp groups facilitate modern forms of collective fundraising and mutual support. Community members still mobilize resources to address social needs such as healthcare, infrastructure, and social events. This suggests that harambee remains relevant but must adapt to contemporary social structures.

Preservation and transmission of indigenous knowledge

Participants raised concerns about the disappearance of indigenous knowledge systems.

Key questions

• Where can we obtain indigenous knowledge if the older generation is fading away?
• How can scholars preserve traditional knowledge related to Ubuntu and harambee?

Key insights

Speakers emphasized that many elders still hold valuable knowledge and should be actively engaged. Scholars and social workers should document indigenous practices through research, interviews, and community engagement. Universities should integrate these knowledge systems into teaching, research, and publications.

Dialogue, participation, and collective problem-solving

Another theme emphasized the importance of dialogue in identifying societal priorities.

Key questions

• How can societies determine the most pressing issues when different groups have competing priorities?

Key insights

Participants highlighted that modern societies often lack sufficient dialogue. African societies before colonisation frequently engaged in collective discussions before making decisions. Reintroducing deliberative dialogue and participatory processes is essential for identifying shared priorities and implementing collective action.

Decolonizing social work and knowledge production

The final theme focused on the broader project of decolonizing social work theory.

Key questions

• How can African knowledge systems like harambee influence global social work discourse?

Key insights

Participants argued that African concepts should not merely be local practices but theoretical contributions to global social work. This requires publishing academic research on harambee, expanding theoretical frameworks rooted in African knowledge, and challenging dominant Western-centric paradigms in social work education. This also require to go beyond minimalist, diluted and often colonised forms of Ubuntu and harambee. We need thought provoking ideas and concepts that deepen the practice of social work and development at all levels of intervention, micro, meso and macro. If there is no language for something, how can it exist and be sustained?

Summary of key themes

The discussion generated seven major thematic areas:

1. Conceptual clarification of harambee
2. Balancing government responsibility and community action
3. Universality vs cultural specificity of collective solidarity
4. Sustainability of harambee in modern society
5. Preservation of indigenous knowledge
6. Dialogue and participatory decision-making
7. Decolonizing social work and development theory