Held in Nairobi, Kenya, on June 28, 2026, the General Assembly of the International Council on Social Welfare (ICSW) unanimously elected Driss Guerraoui as Vice-President of the International Council on Social Welfare for a four-year term.
Driss Guerraoui’s unanimous election to the Vice-Presidency of the International Council on Social Welfare makes him the first African and Arab to hold this position within the ICSW since its creation in 1928.
Morocco joined the ICSW Board of Directors in June 2010, following its unanimous election by the General Assembly held in Hong Kong.
Following the latest elective General Assembly, the presidency of the Council is held by Sergei Zelenev, an American of Russian origin, while the executive leadership is held by Antonio Lopez Pelaez of Spain.
A global non-governmental organization headquartered in Utrecht, the Netherlands, the International Council on Social Welfare is one of the first international non-governmental organizations to obtain Special Consultative Status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).
The ICSW brings together national and international organizations whose objective is to advance social welfare, social justice and social development worldwide. Its core mission is to promote forms of social and economic development aimed at reducing poverty, hardship and vulnerability around the world. It works for the recognition and protection of fundamental human rights to food, education, health, housing and social protection. For the ICSW, these rights constitute an essential pillar for the effectiveness of individual and collective freedoms, justice and peace in the world.
The ICSW therefore seeks to advance the principles of equal opportunity, freedom of expression and universal access for populations around the world to basic social services and universal social protection.
The new members of the Executive Committee, from left to right: Antonio Lopez Pelaez of Spain, Executive Director; Gloria Kirwan of Ireland, Member; Sergei Zelenev, President, USA; Driss Guerraoui, Vice-President, Morocco; and Cudore Snell, Member, South Africa.
