Positive Living Newsletter

During Challenging Times, We Move Forward

Lilian C. J. Wong, Ph.D.

The year 2021 will go down in history as an unprecedented year with most challenges and transformations. This also applies to INPM. From my personal perspective, there are a few milestones in INPM’s development as follows.

In the beginning of this year, I was elected by the Board as the new Chair for the official Board so that Paul could focus on research and publications. I have always been beside him as a support since INPM was founded in 1998, but I have never taken on an official leadership position. This is a new challenge for me as I look forward to developing and expanding the Board to be more effective and strategic in advancing the mission of INPM.

Like many other organizations, we had to learn how to conceptualize and organize a virtual conference. One advantage was that we were able to invite more speakers without worrying about travel and hotel expenses.

The challenging part was how to run an international conference with different time zones and several concurrent sessions involving interactions among participants and speakers. We were happy to involve the service of PheedLoop to provide a virtual platform. Personally, I was grateful to be able to recruit and train a team of technical volunteers to manage the 3-day conference with my home as the Headquarters. The Virtual Meaning Conference 2021 was a success with 230 participants worldwide.

Another major event was to offer two global webinars on Thriving during Covid 19 with more than a thousand participants (Wong 2021a, 2021b). Paul was able to present the essentials of the science and interventions of Existential Positive Psychology to help people flourish through overcoming and transcending suffering. Since then Paul has been invited to offer several Webinars, Podcasts and Interviews worldwide.

On a sad note, our long-time book keeper resigned. As the treasurer, I had to find ways to fill in this vacuum with the help of Tim Yu and Jun Tan.

In conclusion, I want to express my gratitude to all INPM members and supporters. I wish everyone a Happy Holiday.

References

Wong, P. T. P. (2021a, April 10). Self-transcendence: The key to meaning and wellbeing during Covid-19 [Virtual keynote]. Centre for Advancement in Inclusive and Special Education Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong International Webinar Series on Students’ Well-being. http://www.drpaulwong.com/self-transcendence-the-key-to-meaning-and-wellbeing/

Wong, P. T. P. (2021b, July 9). Flourishing through suffering: Insights from Existential Positive Psychology [Virtual keynote]. HFE Flourish Talks. http://www.drpaulwong.com/flourishing-through-suffering-insights-from-existential-positive-psychology/