United Nations Psychology Day was celebrated for the first time in Nepal. It was a concentrated effort of the students and the professionals of Psychology to promote psychology in Nepal. The program saw a participation of about 60 people mainly from the Psychology field. The program started at 4:30 PM at Maitighar Mandala and ended with the rally and assembly at Shanti Batika, Ratnapark.
This is the 10 th edition of Psychology Day observed by the UN with this year’s theme: ‘Promoting Well-being in the 21st Century: Psychological Contributions for Social, Economic, and Environmental Challenges’, although, it’s the first time Nepal observed the day. The program concluded with the gathering at Shanti Batika where several speakers talked about Psychology in Nepal and its importance as a whole and the need to get united for the betterment of the field.
The key speakers included the psychologists Dr. Narendra Thaguna, Mr. Padam Raj Joshi, Mr. Basu Acharya and Mr. Gopal Dhakal. Dr. Narendra Thaguna said that the programs such as this should happen regularly in Nepal and he showed his personal commitment to take the initiative to improvise the program the next time. Mr Padam Raj Joshi, lecturer of Psychology, said that the future of Psychology in Nepal was very bright and emphasised on the need to train our body through our mind. Mr. Basu Acharya told the psychologists first to increase one’s competitiveness to make psychology practically applicable in everybody’s lives. And lastly Mr. Gopal Dhakal emphasised the importance of policy and the national campaign to increase the awareness on psychosocial issues.
The program was confluence of the young and old generation of psychologist as the program was heavily participated by the students of Masters from Central Department of Psychology, Trichandra College and Padma Kanya Campus. Likewise there were some students of bachelors level and also the professionals working in several organizations. Other notable personalities in the program were counsellor and lecturer Tara Adhikari and Clinical Psychologist Sujita Baniya .
From the younger generation, the newly elected CAPS (Central Association of Psychology Students) president, Ms Sandhya Khatiwada spoke about the need to continuously engage in the psychological issues by the younger generation. Mr Amardeep Guragain voiced his concern to include the spiritualism and the domain of organizational psychology in the mainstream of Psychology in Nepal. Ms Kripa Sigdel and Mr Sujan Shrestha collectively emphasised the need for the young psychologists to get united in one front to put moral pressure on the older generation to form one authentic umbrella organization of Psychology in Nepal. The program was jointly hosted by Ms Kripa Sigdel, Mr. Suman Sharma Poudel and Mr. Piyush Gautam.
The biggest takeaway of the program was the realization by the young psychologists to get united in one front leaving their personal egos aside. This program has been successful to initiate a culture of collaboration among the stakeholders of psychology as this program was not organized in the banner of one organization or institution but in the love of Psychology.
Some of the pictures from the program ( photos credit: Mitesh Shrestha) :
