Hearing young children on topics of global importance

Webinar with May Lene Karlsen, 27 May 2021. Discussant: Stefania Maggi

About the webinar

Hearing children is of interest to anyone who believes that every voice is important for a society to be whole. It is of interest to those who believe that to neglect, marginalise or systematically overlook a group of people, is to deprive our communities of the qualities that only this particular group can offer. Hearing children is not just a concern for those working directly with and for children, but for all who believes in a society where every voice counts.

The international community, through the United Nations convention for children’s rights, have agreed that every child have a right to be heard and yet we find that few active attempts are being made at engaging and hearing young children on the big issues facing our world today. Why is this?  Do children under the age of 12 have a place in the social discourse on topics such as the pandemic, inequality and racism? Can they contribute to politics and policymaking in meaningful ways? What could systematic attempts at hearing young children on big issues look like? These are some of the questions that will be explored in this webinar, drawing on examples and experiences gained through the Children Heard project.

Children Heard was initiated in March 2020 by a counselling psychologist in the UK and a community psychologist in Norway. Through partnerships with three UNICEF offices in Europe, they gathered the views of 240 children aged 3-12 about their experiences and opinions on the pandemic. The project is currently gathering views on racism through a family-based interview and are experimenting with methods of engaging young children on topics of global importance.

About the presenter

May Lene Karlsen is a counselling and community psychologist. She completed her doctorate in Counselling Psychology at the University of Surrey in 2010 and have since then worked in services for children and families with a particular interest in pre- and primary school aged children. In addition to clinical work, she has worked as an associated and visiting lecturer at several doctoral programmes in the UK, as clinical lead for a children’s charity in London and now as a community psychologist for a local government in Norway. She is a committee member of the Community Psychology Section of the British Psychological Society and an active member of her own local community in Sandefjord, Norway. She co-founded Children Heard in 2020 with Dr. Gail Sinitsky.


About the discussant

Dr. Maggi is an interdisciplinary scholar whose mixed-methods research bring together developmental sciences, population health approaches, participatory methods, statistical modelling, and arts-based approaches. Her work focuses on individual and collective resilience; positive development and emotional intelligence; social, educational and relational determinants of early career development; impacts of climate change on children and families; and enabling factors promoting individual and collective environmental behaviours and action.  Dr. Maggi is also a science fiction author, an entrepreneur, and child rights advocate. She is cross appointed between the Childhood and Youth Studies program and the Department of Psychology at Carleton University.

How the COVID-19 pandemic provides an opportunity to rethink desinstitutionalization in Europe

Webinar with José Ornelas, April 29, 2021

About the webinar

Deinstitutionalization is a theory transformed into a social movement after the II World War, focused on the transition of all individuals who were in institutions to community contexts, contributing to diversity within the social realm. With the emergence of Civic and Human Rights Movements, deinstitutionalization became a priority including people with mental illness, people with disabilities, children, youth, and elders.

Nevertheless, evidence demonstrates that the majority of people were involved in a continuum of services of transinstitutionalization from large scale segregated wards to smaller segregated housing, employment and schooling programs in the community. From the self representation movement, and experiential leadership of consumers/ survivors, emerged a new wave of services and programs (e.g. independent housing, employment and education in regular markets and and schools) still not fully generalized in Europe. 

The pandemic contingency brought awareness on the extension and volume of  institutionalized people, particularly the more recent massive segregation of elders, while the psychiatric wards, and the large group homes for the disabled people, and for children & youth were mostly maintained. In these contexts countless COVID 19 surges emerged, providing a renovated awareness about the urgency of reclaiming deinstitutionalization as a Human Right. We are now prepared with tools for community research and practice to provide a direct response to deinstitutionalization and social integration through housing with the Housing First Model, with employment and education programs through ecological and collaborative integration in the social and community regular contexts.

About the presenter

Prof. Ornelas is a Clinical and Community Psychologist, specialized in community intervention and integration of people in extremely vulnerable situations. Completed his first doctoral degree in the Boston University (USA) – 1979-1984; and a second doctoral degree in the University of Oporto (1999). He completed his aggregation in the University of the Azores (2009). 

From 2016 to 2019 Ornelas was the principal investigator of the Horizon 2020 HOME_EU Reversing Homelessness in Europe, GA/726997, and is currently the coordinator of the EEAGRANTS Project (OC4-B11 | ISPA) PEER NETWORK: Gender Violence and Empowerment. He is the scientific adviser of a community-based program on the promotion of educational achievement in 5 Portuguese national counties, in parallel with teaching and research supervision of Master’s and Doctoral thesis on Psychology.

Contrasting gender violence: a community psychology perspective

Webinar with Caterina Arcidiacono, November 26, 2020

About the webinar

This webinar is aimed to present a community psychology vision of sexual and gender violence against women. In the frame of the Istanbul convention, there is the need to recall meanings and procedures in an ecological approach to gender violence (Di Napoli et al, 2019). Frequently psychologists are deepening the individual or at least the systemic perspective, but are not taking into account all the implications of the joint effects of cultural, organizational relational and individual impact of this phenomenon.

Effects of Covid-19 home lockdown on domestic and assisted violence are then at stake. Intimate partner violence is affected by this protracted and forced cohabitation and psychologists have to be able to understand and to intervene.

Moreover, assuming that violence against women is in term of violation of women right to self-determination in this moment, at European level there is the need to be aware of the Polish situation where women self-determination is heavily undermined by the recent provisions on abortion.

This year the 25th of November, the UN day to celebrate women fight against gender violence will be supported on the 26 November 2020 by an ECPA webinar focusing on psychological knowledge and actions to prevent and contrast violence against women.

About the presenter

Caterina Arcidiacono is a psychologist, Jungian analyst (IAAP – International Association for Analytical Psychology). Full Professor of Community Psychology. Former Coordinator of the PhD Course in Gender Studies, of Federico II University of Naples. Past President of ECPA (European Community Psychology Association). She is founder of ENCP (European Network of Community Psychologists) and ECPA (European Community Psychology Association). Currently member of the EFPA standing Committee on Community Psychology.

She organized the first Italian scientific workshop on Women and gender Identity (FrancoAngeli Editore, 1990). Her peculiar research’ areas concern the woman-man relationship with special reference to gender asymmetry and gender violence, community psychology competencies, well-being, power asymmetry,  intercultural dialogue, and migration. Director of the international online gender journal: La Camera Blu. She is co-director of the online international journal: Community Psychology in Global Perspective (CPGP) and co-editor of the IJERPH  special issue: Gender Violence Against Women: Prevention, Protection, Prosecution, Policies.

The presenter can be contacted at caterina.arcidiacono@unina.it or by skype: caterina_arcidiacono

Participation at the event is free of charge, but registration is compulsory. Please click here to register.

Refugees in Europe: How are community psychologists responding?

Webinar with Serdar M. Değirmencioğlu, October 27, 2020.

About the webinar

Mainstream psychology suffers from a number of biases (e.g., Eurocentrism, colonial approaches, individualistic assumptions, militarism) which make it difficult to relate to and work with the increasing number of refugees arriving in Europe. Moreover, the dominant service model in mainstream psychology focuses on preexisting expertise and competences. If the experts are lacking, then it is acceptable to say “Unable to offer services”.

Psychology students, for instance, are considered incapable of proper engagement and are, therefore, not asked to contribute. These biases need to be considered to grasp why mainstream approaches are not compatible with meeting the needs of the refugees. Community psychology appears to be uniquely well-situated to respond to refugees. An informal survey of community psychologists in 2019 indicated a willingness to work with refugees but a discussion of the existing barriers is needed.

About the presenter

Serdar M. Değirmencioğlu is a visiting Scholar at FernUniversität in Hagen, LG Community Psychology.





How systems get unstuck from within: perceiving interdependency in community and nature.

Webinar with Nora Bateson, July 9, 2020.

About the presenter

Nora Bateson is an award-winning filmmaker, writer and educator, as well as President of the International Bateson Institute, based in Sweden. Her work asks the question “How we can improve our perception of the complexity we live within, so we may improve our interaction with the world?”. An international lecturer, researcher and writer, Nora wrote, directed and produced the award-winning documentary, An Ecology of Mind, a portrait of her father, Gregory Bateson. Her work brings the fields of biology, cognition, art, anthropology, psychology, and information technology together into a study of the patterns in ecology of living systems. Her book, Small Arcs of Larger Circles, released by Triarchy Press, UK, 2016 is a revolutionary personal approach to the study of systems and complexity.

As an educator she has developed curricula for schools in Northern California and produced and directed award winning multimedia projects on intercultural and ecological understanding. Her work, which has been presented at the world’s top universities, is described as “offering audiences a lens through which to see the world that effects not only the way we see, but also the way we think”. Nora’s work in facilitating cross-disciplinary discussions is part of her research into what she calls “the ecology of the conversation”. Her speaking engagements include keynote addresses and lectures at international conferences and universities on a wide range of topics that span the fields of anti-fascism, ecology, education, the arts, family therapy, leadership, and many more aspects of advocacy for living systems — she travels between conversations in different fields bringing multiple perspectives into view to reveal larger patterns.

Memberships and awards: Chairman International Bateson Institute, Associate of The Taos Institute, Board Member: Human Systems Journal of Systemic Practice, Tallberg Foundation, Fellow of Lindsifarne Foundation, Bateson Idea Group (BIG), Club of Rome, Great Transition Foundation, Human Potential Foundation, Awards: Sustainable Thompkins Ecology Award, Winner Spokane Film Festival, Winner Santa Cruz Film Festival, Media Ecology Award.

The source: https://batesoninstitute.org/nora-bateson/

Community psychology and Covid-19: Towards an environmental justice?

Webinar with Donata Francescato, June 11, 2020

About the webinar

Covid 19, health and climate change are not distant cousins! Let’s not get back to normal after coronavirus! The old normal has polluted our Earth, created vulnerabilities and oppressions, and now is the time to create new futures.

Community psychology and environmental justice

For many decades, community psychology has been fighting oppression, violence, poverty, inequalities, and discrimination while environmental problems have been neglected in our research and practice.

  • Will the coronavirus make community psychologists more interested in climate justice?
  • Should fighting environmental injustice be the top priority for community psychologists?
  • What attitudes do you think most community psychologists have toward climate change?  
  • What can community psychologists do as professionals and activists to increase environmental justice?  
  • Should community psychologists promote a planetary sense of community?
Picture by Desiree Martin/AFP/Getty Images

Rethinking our approach

The burden of climate change is extremely high, and it is already negatively impacting the health and well-being of our communities.

  • What are the most urgent environmental problems?
  • Do you want to save the planet you live in?  
  • Is there a “real world” or is everything socially constructed? 
  • Can we reach sustainable development by 2030?
  • Would you invest in a green bond?
Picture by Pax Ahimsa Gethen

About the presenter

Donata Francescato: is an Italian former Professor of Community Psychology and currently scientific director of ASPIC, in Rome,  she co-founded the feminist magazine “Effe” in the 70s and created an online archive in 2015 (www.efferivistafemminista.it). She received an Award from the European Community Psychology Association in 2013 for advancing CP both in Italy and in Europe, and for developing specific intervention and research methods involving community profiles and organizational analysis. In 2019, she was selected for the Award for Special Contributions to Community Psychology from the Division 27 of the American Psychological Association, for her contributions to theory, research, methodologies and training and her dissemination to the general public through mass media intervention (www.donatafrancescato.it). She introduced the Participatory Multidimensional Organizational Analysis (PMOA) model, Socio-Political Empowerment Training Labs, and innovative online collaborative learning models for conducting integrative, interdisciplinary, and empowering community practice. Since 2019 she has been  an activist in the Parents group of the movement promoted by Greta Thurnberg, Fridays for the Future (FFF).