What a great networking event we had on February 10!

With 27 participants from all parts of Aotearoa New Zealand and some from overseas, including  Australia, Germany and Singapore we had a fantastic session!

Participants’ average ratings about the networking event (out of 5)

• How would you rate the networking event? 4.5

• How useful did you find the event? 4.8

• How did you enjoy the event? 4.7

What did participants most enjoy?

• “The diversity and structure of activities”

• “Break out rooms to connect with awesome people around the world”

• “Sharing interest in PP and creative thoughts around the application of PP in NZ”

• “The warm welcome from the team”

Resources shared

Thank you Aaron Jarden, Associate Professor, Applied Positive Psychology, Melbourne Graduate School of Education, Director of the Masters of Applied Positive Psychology, The University of Melbourne for sharing the article "Following the Science to Generate Well-Being: Using the Highest-Quality Experimental Evidence to Design Interventions”. Open Access Link

Positive Psychology Interventions (PPIs) have been tested for their potential to generate well-being even during a global pandemic. The article describes four exemplar PPIs. The four exemplar PPIs are all Multi-component positive psychology interventions that focus on training around topics of strengths, gratitude, positive relationships, positive emotions, and mindfulness. 

These interventions were shown to improve well-being with medium to large effect sizes, and can be feasibly implemented during a global pandemic and beyond. They have been tested with a high-quality RCT, and could be implemented during a global pandemic. The article indicates that future programs can build on this causal evidence and emulate these PPIs to be as effective as possible at generating well-being. However, the four exemplars presented were only tested in WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrial, Rich, and Democratic) countries and more work should be carried out in other parts of the globe. 

Next steps... How about taking the next networking step with a positive action? 

Visit our Networking Member forum and send a message to one or two introductions from the people you interacted with… or some new ones! Spark these conversations… you’ll get the most out of networking if you build on your first introductory steps! 

If you could not attend our last networking event, please introduce yourself with a post as everyone else… and read/respond to members’ posts! 

NZAPP is also taking our next step too. A member kindly suggested including a 10 minute Positive Psychology related activity/exercise which we think is a fabulous idea and we are exploring implementing this suggestion at our next event… so watch your inboxes!

Feedback Survey

If you attended and did not get a chance to fill in the feedback survey, we would still love to hear your thoughts. 

Your valuable feedback helps us refine and improve future events which we greatly appreciate!

Best wishes,

NZAPP The Events Committee 

Annick Janson, Mel Weir and Annalise Roache