IUPsyS National Capacity Building

National Capacity Building Workshop
South-East European Regional Conference of Psychology
Sofia, Bulgaria 2009

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As part of the South-East Europe Regional Conference of Psychology (SEERCP) Conference in Sofia, Bulgaria, IUPsyS held a one-day event on 31 October to enable leaders of psychology associations in the region to share experiences and to explore possibilities for developing psychology in the region.

The objectives for delegates included:

  • Meeting and getting to know each other
  • Learning about National Psychology Associations in the region
  • Identifying questions, issues and concerns about developing psychology in the region
  • Discussing ways forward and identifying next steps

The workshop was led by Pam Maras, IUPsyS Executive Committee member, and facilitated by other members of the Executive Committee and IUPsyS Officers (James Georgas; Nick Hammond; Michel Sabourin; Gonça Soygüt). Delegates represented a range of regional psychology associations, including Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Hungary, Slovenia and Turkey. In addition, colleagues from The Netherlands and the US (representing IAAP) attended for part of the workshop.

A wide range of topics were discussed. These included:

  • How to make a national psychology association relevant and attractive to members: benefits of membership; engaging members; encouraging student members; issues around dues
  • Improving communication: with and amongst members; with the wider public; with governmental bodies and other agencies
  • Education and training: national differences in education and training; legal issues; regulation; the role of pan-European models (including EuroPsy)
Delegates identified a number of actions to be taken as a result of the workshop.

A full report of the workshop will be published in a forthcoming issue of the IUPsyS Newsletter.