International Webinar on Psychology in coping with COVID-19 Pandemic Successfully Held

Prior to the 2020 National Science and Technology Working Day, the International Webinar on Psychology in coping with COVID-19 Pandemic was organized by the Academic Department of China Association for Science and Technology (CAST), Chinese Psychological Society (CPS), and Tencent. The forum was held from 8:00 pm to 11:00 pm Beijing time on May 30th to share the achievements and experiences of China's psychology community in the fight against the pandemic. The event utilized a live webcast to disseminate information and insights from the Chinese psychology community and to engage with the perspectives of international psychology experts.

The forum brought together a diverse group of experts, including Chinese psychologists who were at the forefront of combating the pandemic in Wuhan, as well as psychologists from organizations such as the International Union of Psychological Science (IUPsyS), International Association of Applied Psychology (IAAP), British Psychological Society, the Australian Psychological Society, Asian Psychological Association, Asian Association of Social Psychology, and Asia Pacific Psychological Association. This collaborative gathering provided a platform for open dialogue, academic exchange, and sharing of experiences among Chinese and foreign psychologists, fostering insightful discussions.

Lv Zhaoping, a member of the party group and secretary of the CAST, aspired in his opening speech that through this forum, a deeper public and academic recognition of psychology's role in pandemic response can be achieved. He hoped that such dialogues would foster collaboration, inspire forward-looking perspectives, and actively contribute to the establishment of a global community with a shared human destiny.

The forum featured two segments: keynote reports and a roundtable discussion. The keynote reports included four presentations. Firstly, Mr. Han Buxin, President of the CPS, shared China's psychological insights in the battle against the pandemic through "Fighting the Pandemic with Heart and Mind, Overcoming the Difficulties Together - The Chinese Psychological Society in Action." Subsequent reports were delivered by Pam Mara, President of the IUPsyS from the UK, Christine Roland-Lévy, and President of the IAAP from France, and Saths Cooper, President of Pan-Africa Psychology Union. The roundtable discussion facilitated conversations among experts from diverse countries on the role of psychology in pandemic response, international scientific research cooperation, and the profound reflections brought about by the pandemic.