ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces community social labs (CSL) as an innovative approach in social work education, tailored to enhance co-creation, indigenization, and sustainability. CSL is an approach to transform curricula and enhance learning in social work that is contextually relevant and tailored to find local solutions to the complex social problems that confront communities. This chapter situates CSL within social work’s decolonization and indigenization frameworks and draws on the Ubuntu philosophy as an important lens through which to conceptualize and implement CSL, emphasizing principles of co-creation, empowerment, agency, and sustainability. It underscores the fact that communities must be seen as co-producers and owners of knowledge and further foregrounds participatory action research methodologies as foundational aspects in the implementation of CSL. This chapter sets the pace for this book, presenting CSLs as collaborative platforms where students, academics, and community stakeholders co-create contextually relevant solutions to complex social challenges, including poverty, child abuse, youth unemployment, and lack of social protection for older persons, as specific examples.
