When people are exposed to adversity, many experience distress, negative symptoms and breakdown; but some recover quickly from this initial impact or experience little impact at all. This capacity of some people to navigate adversity is called ‘resilience’. In this presentation, Prof. Adrian van Breda, Head of Social Work and Community Development at the University of Johannesburg, and the leading social work resilience scholar in South Africa, will present on the theory and practice implications of resilience, drawing in particular on lessons learned in South Africa and informed by a social ecological perspective. The presentation will tease apart the conceptualisation of resilience, providing attendees with a clear understanding of what resilience is and is not, and how it has developed over time and across disciplines. In addition, the presentation will pull out the implications of resilience for practice with individuals, families, groups, communities and whole societies. The presentation will be relevant for any profession working with human well-being or health.