Activities of the IUPsyS
See List of Current 2010 Activities

The main activities of the IUPsyS Include:

  • Sponsoring International Congresses of Psychology at regular intervals (now every four years). The XXIX Congress was in Berlin, Germany in July, 2008 and the XXX Congress will be in Capetown, South Africa in 2012. Click here for a complete list of International Congresses of Psychology

  • Organizing and/or issuing publications, including the International Journal of Psychology; Psychology Global Resource (a CD with international psychology information and resources); Proceedings of the International Congresses; the International Handbook of Psychological Science; the History of the Union, and various occasional publications. Further information on publications of the Union is given in the section on publications below.

  • Participating in major international organizations, including the International Social Science Council (ISSC) , the International Council for Science (ICSU), UNESCO, and the World Health Organization (WHO).

  • Fostering communication among IUPsyS National Members and addressing issues raised by them.

  • Organizing or co-sponsoring Regional Conferences of Psychology aimed at promoting psychology and addressing psychological issues and themes of special relevance to the region. Regional conferences are held in cooperation with other international organizations. The first regional conference was the Asian-Pacific Regional Conference on Psychology, held in Guangzhou, China, in 1995 (also supported by the International Association of Applied Psychology and the International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology). Subsequent regional conferences have been held in South Africa, India, Dubai, Thailand, and Jordan. The 2009 Regional Conference of Psychology is in Sofia, Bulgaria (in cooperation with the International Association of Applied Psychology, the International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology, and the existing regional association, the European Federation of Psychology Associations). In 2011 it is anticipated that the regional conference will be in the Caribbean.

  • Sponsoring and accomplishing projects that foster the development of psychology and international and professional cooperation. These have included national capacity building workshops at International Congresses and regional conferences (Singapore, China, Jordan, Bulgaria); the development of international networks (International Network of Psychology and the Developing World, International Network on the Young Child and the Family, Healthnet); coordinating interdisciplinary projects (Psychological Dimensions of Global Change; Human Dimensions of Global Change: Human Perceptions and Behaviour in Sustainable Water Use); and compiling information (IUPsyS initiative on Psychology in a Multidisciplinary Environment; Compilation of National Codes of Ethics for Psychology; Terminology and Classification of Concepts in Cognitive Science).

  • Encouraging the development of psychology as a science and a profession.

  • Encouraging psychologists from developing countries to participate in International Congresses of Psychology and to benefit from special training seminars. For these purposes, the Union initiated Advanced Research Training Seminars (ARTS) for psychologists from developing countries in conjunction with the Brussels Congress in 1992. In collaboration with the IAAP, IACCP and other organizations, the Union has organized a series of ARTS, that take place every two years at a major international Congress (see ARTS for more details).