Advancing psychology through digital experience
The 2020 APS Conference – PSY2020 – was the first virtual national psychology conference in Australia. Right from the outset we expected it was going to be new and challenging. In the end, the conference was a great success and attracted almost 900 attendees including international registrants from 22 countries. The theme for the conference was ‘Advancing Psychology’ and this was achieved not only via the conference content which was innovative and contemporary, but also in the way content was delivered and the experience provided for attendees.
In 2019 (which seems so long ago) it was decided to shape the conference specifically for the Division of General Psychological Practice and the Division of Psychological Research, Education and Training as Colleges for the most part held their own forums. In these groups, it was also decided to incorporate early-career member needs and interests. Thus, the conference committee was made up of representation from each of these groups.
Changing ground
The conference was opened by Greg Hunt, Federal Minister for Health who underscored the importance of psychology in Australia’s current situation. The conference needed to provide keynote and other speakers who would educate and excite attendees with new and useful ideas. But as we all know, between 2019 and the conference date the landscape changed, first with bushfires and then the COVID-19 pandemic. We further shaped the program to ensure that these topics were part of the program and so we included panels on disasters and COVID.
Keynotes
The keynote speakers included Daryl O’Connor who delivered the first keynote on the new opportunities of open science for psychology. In his presentation he provided the benefits of the experiences of the British Psychological Society in aiming to improve the quality and transparency of academic publishing in psychology. These were powerful messages for APS publications. John Crombie gave an overview of the Power Threat Meaning Framework and its associated psychological theory-driven and client-centred perspective on mental health care. Finally Julianne Holt-Lunstad described the vital importance of addressing social isolation and its impact on health, which has taken on even more saliency in the pandemic.
Panels and invited speakers
We also heard excellent panel presentations from experts on disasters, social isolation and COVID-19, as well as an address from Lucinda Brogden, Mental Health Commissioner, and a briefing on the Productivity Commission’s Mental Health Report by Stephen King.
Innovation in conferencing
The unique challenge of this conference also provided us with an opportunity for innovation in conferencing. There were many innovations in this conference but I wlll highlight three that I think were especially successful.
First the platform itself was very easy to navigate through and provided the attendee with an ‘at your fingertips’ access to a whole suite of conference opportunities. APS staff member, Sarah Allen, was the face of the conference and provided a wonderful connection between attendees and the content.
The second innovation was the networking, for many attendees who used this function, this was an engaging and extraordinary way to create and facilitate networking between attendees.
The third innovation was the ‘Psyc-in-3’ presentations by the APS award-winners. The short format presentations and the associated resources was a fresh way to promote the valued contributions of these talented folks. We also included a virtual exhibitor space which allowed attendees to visit and interact with sponsors and exhibitors.
The wonderful conference content would not have been possible without the expert work of the Conference Committee, Professor John Reece, Terry Kirkpatrick, Ceara Rickard, Dr Carly Johnco and Ros Knight.
And finally we would like to express our thanks and acknowledgement of the extraordinary APS Conference team lead by Melanie Wilson with Sarah Allen, Awhina Reihana and Sasha Andersen.