Decolonial social work

: on the relation between grass-root movements and critical social work in the urban periphery

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to identify and analyze the conditions and strategies for creating a critical and decolonial social work in the urban periphery. IIn this article we explore Save the Children’s program ”On equal terms”, that during the past decade created a space for local mobilization in several areas in Sweden, with the purpose of resolving communal problems. The article identifies three elements as central for their critical social work: the empowerment of a new generation of social organizers grounded in the urban periphery; the forming of alliances for the purpose of developing new languages and strategies to address problems and solutions in alternative ways; and the construction of counter-publics through the appropriation of space for the establishment of citizen-driven meeting places. Through these strategies and conditions, a decolonial social work was formed. Inspired by theories of resistance and mobilization, we interpret the work of ”On equal terms” as an expression of the politics of public-making and border work that transcends the separation between activism and social work, giving space for new alternatives and horizons.