WEST UKRAINIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY

 The Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities hosted the 4th International Scientific and Practical Conference ‘Psychosocial Resources for Personal and Social Development in the Age of Globalisation’, dedicated to the celebration of Social Worker’s Day in Ukraine on the first Sunday in November, as well as the Day of the Department of Psychology and Social Work at West Ukrainian National University.

Over 230 people attended the conference, including representatives from 14 leading foreign universities across 12 countries (the USA, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, Israel, Slovakia, Turkey, the Czech Republic, Poland, Lithuania, the People’s Republic of China, and Japan).

In addition to a broad international representation, the conference was attended by delegates from leading Ukrainian research organisations and institutions: the Ukrainian Scientific and Methodological Centre for Practical Psychology and Social Work of the National Academy of Pedagogical Sciences of Ukraine, the Ivan Chernyakhovsky National Defence University of Ukraine, the Penitentiary Academy of Ukraine, over two dozen Ukrainian universities stretching from Lviv to Donbas, and other state and public organisations. Numerous practitioners from various fields also attended the event.

The international conference was officially opened by Viktor Ostroverkhov, Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs and Research of West Ukrainian National University. In addition to a insightful speech and words of welcome, the Vice-Rector presented the conference organisers with commemorative certificates from the Rector of WUNU to mark the celebration of Ukrainian Social Workers’ Day, and invited all those present to engage in high-quality academic debate, exchange experiences, broaden the scope of potential partnerships, and expand the horizons of their own understanding.

The thematic focus of the International Conference covered the work of five key academic platforms: 1) the philosophical, methodological, cultural, and historical discourses of resource studies as an innovative field of study; 2) history and culture as resources for social development; 3) the psycho-spiritual resources of the individual, the group, and society; 4) socio-cultural resources as a factor in personal growth and society-building; 5) resource-based practices in the socio-humanitarian sphere of modern society.

Andrii Hirniak, Head of the Department of Psychology and Social Work, Doctor of Psychology and Professor, who organised and moderated the event, noted that we recognise the value of time as a vital resource, or weapons as a means of waging war. At the same time, few of us consider the inner psychological and spiritual resources that each of us possesses such as stress resistance, empathy, optimism, hope, self-control, knowledge, competence, experience, our innate aptitudes and inclinations, creativity, love, spirituality, and so on. Are they renewable? How should they be managed? In the horrors of war, a person’s psychological and spiritual resources can be quickly depleted and require constant replenishment. It is psychologists and social workers who are the specialists capable not only of providing the necessary material resources to sustain a person’s vitality, but also of activating the client’s inner resources.

Oksana Pysarchuk, Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, and representatives of local government addressed the conference participants with welcoming remarks. Among others, Volodymyr Rosolovskyi represented the Department of Social Protection of the Population of the Ternopil Regional State Administration as the Head of the Division of Social Work, Family and Gender Policy, and Combating Human Trafficking; Nataliia Naichuk spoke in her capacity as the Head of the Main Directorate of the National Social Service in the Ternopil region; Olena Magdi represented the Ternopil Regional Centre for Social Services as the Head of the Department for Enhancing the Professional Competence of Social Service Providers.

In this context, the presentations by the following speakers proved particularly interesting to the audience:

1. Anatoliy V. Furman – Doctor of Psychology, Professor, Academician of the Academy of Sciences of Higher Education of Ukraine, Professor in the Department of Psychology and Social Work, West Ukrainian National University (Ukraine).
2. Koji Okumura – Doctor of Philosophy in Counselling Psychology, Chair of the international non-profit organisation ‘Consortium Hokuto’ (Japan).
3. Vasyl Lutsyk – Vice-Rector for Research, State Tax University (Ukraine).
4. He Ting – PhD in Psychology, Lecturer at Hezhou University (People’s Republic of China).
5. Petro Hurniak – Specialist in the Department of Planning, Supervision and Analysis of Veterans’ Policy Measures at the Ternopil Regional Veterans’ Support Centre for War and Territorial Defence Veterans “Veterans’ Space”.
6. Andrii Hirniak – Doctor of Psychology, Professor, Head of the Department of Psychology and Social Work, West Ukrainian National University (Ukraine).

Following the academic discussions, representatives of the organising committee of the International Scientific and Practical Conference ‘Psychosocial Resources for Personal and Social Development in the Age of Globalisation’ selected the best research papers from Ukraine and abroad to be published in a compendium of academic works. We hope that every conference participant found aspects of resource studies that were of interest to them and, using a resource-based approach, shed light for others on topical issues of today’s dynamic and multifaceted reality.