Jo Wilkie, Psychologist, Casa Centro America

6pm (CET) Positive Psychology: Resilience - The new panacea

Historically, psychology has focused on fixing problems or resolving issues from the past that enabling individuals to move forward and approach the rest of their life more with more positivity, having put the problem or issue ‘to bed.’ The belief has always been that something happened in the past and it needs to be dealt with. Positive Psychology changes that thinking and urges individuals to concentrate on ‘the positive,’ as the means by which they can move forward rather than being hamstrung by the past. This short input will give an overview and provide evidence of how Positive Psychology works and will offer ideas and thoughts you can adopt and ideas you can adapt to suit your practice.
 Jo Wilkie is a British intercultural psychologist specialised in the promotion of resilience and mental health and migration. She has lived and worked all over the world and is presently living in Barcelona with her Guatemalan husband and 3 teenage children. She has worked in diverse organisations and many sectors over the years and recently has worked as an online dialogue facilitator for Erasmus Virtual exchange and also as a tutor for Unicaf online Pan African university. She is interested in promoting resilience with different groups and over the last few years has worked mainly with young people from diverse backgrounds and ethnicities. Before becoming a psychologist, she worked in music. She has lived in 7 countries and speaks 3 languages. 

Fergal Barr, Trainer, Humour is Serious Business Training Programme 

6pm (CET) The Power of Humour! 

 Have you ever thought about humour as a power, a superpower even? Perhaps it doesn’t posses that which is often portrayed in a Hollywood blockbuster but then again, the difference between the power of humour and that of a Superman or a Wonder Woman is that the latter is fake whilst the power of humour is real! Want to truly understand the value, relevance, importance and benefits of humour then come along to join Fergal as he endeavours to persuade you about The Power of Humour! Become your own Humour Super Hero!
Involved in Youth Work since 1987, parent & grandparent  Fergal Barr  is a passionate devotee to the value, benefits, relevance and importance of humour as a means of engaging and transforming relationships with people. A firm advocate of International Youth Work, he is a lifelong (sometimes suffering) Liverpool Supporter and excessive tea drinker. He is also an avid book reader and occasional author having published books in 2008, 2011 and 2020. He also has the distinction of single-handedly changing employment law in Northern Ireland in 2001. His Youth Work background includes Youth Information, Education Welfare, Community Relations, Volunteering, Mentoring, and Peace & Reconciliation. In addition, he has worked in Centre Based, Street Work, Participation, Rural & Urban based Youth Work. As well as working in Family Support and Social Justice, he has been involved in facilitation and training at local, national and international level, particularly within YOUTH / Youth in Action / Erasmus+ for almost three decades and now and again, does the odd bit of consultation, evaluation and research.

Susanna Holowati, Founder of Embodytopia 

6pm (CET) Ecological Warfare – Joining All the Dots 

 When we talk or hear about ecology, we tend to think of the planet – rivers, oceans, plants, wildlife, etc. We tend to think about it in the frame of things not human, i.e., things that belong to the planet and we do not really make the connection between these things and, us. Our role and place in the ecology of the planet is much greater than we can possibly imagine but either we don’t really know, or we don’t really understand this relationship, but it is becoming not only more apparent as we deal with a multitude of issues looking into the future. To be equipped to deal with these challenges we need to better understand how our every action has a consequence, the impact of which can be immense, and in this session, we will increase understanding of how this is - the dots will be joined. It is time to stop procrastinating, it’s time to challenge ourselves – it’s time for Ecological Warfare!

Susanna Holowati  is founder and Embodied Change Facilitator at Embodytopia and helps purpose-driven people and businesses to follow their purpose, thrive and have a higher impact in this world.