Partnership in Social Work Education Along the New Silk Road: Towards a Transformative Cultural Inclusion Model

We live in a world of disruption aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic. In view of the highly divisive global discourse, we envision a different way of regional and international partnership in social work education and practice through our proactive partnership, to build hope and transformation. Social work educators from the Chinese Mainland, Hong Kong SAR, Kazakhstan, South Korea, Israel, and Vietnam, who have developed partnerships with counterparts in the countries along the New Silk Road, have come together to reflect on their partnership experiences, having developed the “Transformative Cultural Inclusion Model” consisting of four essential pillars: (1) equal partnership, (2) cultural inclusion, (3) capacity-building, and (4) social solidarity. Social work is a catalyst for social change and development, and we hope that the model can provide insights and principles to guide future development of regional and international partnerships. This will, in turn, develop context-specific authentic social work theories and practice by partnering together, engaging in participatory practice research, and making positive changes through education, research, and action with regional, international, and local partners.