The atmosphere was charged with purpose and pride at the solemn declaration of second-year social work students on the North-West University’s (NWU’s) Vanderbijlpark Campus. 

Held at the Tsebonokeng Hall in October, the solemn declaration holds profound meaning. It is a professional and ethical pledge taken by social work students as they transition from learners to practitioners. 

Through it, they commit to uphold human dignity, social justice, and compassion. The declaration reminds them that their duty is not negotiable – they do not leave outcomes to chance but deliberately shape them toward fairness and hope.

The programme itself reflected the spirit of collaboration and mentorship central to the profession. The event opened with Prof. Elmien Crofford, associate professor and COMPRES research coordinator, who also led the reading of the solemn declaration alongside second-year social work students. 

The highlight of the day was a moving keynote address by Dr Luce Pretorius, senior lecturer and chair of the subject group Social Work, who spoke to the heart of what it truly means to be a social worker. Her speech, titled “No dice, no gamble: Your unnegotiable duty of ethics, competence, and care”, offered a vivid metaphor for the moral responsibility carried by those who choose this calling.

Dr Pretorius began by likening life to a game of chance – one where none of us get to roll our own dice. “The cards we are dealt – our family, our circumstances, our opportunities – are not of our choosing,” she said.
“Some are fortunate enough to roll sixes, blessed with privilege and stability, while others face the hardship of low numbers shaped by poverty, violence, or inequality.” Yet, she reminded the audience that social work is not about lamenting unfairness, it is about levelling the playing field.

She named the forces that shape these dice: the five Ps – parents, poverty, privilege, policy, and patriarchy. These, she said, are the unseen hands that influence lives before people even take their first steps. Rather than assigning blame, social workers are called to intervene, to “rig the dice” in favour of fairness and dignity. 

“Advocacy is not cheating,” she explained. “It is the deliberate act of weighting the dice toward justice.”

Certificates were presented by lecturer Tiisetso Tshehle, assisted by Dr Pretorius and Dr Christiaan Bekker, senior lecturer and deputy director of the School of Psychosocial Health. Junior lecturer Livhuwani Siaga concluded the ceremony with words of gratitude and hope.

The ceremony concluded not merely as a formal event, but as a renewed collective promise, to lead with ethics, serve with competence, and care with unwavering humanity.