At APA's Annual Convention in Honolulu, Div. 48 will host Pacific Rim indigenous psychologists and graduate students who are promoting peace.

BY JAMIE CHAMBERLIN
Monitor staff
Print version: page 88

Div. 48 (Society for the Study of Peace, Conflict and Violence) has invited seven psychologists and two graduate students from Pacific Rim nations that have experienced discord to share their peace-building experiences at APA's Annual Convention in Honolulu, July 28-Aug. 1. The invitation is intended to honor Hawaii's history--which was rife with political conflict and violence in the 1800s and 1900s because of the threat of Western European colonization and the islands' sugar cane industry and lucrative sea-trade position in the Pacific Ocean.

"Meeting in Hawaii raises the question of the role of the psychologist in countries where people are continually faced by conflicts and violence that occurs because of the stresses and strains of being a nation on the rim of the Pacific and, therefore, a great source of wealth," says Div. 48 President Ethel Tobach, PhD, of the American Museum of Natural History.

All nine invited speakers--whose talks will be held throughout four sessions at the convention--are promoting peace and reconciliation while working as psychologists in the nations of their birth, which include Papua New Guinea, Mexico, South Korea, Guam, New Zealand, Colombia, and the Cowlitz Nation Tribe in Washington state. Each will share personal or professional experiences with conflict resolution, healing from trauma and consensus-building.

For example, psychologist Christina Monteil, a political and peace psychologist and professor at the Ateneo de Manila University in the Philippines, will address the social psychological processes involved with a transition from an authoritarian government to a civilian-based structure, such as the transition that occurred with the People's Power movement uprising that ousted Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos in 1986. And psychologist Eugene A. Wiggins, EdD, an elder in the Cowlitz Indian Tribe, will discuss the loss of aboriginal land by the Cowlitz tribe, their struggle for payment for stolen land and eventual recognition as a sovereign tribe by the U.S. government. Leo Marai, of Papua New Guinea, will share case examples of how consensus was used in Melanesian communities to solve problems.

"These are all psychologists who are giving back to their countries in many ways," says Tobach. "This is an opportunity to get to know them and learn how we can be collaborating with them and aiding their efforts."

Here are the topics and times for the Pacific Rim speakers:

* "Pacific Rim nations indigenous psychologists: peace, conflict and nonviolence issues," Saturday, July 31, at 10 a.m. Speakers include Patricia Arredondo, EdD, of Mexico, who will discuss "Using professional leadership to promote multicultural understanding and social justice;" Marai of Papua New Guinea, who will discuss "The psychology of consensus in Melanesia;" Montiel, of the Philippines, whose talk is titled "A conceptual frame: psychology of People's Power;" and Wiggins of the Cowlitz Nation in Washington state, whose talk is "That the people may live: a journey of hope."

* "Stand firmly behind the foundations of Hawaii," by Kamana'opono Crabbe, EdD, of Hawaii. Crabbe will address the past and present effects of acculturation in Hawaii and its impact on the psychological and physical health and well-being of Native Hawaiians at a meeting of the Committee for International Relations in Psychology on Friday, July 30, at 10 a.m.

* "A voice of vision," by University of Auckland, New Zealand, graduate student Adreanne Ormond, a Maori native. Ormond will discuss her research on a project called Youth First--Taking Kids Talk Seriously, which examined the "systematic silencing of young people within New Zealand society," she says. Ormond will speak at a meeting of Div. 45 (Society for the Psychological Study of Ethnic Minority Issues), on Wednesday, July 28, at 3 p.m.

* "South-North Korean relations: the integrative complexity in newspapers and correspondence," by Jasook Koo, PhD, of South Korea, will kick off a Div. 48-sponsored symposium on Friday, July 30, at 8 a.m. Other talks include "Transmission of violence: the legacy of colonialism on Guam and today's path to peace," by Juan Rapadas, PhD, of Guam, and "Rethinking the role of Escuelas Nuevas and social capital in Colombia: through the lens of peacebuilding and reconciliation," by graduate student Debora Upegui of Colombia.