Dear colleagues,

We often start our messages with the sentence “I hope this email finds you well”, so I would also like to begin my greeting with these words:
'I hope this message finds you well!'
But I acknowledge that in these uncertain times, good health and well-being cannot be taken for granted. We share our concern and consternation regarding the developments in the war in Ukraine and the recent earthquake in Turkey and Syria. As a community, we recognize the importance of offering concrete help to those in need, including financial support for psychological services in affected areas.

At EFPA, we are dedicated to promoting positive social developments, advancing the field of psychology, and supporting psychologists. This requires us to utilize our resources and infrastructure in a goal-oriented and sustainable manner. Many of the initiatives and activities we discuss in this edition of the newsmagazine directly align with our strategic goals, such as our participation in the UN in Geneva, our experts' work on climate change, and our involvement in EU projects. Additionally, our position statements on the European Commission's initiatives demonstrate our commitment to advocating for the well-being of individuals and society at large.

As psychologists, we strive to uphold principles of freedom, self-determination, and social responsibility in our professional actions. Our commitment to supporting those impacted by the war in Ukraine and the earthquake in Turkey and Syria reinforces this dedication. This newsmagazine highlights our ongoing efforts to make a positive impact on the world, and we remain steadfast in our mission to serve the global community.

With all good wishes,

Yours,

Christoph Steinebach - EFPA President

FSP in Geneva

In our November edition we reported on EFPA's collaboration with the Federation of Swiss Psychologists (FSP), and the American Psychological Association (APA) to develop a presence for the science and profession of Psychology at the United Nations (UN) in Geneva.

Our FSP colleagues have recently published an issue of their magazine Psychoscope, which contains an article dedicated to the project of representative psychologists at the UN in Geneva. It has been published in French and in German. 

UN Geneva Collaboration - update from the representatives 

Your Newsmagazine reported in our November 2022 edition on the collaboration between the Federation of Swiss Psychologists (FSP), the European Federation of Psychologists’ Associations (EFPA), and the American Psychological Association (APA) to develop a presence for the science and profession of Psychology at the United Nations (UN) in Geneva. The representatives (Tobias Brosch, Karina Alves Pina and Yeniffer Rosas) have prepared this report on their work.  

During the first trimester of the mandate, the three representatives had several meetings with key contacts of civil society and international organizations such as the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Committee of the Rights of the Child and the previous Special Rapporteur on the right to health, Child Rights Connect, the WHO Behavioral Insights Team, the Geneva Science-Policy Interface, the UN Environment Program UNEP, the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction and other important key actors, raising awareness about our mission, vision and values, and laying the groundwork for future collaboration. 

As our main objective is to encourage the development of psychologically informed policies and programs to help achieve the goals of sustainable development in the UN system, we initially focused on psychological contributions to combat climate change and promoting children’s mental health. Together with the American Psychological Association we contributed to the development of an advocacy document addressed to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, providing feedback on their General Comment on Children’s Rights and the Environment with a Special Focus on Climate Change (General Comment No. 26), and contributed to a psychological primer on risk communication which was transmitted to the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction’s Risk Knowledge team in Geneva last month. 

The representatives moreover attended various events on human rights, mental health, and climate change organized by the international community and the Swiss government.

A copy of the letter APA submitted to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, providing feedback on children’s rights and the environment with a special focus on climate change, can be read here.

Gabriel Twose, Senior International Affairs Officer at the APA with special responsibility for the APA’s UN advocacy work said: “I am optimistic that our thoughts will be reflected in the final document, issued as guidance to governments around the world.”