Division 1 has to contribute to the creation of social capital for W&O Psychologists.
In a global society, the community of W&O Psychologists composed by professionals, scientists and academics from all over the world need to increase the bonding social capital by increasing the number of links and relations among their members from different countries and regions. The agreement achieved with SIOP and EAWOP may nicely serve to this end.
In addition it is also important to stimulate bridging social capital with other disciplines of Psychology and with other professionals that work in the field, as well as with institutions. In fact, belonging to IAAP is an important asset for our Division. During the ICP Congress in Berlin, IAAP BOD meeting was an excellent opportunity to get a clear picture about the progress made in several fronts and to exchange information and experiences among the different Divisions. The information provided by the different task forces was also useful and interesting. You may receive updated information on all these reports in the next IAAP General newsletter.
Conferences are excellent opportunities to enact “bonding” and “bridging” social capital in our Association. During the last months, the members of the executive committee had several opportunities to participate in Conferences where they met different members of our division. The participation in the Institute of Work Psychology International Conference (Sheffield, June, 18-20, 2008), the VI Iberoamerican Congress of Psychology in Perú (July, 17-19 at Lima) and the 29th International Congress of Psychology (July Berlin, 2008) provided us with the opportunity to build new relationships with National Associations and other active groups in our field or in related fields. Now, we look forward to the coming conferences such as the SIOP conference at New Orleans, 2-4 of April, 2009 and the EAWOP Conference at Santiago de Compostela the 13-16 of May. Moreover the ICAP conference of IAAP (Melbourne July 2010) is becoming closer and it is time to start the preparation to submit contributions. I invite you to profit of all these opportunities to get updated about the developments in our discipline and to meet and interact with colleagues.
Our Association counts among its membership a large number of prestigious researchers and professionals. They are well recognized in the national and international scene. This membership represents an important asset of social capital. It is important that this capital be more shared and profitable. In order to do so, our Association aims to facilitate contacts, disseminate information, and provides additional visibility to the activities of its members. I strongly invite you to communicate relevant information on these issues. We put at your disposal our communication services (web, newsletter, list-server, etc.) and we are ready to take new initiatives that you could suggest us to improve the development of this social capital in our global world. It is important to facilitate and promote contacts among W&O Psychologists around the world, to learn more about their ways of working and providing effective services, and to find ways of successful international cooperation.