Scientists from 49 countries united to fight COVID-19 pandemic

During 16-17 September 2020 scientists from different countries participated in international online-conference “Role of Psychology in fighting COVID-19 pandemic: International perspective”. Experts presented results of their research on psychological influence of self-isolation, experience in psychological assistance and assessment in order to better cope with the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic and deliver evidence-based service in relation to that.

Minister of Science and Higher education of the Russian Federation, Valery Falkov, Rector of Lomonosov Moscow State University, Viktor Sadovnichiy, The Chair of Science, Education, and Culture Committee of the Federation Council, Liliya Gumerova.

In his welcome address Valery Falkov highlighted the importance of the conference not only for Russia, but for international psychological science, and that joint efforts and information exchange will help in timely coping with the pandemic.

Viktor Sadovnichiy expressed his confidence in conference results becoming a basis for scientific collaboration, which will help in dealing with future challenges.

President of Russian Academy of Education, Russian Psychological Society, Dean of the Faculty of Psychology of Lomonosov Moscow State University, Yuri Zinchenko appreciated well-coordinated highly qualified work dedicated to fighting COVID-19 pandemic and thanked colleagues for providing psychological service during the pandemic in their countries.

“The virus that attempted to separate us, in fact, became a good reason to unite psychological expertise and effective solutions in fighting our mutual enemy. Psychological competences revealed their importance for every member of our society, not only for professionals. Only joint efforts applied by scientists around the World, and information exchange will help fighting the consequences of the pandemic” – he said.

Also, Yuri Zinchenko mentioned that the issue of digital competences became topical for psychologists especially in educating and developing the new generation of professionals.

The new coronavirus infection spread put not only physical, but mental health in danger. Psychologists around the Globe work hard to decrease people’s anxiety. Because of that around 10 000 psychologists from 49 countries were interested in attending the conference. Among them: President of European Federation of Psychologists’ Associations, Christoph Steinebach, President of International Union of Psychological Sciences Pam Maras, the President of Chinese Psychological Society Buxin Han, President of Pan-African Psychology Union Saths Cooper, President of Singapore Psychological Society Cherie Chan, President of Malaysian Psychological Association Rozainee Khairudin, President of the Nepal Psychological Society Usha Kiran Subba, Secretary General of Brazilian Society of Psychology Lisiane Bizarro, Secretary General of Indonesian Psychology Association Andik Matulessy, and other leading experts.

The first day of the conference was dedicated to international exchange regarding psychology work during the pandemic. The second day was dedicated to work in Russia at federal and regional levels. The presenters talked about scientific research results on population and evidence-based practices of assistance to population of different countries, stressing the importance of psychological science and practice. A great deal of presentations was talking about digital transformation of education and the role psychology plays in building education process in digital space.

The results of joint cross-cultural researches attracted special interest. The conference speakers expressed their appreciation to the Russian Psychological Society for data collection, development of recommendations, and suggestions for information exchange platforms. One of the key steps in international collaboration was a special issue of «Psychology in Russia: State of the Art» journal dedicated to the role of psychology in fighting COVID-1 pandemic, of which the Guest Editor was Buxin Han, the president of Chinese Psychological Society and Asian Psychological Association.

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