EFPSA is an organisation that unites Psychology students from more than 30 European countries. Throughout the mandate, several Events are organised and Services are provided to facilitate skill development. Learn more about how we try to create opportunities for all psychology students all over Europe! 

Joint Executive Board and Member Representatives Meeting - Poland

In the past months, all members that work for EFPSA met during a Joint Executive Board and Member Representatives Meeting which was held in Poland last October. Besides productive discussions and workshops during the week, we had the honor to hear a lecture from Rosaleen McElvaney who gave a presentation on Europsy and Bohumila Baštecká who taught us more about ethics in psychology and organisations. During these workshops, our working community interacted a lot and it was great to get to know EFPA and what they do a bit better. During that week, two General Assemblies were held where important decisions were made, among which there was one particular important change in the EFPSA structure - a new Board of Management position called Academics Affairs Officer with the aim of developing EFPSA on a more academic and educational level.

Also, one of the highlights from the past months was that Nicole Saliba (Events Officer) and Ying Wai Cheung (Finance Officer) attended EFPA’s Presidents’ Council Meeting in Cyprus, where they connected with like minded professional psychologists from all over Europe.

Externals & Advocacy

Future Events  

 Training Office is preparing everything for the Train Advanced Trainers which will take place in Turkey and bring together trainers from all over Europe to work on improving their soft skills. Besides this, another training event called EFPSA Academy will be organised in Croatia in May with the topic “Combating Discrimination in the Workplace”.

 Between the 7th and the 14th of April, EFPSA will be hosting the Annual Congress in Grenaa, Denmark. The theme for this year’s Congress is ‘A search for Happiness’ and it will bring approximately 300 European psychology students together for a week full of academic lectures and a fun social programme! 

More updates from EFPSA’s Services  

Prestigious Human Rights Award of University of Oslo goes to Professor Nora Sveaas, member of our EFPA Board Human Rights and Psychology.

According to the head of the prize committee and former director of the Center for Human Rights Ragnhild Hennum :  Nora Sveaass is one of Norwegian’s foremost experts in torture and rehabilitation of victims of torture. The award committee is therefore very pleased to have found such a worthy winner of UiO’s Human Rights Prize 

Nora Sveaass' achievements:

• She contributed greatly to the establishment of a human rights committee in the Norwegian Psychology Association and has led this since its establishment in 1998.
• She was a member of the UN Committee against Torture from 2005 to 2013, and is since 2014 a member of the UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture.
• She leads Health and Human Rights Info, a project aimed at communicating knowledge, guidelines and experiences to people who face human rights violations in connection with war, conflict and disaster (www.hhri.org).
• She has developed a manual on working with women exposed to sexual violence in conflict.
• She is the President of the Council of the Norwegian Helsinki Committee

 About the prize:

It is awarded annually as a recognition of personal efforts and active involvement in one or more human rights areas, in the widest sense The winner receives 10,000 euros and a lithograph by Frans Widerberg.   

Read more:

• About the prize winner in an article on Uniforum (in Norwegian)
• About the University of Oslo's Human Rights Award and past prize winners, on UiO's webpages.

American Psychological Association
Digital Guidelines: Promoting healthy technology use for children 

Today’s children are growing up in a high-tech world. According to a 2015 national survey by Common Sense Media, 53 percent of children 8 to 12 have their own tablet, and 24 percent have their own smartphone. Among teenagers, 67 percent have their own smartphone.  

American parents believe they have an important role to play in helping their children develop safe, healthy habits for technology use. According to 2017 results from the American Psychological Association’s annual Stress in America™ survey, 94 percent of parents say they take at least one action to manage their child’s technology usage during the school year. Yet despite the effort, 48 percent say that regulating their child’s screen time is a constant battle, and 58 percent say they worry about the influence of social media on their child’s physical and mental health.  

 Don’t overreact. Like it or not, technology is an important part of our modern world. It won’t help your child if you set overly restrictive limits or send the message that technology is something to fear. Instead, focus on teaching healthy habits that will stay with your child for a lifetime.  

 Teach kids about technology from a young age. Explain that tablets, computers and other media devices are not toys, and should be handled with care. Discuss with kids the many benefits of technology as well as the risks. Don’t frighten them, but discuss the importance of respecting privacy and protecting personal information in age-appropriate ways. These conversations should be ongoing, and should become more detailed as your children get older.  

 Use your judgment. While screen-time limits are often a good idea, experts caution that parents shouldn’t assume technology use is inherently harmful. Consider the context when establishing your family’s rules for technology use. Video chatting with grandparents is different from playing a video game, for example. If you’re entertaining your preschooler on a plane, the world won’t end if she has a little extra screen time that day. If your son is doing research for a school paper, that computer time shouldn’t necessarily count as his only screen time for the day.  

 Protect bedtime. Studies show that using digital media at night can interfere with sleep quality.2 Consider restricting the use of phones, tablets and computers for at least 30 minutes before bed. Think twice about letting your child use those devices in his or her bedroom after lights out.  

 Pay attention. With younger kids, it’s easy to see what they’re doing online. As they get older, it’s not so easy to look over their shoulder. Have open, honest discussions about what sites and type of content are off-limits. Do your research to understand the media your child is using, and check out your child’s browser history to see what sites they visit. Explore software to filter or restrict access to content that’s off-limits.  

 Teach good online behavior. People often say things online that they’d never say to someone’s face. According to a 2014 study by the Internet security firm McAfee, 87 percent of teens have witnessed cyberbullying. Talk to you children about the importance of being respectful in their digital interactions. Encourage them to come to you if they witness cyberbullying or other troubling information online.  

 Discuss digital decision-making. It can be hard to discern whether some websites are reliable sources of information or not. Have conversations with your child about how to evaluate authenticity and accuracy online. Explain why they shouldn’t download unfamiliar programs, click on suspicious links or share personal information on unknown apps or websites. Also teach your children not to respond to unsolicited messages from strangers — and to tell you if they get them.  

 Foster real-life friendships. Some kids who find it difficult to connect with peers spend more time online than playing with friends in real life. But digital friendships aren’t a replacement for the real thing. Help your child develop social skills and nurture his or her real-life relationships.  

 Learn more. Technology changes quickly, and it can be hard to stay on top of all the apps and sites your children use. To keep tabs on the changing tech landscape, visit the Family Online Safety Institute and Common Sense Media.    

Read the full article here

Source : American Psychological Association APA 