SU co-hosting the first International Cross-Cultural Psychology Conference in Southern Africa

Cultural identity, inter-racial contact in post-apartheid South Africa, cultural differences in choice, and cross-cultural perspectives on China’s presence in Africa are just some of the topics to be discussed at the 21^st International Association of Cross-Cultural Psychology Conference (IACCP 2012) that will be held from 17-21 July in Stellenbosch.

The conference takes place in Southern Africa for the first time, and will be hosted jointly by Stellenbosch University (SU), the University of North-West, Pretoria University, and the Universities of the Western Cape and Limpopo. The conference is held in various lecture halls on the Stellenbosch University Campus with official proceedings starting on Wednesday 18 July.

Themed “Nurturing Diversity for Sustainable Development”, the conference will bring together close to 600 national and international delegates.

The International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology (IACCP) facilitates communication and co-operation among cross-cultural psychologists around the world. The congress will help to facilitate the visibility of South African and African psychology in the world of psychology and of cross-cultural psychology in particular.

“We have no doubt that this conference will not only highlight cutting-edge research on tools that can be utilised to realise the dream of creating a common identity, but also put relevant issues to creating a common identity for South Africans on the research agenda,” say the organisers of the conference, Professors Deon Meiring and Leon Jackson, from the Universities of Pretoria and the North-West respectively.  They add that it will also sensitise scholars in particular and South Africans in general regarding cross-cultural issues.

Prof Russel Botman, Rector and Vice-Chancellor of Stellenbosch University, says the IACCP is doing important work given the fact that the university, the region and the country also have to grapple with the complex challenges associated with a multicultural and unequal society.

International speakers at the conference include Prof Johnny Fontaine, lecturer in psychological assessment and cross-cultural psychology at Ghent University in Belgium and president-elect of the European Association for Psychological Assessment; Prof Klaus Boehnke, Chair of Social Science Methodology at Jacobs University Bremen and Vice Dean of the Bremen International Graduate School of Social Sciences (BIGSSS), Germany; Prof Colleen Ward, Professor of Psychology and Director of the Centre for Applied Cross-cultural Research at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand; and Prof Sheena Iyengar, ST Lee Professor of Business at Columbia Business School and Research Director of the Jerome A. Chazen Institute of International Business.

Local speakers include Prof Mark Tomlinson of the Department of Psychology at Stellenbosch University; Miss  Nicole Schuitmaker, part-time tutor in the Department of Psychology at Stellenbosch University; Prof Colin Tredoux of the Department of Psychology at the University of Cape Town; Prof Linda Theron of the School of Education Sciences in the Faculty of Humanities at the North-West University; and Prof Ian Rothmann of the School of Behavioural Sciences in Faculty of Humanities at the North-West University.

The IACCP 2012 will also celebrate Mandela Day (18 July) at the conference and have invited Mr Shaun Johnson, Chief Executive Officer of the Mandela Rhodes Foundation, to give a keynote address.

• Contact Deon Meiring at tel 0723454767 or e-mail Deon.Meiring@up.ac.za or Prof Johan Malan of the Department of Industrial Psychology at SU at tel 021 808 3001 or e-mail djmalan@sun.ac.za for more information. Also visit www.iaccp2012southafrica.co.za for a full programme.