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Transnational and global actors and debates largely influence social and development work in the international arena. An example of this is out-of-home childcare, where current trends show support for both deinstitutionalised options and institutionalised residential childcare, such as orphanages. Higher education international exchange programs, which may involve Social Work field placements, are, however, relatively invisible as actors supporting or opposing deinstitutionalisation and institutionalisation of Social Work. This is important to highlight considering that in the Global South, institutionalisation may be sustained by actors from the Global North, despite the fact that deinstitutionalisation is generally advocated in the Global North. Furthermore, given the rise of “voluntourism”, which has transformed formerly non-profit humanitarianism into for-profit tourism, it is crucial to investigate these collaborations and ask critical questions about the kind of Social Work that is supported. Voluntourism makes less demands on previous experience, language proficiency, duration of stay and offers tailored “internship packages”, which makes it particularly appealing to students who are looking for internships in the Global South. In addition to earlier problematisations of international exchanges between the Global North and Global South as new forms of colonialism and professional imperialism, Social Work field placements carry particular concerns. The work may in the worst case be considered to rest on the exploitation of the already vulnerable, often in the so called child orphanage industry, irregular and short-term work and a lack of solidarity and reciprocity with the local community.

Drawing on the case of an Indonesian-Swedish partnership involving the higher education and NGOs, this paper discusses how international partnerships related to Social Work can challenge unequal relations of power, changing the meaning of Social Work in the process. In particular, initiatives involving digital Social Work and follow-up work will be discussed as sustainable alternatives in a world shaped by power dynamics between the Global North and the Global South.