Our poster at the 1st World Congress on Positive Psychology


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First World Congress on Positive Psychology

Message from Martin Seligman, the father of Positive Psychology (published with permission).

Dear Friends,

I am writing you with a special invitation to an historic event. In the past year, the newly-formed International Positive Psychology Association (IPPA) has gone from zero members to over 4,000 members in 80 countries. With this overwhelming response, IPPA is now planning the First World Congress on Positive Psychology. This Congress will convene the field’s leading researchers and practitioners from around the world in what will be the largest positive psychology gathering ever held. It will take place June 18-21, 2009 in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , USA .

Phil Zimbardo and I will be presenting a special program on the first evening of the Congress. Ed Diener and Lord Richard Layard will be giving keynotes later in the week. Other invited speakers include Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Barbara Fredrickson, Antonella Delle Fave, David Cooperrider, Carmelo Vázquez, Ruut Veenhoven, Anthony Grant, Yong-Lin Moon, and many others. We will also have international symposia on vital topics in positive psychology, workshops of best practices in the field, and hundreds of posters from researchers, practitioners, and students from every continent.


The only thing missing is you. For more information on the Congress and how you can get registered, please visit www.ippanetwork.org, and click on the “World Congress” tab. I look forward to seeing you in Philadelphia in June.

Respectfully yours,

Martin E.P. Seligman