May 18, 2023 by Alexia

Lookback on the Psychology & Sociology Youth Conference

Lookback on the Psychology & Sociology Youth Conference, by Alexia

What is the Psychology & Sociology Youth Conference?

The Psychology & Sociology Youth Conference is an opportunity that aims to bring together as many young people as possible who are passionate about psychology, as well as teenagers who wish to pursue a career in this field. With the help of the speakers, we try to give the participants the best experience and the best learning environment for the short time we spend together.

The atmosphere

The first edition of the conference started on 27 January 2023. With the first speaker, Ms. Carolina Chiriac. The atmosphere in the conference hall, at the Faculty of Sociology and Social Work, changed instantly. Ms. Chiriac started the activity with a moment of meditation, helping the children to take a minute to reflect. The activities they did were close to “group therapy”. Participants discovered the power within themselves to make the changes they need in life. A great experience for the young adults that proved how much they need to know more about themselves and their relationships with others, to get to live in this imperfect world.

Friday’s second speaker, Mr. Adi Mitroi brought a new point of view, showing the listeners the need for financial knowledge and the way that this topic, which is so opposite to the theme of the conference, has an actual impact on the way we live our life. From the perspective of the “three former girlfriends”, Mr. Mitroi was able to explain to those present, the basis of financial studies and how they affect our lives. It was an entertaining, funny and at the same time emotional presentation.

There were some very e profound moments of vibration, analysis, acceptance and self-awareness that ended our first day of conference. Starting at 9 am, participants returned, looking forward to meeting the speakers of the second day of the conference. The day started with Psih. Cecilia Andronic. Speaking about relationships of friendship, love, collegiality the participant wanted to know more about familial relationships. Questions found their answers in empathy and understanding. After lots of emotions and hard life facts, everybody needed to get a little break to clear their mind.

After the short break the young adults met Psih. Silvia Spataru and Psih. Mariana Florea. The first speaker explained the importance of healthy communication. “Write to be understood, speak to be heard,read to grow.” by Lawrence Clark Powell, was one of the quotes that she presented to the participant. At the end she gave them a few tips on how to communicate more efficient. The second speaker brought to the table the subject of Sensory Integration Therapy. Explain the neurological process of the way we think, learn and adapt to new things, she exemplified how some of the kids behavior we call spoiling, can actually have a source deeper than we could ever think. A source that it’s created from the mother womb as well as the first few months of living.

With new energy, after lunch break, we got back and the participants got to meet Psih. Raluca Illyes. She had spoken about behavior and how our brain doesn’t know the difference between imagination and reality. Another lesson learned is how the scenarios and ideas we make up in our mind do not mirror our reality. And for the end of the second day, Psih. Alexandra Ivan presented us one of her favorite courses, the hygiene and importance of sleep. She reminded the participants of a few important things you need to do to have a more deep sleep, the food you should, or shouldn’t eat before bed. She emphasized what were the results of sleep deprivation.

With her goodbyes the second day at the Faculty of Sociology and Social Work came to an end. After open discussions, relevant questions and moments of sincerity, assumption, acceptance and the understanding of reality, we said goodbye for the night, with the promise to see each other in the morning. The participants who wanted to socialize some more, well they got a chance to do just that, at the social.

In the morning, Phis. Liliana Jgheban talked about human relations and the discipline we need to have a healthy relationship with ourselves. The participants, in a search for answers to help them interact better with their family, discovered the power of negotiation and the importance of knowing when it’s the most important to put our own interests first.
Psih. Baciu Maria Valeria got the teens to interact with each other, getting them to be vulnerable with someone else in the room. After a series of short exercises, everybody got to explore themselves a little bit more. Psih. Chende Olimpia put the creative spirit to work, each person having to find the best way to describe “the authentic teenager”. After finding a little bit of clarity within themselves, at the end, the speaker asked the auditors to write a short letter for their future self, this being the first step in achieving that step.

Andrei Nicolae and Daniel Pozdarescu summarized the biological way a “choice is made”, from neurons to synapses to what choice of career paths there are starting from psychology and sociology. Summing up the essence of every field they made a few suggestions of universities that have the best programs, in said domain.

After questions that have found answers, workshops and soul searching we got to the end of the conference. Each and every one of the speakers, participants, staff and organization team grew a little bit more, or got the chance to gain something useful from the persons they have met during those three days. Knowing that there are things in our lives that need improvement, acceptance and forgiveness, we will see you at our next edition.

References

Image courtesy of The Harvard Gazette